MADEIRA, PORTUGAL (& TRINIDAD / TOBAGO) — ACTIVE YEARS MID 1980s – PRESENT (fishing career; lures/skirts since 2022)

Capt. Gerard "Frothy" de Silva is one of the most decorated big-game captains in the world — and one of the newest names in lure making. Born in Trinidad, he started out as a commercial fisherman at 19, moved his charter operation to Tobago by the mid-1980s aboard his boat Hard Play, and in 1995 chased a lifelong dream to Madeira, the island famous for giant blue marlin. He's fished there every summer since aboard his Pesca Grossa, picking up the nickname "Pirate of the Caribbean" along the way — Jimmy Buffett even wrote a chapter, "Looking for Captain Frothy," in A Pirate Looks at Fifty.

His tournament résumé is staggering. Among a long list of Caribbean titles, he is one of very few people ever to win both the Blue Marlin World Cup (2015, with the largest blue marlin caught anywhere in the world that day) and the Offshore World Championship (2016, in Quepos, Costa Rica) — often called the Olympics of sport fishing. He's a longtime IGFA member and serves on the IGFA Rules Advisory Panel.

De Silva came to lure making from the skirt up. Frustrated with what was available, he designed his own ultra-realistic vinyl baitfish skirts — the "A La Vive" line ("live bait" in Trinidad slang) — testing them across a 100-day 2023 Madeira season. The IGFA featured them as a new product, and top makers including Andy Moyes, Marlin Magic, and Black Pete's now use A La Vive skirts. From there came his own lures, built big for Madeira's giants: the XL Bacchanal (his first, named for the Trinidad word for unruly revelry), the Pothound and Soucouyant plungers, and the Horner Man, distributed through GZ Lures.

As a museum and archive, we're honored to document Capt. Gerard "Frothy" de Silva, a world-class captain whose A La Vive skirts and lures are a fresh, bait-realistic chapter in the tradition.

Notable shapes: A La Vive — XL/Large Bacchanal, Pothound, Soucouyant, Horner Man; plus the A La Vive ultra-realistic vinyl baitfish skirts

Identification tips:

• "A La Vive" branding; the standout is his ultra-realistic printed/painted vinyl baitfish skirts
• Large, Madeira-scale plunger heads (short- and long-nosed)

Below, you’ll find our ever-growing digital archive showcasing every lure that has come through our shop. This collection is constantly evolving as new lures arrive, making it a living record of rare, limited-production lures. We will continue updating this database regularly, building what we aim to be the largest digital archive of offshore trolling lures in the world.

If you have any further information or any lures you believe deserve to be showcased, please reach out to us at ren@luremonger.com