The Bounty Hunter
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The Bounty Hunter Crew
From left to right: Owner and Captain Bill Monte, Deckhand and Owner Donna Monte, and First Mate Scott Ferriero
Bill and Donna Monte have been married for over 30 years, and have been chasing bluefin together since 1979. Donna credits her husband with introducing her to fishing in the first place—and she's hooked. "I am one of the only girls that do this type of thing."
When Scott Ferriero started fishing with the Montes in the mid-'80s, Bill was already a legend in the tuna fishing community. But over the years, Monte has been slowing down a little. "I’m continually having to kick him in the ass to get him going," says Ferriero.
This season, the Bounty Hunter starts out in a bit of a dry spell. "We’ve had some very good seasons," explains Bill Monte, "but chasing these fish becomes harder as you get older and your body gets beat up. The younger guys can do this much easier."
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Bill Monte, Owner and Captain
“I started fishing in 1978,” Bill Monte recalls. “My father did fish, but it was just recreational. What got me into giant tuna fishing was seeing one for the first time. I saw one hanging one day in Gloucester and I didn’t know what it was. I thought, ‘That’s awesome! I got to get one of those.' Once you catch the first one, you’re screwed.”
For years, Monte worked as a diesel mechanic during the off-season, and fished when he could. “Finally, when I got close to retirement, I decided it was time to have some fun,” he explains. Three years ago, he took the plunge and became owner and captain of his own fishing vessel, the Bounty Hunter.
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Captain of His Fate
The best part of being a part-time professional fisherman for Captain Bill Monte is the freedom. “If I don’t want to go out, I stay home,” he explains. “Or I’ll go work on fixing a boat. Whatever I want to do, I do it. I’m the captain of my fate.”
The hardest part of the job? "The long hours. You get very tired. It’s mentally grueling, especially when the weather is rough. It wears you down. We’re not fishing in big boats, so you get your ass kicked some days. We’ve had to go down to shy [lightweight] gear. When you’re out there and there are waves and the boat is bouncing around, it’s a whole lot harder to hook a fish. But that’s just something you have to deal with.”
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Donna Monte, Deckhand and Owner
Donna Monte, who worked for nearly four decades in customer service for an adhesive manufacturer, was first introduced to fishing in 1978 by her future husband Bill.
“About six months into our relationship, he showed up at my parent’s house, with a boat on a trailer on the back of his truck,” she recalls. “I said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘It’s a boat. We’re going to go fishing!’ I said, okay, I’ve never done that before, but I’ll give it a try. I’ll try anything once.”
Right away, she enjoyed the experience of being out on the water in a fishing boat, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with actually catching fish. “I was like, ‘Oh, you’re hurting the fish,’ and blah blah blah."
Then, one day, Bill asked her to take his rod while he performed another chore on the boat. “I said, ‘What am I supposed to do if the fish comes?’ He said, ‘Turn the handle.’ So a fish got on, and I reeled it in, and I didn’t give him his rod and reel back. It was awesome! I liked the challenge of it. And that was just a small fish, a codfish.”
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Hooked
Donna Monte was with Bill when he saw his first bluefin being offloaded in Gloucester. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, what IS that?’” she recalls with a laugh. “I had never seen anything that huge before.”
Pretty soon, she and Bill were venturing further offshore, in search of the giant fish. The first time they encountered one in the wild, it was even more revelatory. “You can have someone explain to you what catching a bluefin is like, but until you actually experience it, it’s just beyond what you can humanly imagine.”
What appeals to Donna Monte is “the challenge of being able to actually get one on a line and then battle from there. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done. I’ve been to Hawaii and caught Pacific blue marlin; I’ve caught thousands of different species. Nothing compares to the power; it’s absolutely frightening. And they fight really hard. They don’t just jump on the deck. You can have one under your boat for an hour, trying to beat you.”
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Scott Ferriero, First Mate
Scott Ferriero, whose father was in the U.S. military, was born in Germany but returned to the family’s hometown of Beverly, Massachusetts at age 5. “I’ve fished for my whole life, practically, on and off,” he says.
After surviving the wreck of another fishing boat in the mid-1980s, he was invited by Bill and Donna Monte, who at the time were also based in Beverly, to go out fishing with them. It was on that trip when he saw and helped catch his first bluefin. “Seeing one for the first time—I don’t even know the words to describe it,” he recalls. “The whole experience was pure chaos and adrenaline, like I’d never felt before.”
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BH Scott Fishing
Gloucester, MA: Scott Ferriero, a member of the Bounty Hunter crew has a reel in hand to catch a blue fin.. (Photo Credit: Pilgrim Films & Television) -
Craving the Next Fix
After 23 years, Ferriero’s become a veteran bluefin fisherman. The hardest part of the job, he says, is the waiting. “Once you catch a bluefin, you’re like a junkie craving the next fix,” he explains. “But you’ve got to wait for the fish to bite, and wait for the fight.”
He also enjoys the hard but satisfying work of getting ready to fish, and the experience of getting an up-close, extended immersion into the ocean environment that few people get the chance to really see. “You’ll be out on the water, and all of a sudden, you’ll be surrounded by 50 whales,” he says. “And you’re the only ones out there to see it. It’s totally amazing.”
You jinxed your season when you poached .coms #s and for what a 178lb fish.When you sold it to the buyer you
were fist pumping Donna was doing a little dance and scott pointed his finger in the air going "this is for you dad".
Really.You outta be ashamed of yourselves.Paul had 5 weeks and made over 50K.He has what you lack,a true
passion.You had him for awhile last season and you profitted.Either sell your boat and get rid of that no-fishing
cry baby scott or get some mates that know how to fish.Scott had the balls to talk about Karma...."what goes
around comes around".Well it came around and took a bite out of all your asses just like a Great White!!
Let pudgy Scott go..He lost every tuna..seems more concerned with his 18 yr old haircut..and acting for the camera..He has no idea when to let the tuna run..seems to want the camera to get a close-up of his torn off sleeves and non existent muscles..what is he 45?
Hello: I think anyone who does this for a living is great in my book anyday. However, having said this, in my opinion Capt. Monte should hang up his hooks. This fishery does not wait for hesitators, if you don't take the shot and land meat on the deck, someone else will. Scott still has fire in his belly for the fight and I hope he does for a long time. So lease the boat out to another captain, have money coming in and keep up the fight. Never stop fishing, even if you are wet, hungry and discouraged. Never stop fishing.
Capt. Bill is a great fisherman however He definitely needs a younger and better crew. Better yet get Paul and his brother on YOUR boat !!
You probably have more hours on the water than most of the other fishermen. You have the very best boat of the fleet. Have been on the ocean since I was 5. One of the hardest days of my life was when the Grady White left our yard for the last time. Enjoy it while you can.
I doubt that Bill comes here to read the comments....so much negativity and hatred.... But Bill, if you indeed do read these comments I will offer an observation.... You're using hooks that are too small and of the wrong type for the line test and drag pressure you're fishing. Hayabusa, Gamakatsu, and Owner hooks are actually too sharp, and while they'll set up quickly in the mouth, they also pull just as quickly, due to their sharpness and fine shank diameter and squared off shape...I would suggest Eagle Claw L118 mag, these are bronze hooks with round wire shanks and they are perfect for fishing tuna of the size you're fishing and with heavy drag pressure.... I would also suggest using a bigger hook then the size I see you using.... If you insist on using the gear you've been using then at least back off on the drag and learn some patience... unless there are sharks infesting the water you should be in no hurry to land the fish, it is the extreme drag pressure and impatience that is costing you on the larger fish, just my humble opinion, I'd like to see you enjoy greater success.....
STOP CRYING ABOUT DAVE AND TUNA.COM . HE IS NOT HOLDING YOU GUYS BACK PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOUR NOT DOING! RATHER THEN BLAM .COM. BILL GET SOME SKILLS
Bill if you want to save your business leave your wife at home and get rid of your first mate and get two hungry young fisherman that want to earn some money like me, and sit back and watch your business flourish for a change!!!
You all need some younger members on your crew because I have never seen a crew miss as many fish as The Bounty Hunter does!
I fished for a living for years it is not easy. It gets harder as you get older. The Bounty Hunter Is having a dry spell, dry spells are bad when its money on the deck. Bill and his crew seem to be nice people a lot of working fisherman are. Their are bad apples in every bunch bit the Bounty Hunter is not in that bunch. All those who say ean things about people they dont know should be ashamed. And if they want to get out of the arm chair and hit the deck go for it a lets see how you do.
Bill your face in this picture to me says, "we hardly caught any fish last season, and probably do the same this year"...I use your segment of the show for bathroom breaks etc...
Please send us money we need real jobs and we cant catch fish, if it wasnt for workmans comp I couldnt of sued and got this boat.Oh plus the law suit money for the accident when I bumped my head. I dont work and pretend to be a fishermen in boston.
My brother and I were fortunate enough to meet Bill and Donna in Boston this past weekend in Boston. They are a class act. Unbelievably nice people, modest and extremely friendly. Bill is the ideal guy to sit down with drink beer and shoot the sh#t.
A real sportsman doesnt cut off 100 feet of line to avoid tangling when "hooked up" You guys know that line will drift forever tangling sea and bird life . Shame on you !! Maybe when you become stewards off the sea your luck will change . I am far from an environmentalist but a hunter and fisherman .
Joe these guys are total losers ive never seen a group of worse sportsmen ever in my life, terrible fishermen some of them, its not rocket science its a way to get some quick easy money because the japs pay so much these days now that the species is about gone.
The crew of the "Bounty Hunter" are what we in NH call "MASSHOLES"! What a rotten group of nasty people! They are the kind of people who cut you off on the road and then flip you the bird! I hope your boat sinks! It's people like them that give the whole state a bad rap.
Incomprehensible why this "Bounty Hunter" captain, mate, and crew are featured on National Geographic. Embarrassing.
I agree with Geno, Bill might have been good 30 years ago but to fish on top of someone else's and then act like you found the tuna on your own is embarassing, thinking it is time for you and your wife to call it quits. As for your deckhand Scott what a loser celebrate when you can find your own fish. You are NO competition for any of the other boats. After your last season this season is going to be the same. Tuna.com or Hard Merchandise have nothing to worry about from you guys. And Scott saying this is for your deceased father is a disgrace, he raised a man who steals from others, if I were you there is nothing to be proud of
@steven moran you took the words right out of my mouth...and Scott you owe your family!
Another crew that would be more successful if they spent less time worrying and slagging off Dave on Tuna.com, and more time actually working hard and catching their own fish like he does......
You steal his numbers, you follow him around, you constantly badger him for information he is not obliged to tell you....and you even steal his first mate....and dump your wife in the process....
You are relentless mate....there is nothing you wont do to pinch a fish from him....EXCEPT work hard like he does and catch your own fish!
Hey bounty hunter, i joined this site just to tell you your a loser, find your own numbers, if you know how to do that, oh i do you dont give a damn what i say, help hope you only get 1 fish this season and your family goes hungry, get lost dirt bag !!!!
Bill is a sook....instead of abusing Dave and following him around and whining, how about you work as hard as he does and you might see his successes. He is not lucky, he is good and works hard. On the other hand Bill and his crew are just sore losers and sooks.....
Seriously, it's insulting to hear you insult paying customers (amateurs can't catch fish) yet you caught more Tuna, undersized or not, with them than you EVER do..... Then, to see you shove the Tuna out the door backwards, probably damaging their pectoral fins, yet at the same time you preach about preserving the species... I could go on and on... I will actually fast fwd past any content that has you guys on the show...... You really bring it down...
I want a light blue Bounty hunter sweatshirt/hoodie so bad! I watch you guys all the time!!! I would love to purchase one…..