Meet Martin Donald, mighty skipper of the Spirit of Arun and catcher of more double-figure bass than most of us will ever clap eyes on.

After years of honing his craft and stacking up ridiculous numbers of double-digit bass on private trips, he took over the Spirit of Arun in 2019 and now works full-time as a charter skipper, running trips out of Littlehampton.

At the end of the Q&A, there's a video that was shot when we were lucky enough to fish with Martin in autumn 2019. If you fancy getting in on some similar action, you'll find his details at the bottom of this page. Do yourself a favour and book early!

Who are you and where are you from?

Martin Donald from Arundel, West Sussex.

In less than 10 words, what kind of fisherman are you? 

Dedicated, persistent, social, varied & some might say obsessed!

Who taught you to fish? 

My father. He used to take me coarse fishing & it quickly escalated from there! 

Most memorable day on the water?

It’s hard to pick one... but the day in Florida we caught a yellowfin tuna that weighed 143lb has to be a contender. It’s the second-biggest ever caught out of Port Canaveral and took over 3 hours to land.  

We all have a story about the one that got away. What’s yours? 

I think it has to be a big cobia that swam up to the back of the boat , I threw a jig at him and he turned and ate it.. proceeded to scream drag then the line popped. I later discovered there was a cracked ring that the line broke on... gutting. 

What’s your go-to set-up [keep in mind that Martin targets BIG bass offshore]

Tenryu supermix 240, shimano Stella 3000, YGK wx8 braid (20lb), a gold Fiiish Crazy Eel 220 or a Fiiish Black Minnow 160 in blue. 

You’ve got one day left to go fishing. Where? 

Tough one... Ascension Inland! 

Species you’d most like to catch but haven’t yet? 

Blimey there are too many... dog tooth, permit, African pompano.  

What do you do when you’re not fishing?

Working on the boat or organising something for the next fishing trip!

Finally, where can we follow your fishing adventures or book a charter? 

Donaldm22 & spiritofarun on Instagram. Spirit of Arun on Facebook.

And here's what a day afloat on the Spirit of Arun looks like: