CTF name: GAMA_BAIT
Real name: Mark Curran
Age: 40
Current city: Cumberland, RI
Hometown: Cheshire, CT
Family members: Wife, daughter, and son
Occupation: Engineer / Project manager
Meaning behind screen name "GAMA_BAIT":
That is one of those things you wish you could redo but its way too late. I picked the name because it was a combination of Twater's name (an engineer friend) and mine. GA comes from Gary. MA comes from Mark. Since we were kids we always talked about starting a company based on fishing or lures or something along those lines. So I figured a good online name would be our company’s name. GAMA for Gary and Mark and Bait for the lures we would be making. At the time it seemed like a good idea. In hind sight I wish I had chosen something different. The name Mitch chose is pretty straightforward maybe I should have done that as well. Most people just call me GAMA or Mark. With that said I wouldn’t change my name now because I have kind of grown into the name. Even my kids call me GAMA sometimes. Plus every time I see Buckcall he always greats me with a huge GAMA_BAIT is hear! It is what it is.

1. You go out of your way to help people on the site with just about anything. Is this part of your overall philosophy on life?
Yes. I am a believer in what goes around comes around. Call it karma or pay it forward or whatever. The name is less important than the result. If you always try to be positive and you put that attitude out there, eventually it will come back. I will try to help anyone that needs or asks for it. I enjoy helping and I like to try and teach the person something at the same time. If the person is appreciative than that is great and it’s all I am looking for. Just saying thanks to someone and meaning it can go a long way. Treat people the way you want them to treat you and they usually will. I use this philosophy as a guide to life and for me it has worked out very well.

I have had personal contact either directly or via PM with hundreds of CTF members. 99 percent of these exchanges have been great experiences. Most people go out of their way to try to thank you for helping them. I have enough invitations to fish with people that I have met or helped that I could easily park my boat for the next 2 seasons and still go out fishing every weekend. Generosity can be infectious, its part of what makes CTF unique.

2. How did you get started on building portable livewells, and how many do you think you've built? Is there a link to one of your posts best describing your method?
Building livewells is a by product of owning small boats. A couple of years ago the rig I had was a 14’ aluminum Jon boat. It was a great little rig but it didn’t have a livewell. I wanted to fish the 1st Rogers event with it but needed a livewell.

When I started looking into buying a portable one I found that there wasn’t anything good out there and more importantly I found that what was available was way too expensive. I spent a ton of time doing research and decided I could make a better one than I could purchase. The final results were -- I came up with a better design and it cost less than anything I could buy.

It tuned out that I didn’t need it for that tourney because I ended up being a HO on another member’s boat. I brought the livewell anyway because there were a few guys in small rigs that had the same issue as me and I figured someone could use it. Blue Fox and Bassmasterjoe ended up using it. Blue Fox caught the lunker for that event, a bunch of people saw the livewell and people started asking if I could make them one. It has snow balled from there.

The original livewell I developed completely on my own. Since then the design has gone through a few changes but the basic components have stayed the same. Twater is my partner in this and has been instrumental in testing and development. He is also an engineer and has had some great ideas. Between the two of us we have probably tested a dozen variations. The current and final design is as clean and simple as possible. The goal was to make a worry free system so the focus can be on catching fish, not tending to the ones in the livewell.

Over the past few years I have sold about 35 of them in either a 70 qt or 100 qt size. I have also been approached a few times to go bigger and or sell over the internet but for now I am happy keeping it as a small side hobby. I have them in a shop up here in RI and will be pursuing a few offers that I have gotten from some shops in CT. So far the farthest away I have shipped one was to California. The guy actually found me through a post on CTF.

There are a few old threads somewhere in the CTF archives that detail my design and build methods. I have written so many technical posts on so many subjects that it’s hard to remember the specifics of what and when. For the most part I keep a low profile on the livewell thing. Word of mouth keeps me relatively busy and I don’t believe in using CTF as a sales medium. I am not a member here just to generate sales. I frown on the people that join sites just to try and sell their stuff. I am here to enjoy the site and help others, if I sell some stuff along the way than its cool but it is not my motivation for being an active member.

3. How is it that you came to know more about batteries than the average human?
I never wanted to be the "battery guy." This like the livewells is something that started as a personal thing. I started sharing what I learned with others and now I get questions all the time.

My own personal quest for battery knowledge came from frustration with my own set ups and poor battery performance. I was tired of replacing my batteries every season. The clincher came when I purchased a brand new Delco Voyager and it died right away. It never performed the way I expected it to and it only lasted 1/2 a season. When I started looking into why I found out it was over a year old when I bought it. Then I found out sitting on a shelf unused is a death sentence for a deep cycle battery. From here I just started looking for more information. I wanted to do away with the myths and make the best investment possible in a good reliable power source. I now know more about batteries and chargers than I ever wanted to but its great information for anyone that owns a boat or camper.

My wife considers me to be a walking bag of seemingly useless information. To many she would be correct but my boating friends know better.


Mark in one of the boats he restored.

4. Tell us about your automotive and manufacturing background.
I have been working on cars since I was 12 years old. I turned wrenches full time and part time for the better part of 11 years. I have been restoring boats and old outboards for the last 15 years and I have an extensive 17+ year history with mechanical design and manufacturing. My whole life I have been a hands on person. I am fortunate enough to have been around people both in my private life and professional life that were great teachers and friends.

5. How did you end up working in architectural millwork?
What I do for a job now is a direct result of the people and experiences I have had over the past 40 years. Growing up I was that kid that was always taking things apart to see what was inside. As I got older I started building my own BMX bikes, which moved on to cars and trucks. Going into mechanical engineering for a career seemed natural. And the transition from that into architectural project management happened on its own.

That is the short version. The truth is I took a messy path to an awesome career. I started working on cars when I was 12 years old. In high school I bought my first car it was a 1964-1/2 mustang coupe. It needed a ton of work but was all original. My grandfather was a huge help on that project and that car was the stepping stone to working as a mechanic as a job. I turned wrenches all through high school and college. I restored a few cars and I also built a few hot rods and 4 x 4’s during that time. I worked at South Main Mobil in Cheshire for most of my high school and college years. Jeff and David English were instrumental in teaching me the do it right the first time philosophy. I can never repay either of them for their generosity and patience.

I went to college with the intention of getting a degree in electrical engineering but graduated with a degree in fine art instead. After graduation I started working as a mechanic part time and showing and selling sculpture. Eventually working part time as a mechanic became full time and doing art became secondary.

Going back to working as a mechanic made me realize that I wanted to be an engineer. Not an electrical engineer though, I wanted to go into mechanical design. So I went back to school and got a degree in mechanical engineering. From there I spent over 15 years working as a design engineer in the metal stamping industry. A few years ago I was presented an opportunity to switch gears and get into architectural millwork so I took the chance. This was a great decision.

My current job is very consuming but I love it. I design, engineer, and manage high end architectural mill work projects. My company does work for some of the wealthiest clients on the east coast. We do houses that would be in lifestyles of the rich and famous or MTV cribs. It’s a great job and it allows me to apply all the experiences from my diversified background. Mechanical design and artwork are great foundations for my new career. On top of that I have also been doing woodwork most of my life and home remodeling for the past 12 years.


Mark and Tim at a Congamond tourney on 10/2/04.

6. Who got you interested in fishing and when?
That's easy, my grandfather John. My mother says I am just like my grandfather. He could fix anything and he lived for fishing. I can remember going with him as a very small child. As I got older I was lucky enough to be friends with the family that owns the fishing factories. Back then Peter owned Silver city gun shop and I worked there (actually I didn’t work much but he let me hang out and help). Peter and his brother Paul used to take my brother and I fishing and hunting. Paul was the one that took me to get my hunting lic. and Peter gave me my first real fishing set up and my first riffle. These guys had a profound effect on who I am today. They always stressed safety but kept it fun and educational.

In college I strayed from fishing and hunting but now in my later years my sportsman’s activities are much more focused. Twater is my cousin and closest friend. His passion for fishing has rubbed off on me big time and is the main reason that I got back into it. I am also lucky enough to know Findbass personally, and have been friends with him for many years. Between FB and Twater you can’t help but get sucked in. These two guys have taught me most of what I have forgotten. Being in a boat with them is like going to fishing college.

7. Which of your kids loves to fish the most? What is one of your most memorable trips together?
My daughter is definitely passionate about fishing. She is nine but has been fishing since she could stand up. My son who is 5-1/2 is right behind her but she is definitely addicted.

One of my most memorable trips with her was a few years ago. We went out in the 12’ Jon for a quick trip. It was a small private pond with high numbers of fish but no big ones. All I wanted to do was spend some time with her and have her hook into one. It started off pretty slow and she was not having much luck. I was hooking up with shorts all over the place but her casting was not too good and she wouldn’t let me cast for her. She asked me for a big bright green grub so I rigged it up for her. She made a perfect cast to an outside weed edge and hooked a nice little bass. As soon as she hooked up, it jumped up out of the water and I started screaming and then she started screaming. So the two of us are screaming our heads off like idiots as she fights the fish and brings it into the boat. To top it off she was using a junk tweety bird rig that was almost bent in half so it looked like she had a monster. With all of the commotion we made I was surprised the cops didn’t show up. But man it was awesome; she cast herself and then brought it in all on her own. After we settled down from that excitement I told her that we had to get going because mom was expecting us home for dinner. Her reply was “Dad I have some gold fish and a juice box, we don’t have to go home for dinner”. That comment almost made me cry. It doesn’t get any better than that.


Daugther Liv at the CTF Kid's Event at Gardner Lake.

8. What is one of your most memorable fishing trips?
One of my most memorable trips would have to be opening day for trout about 4 years ago. Twater, Findbass, and I went to Beseck to do some bass fishing. Findbass had his 17’ and I had my 14’. When we got there the wind and waves were so bad that I could not have safely used my rig so the 3 of us went out in Findbass’s boat. We know each other well so fishing 3 from a 17’ was not that bad. This whole trip was a comedy and we laughed our butts off the whole time. For most of the day the waves were so bad that the bow mounted troller was going from a nice water bound hum to a free spinning blender sound as each wave hit us. Even with the motor all the way down it was still coming out of the water on the up swing. The fishing was horrible. We went hours before we got our first bite. Because of the high winds the only lure you could throw was a super heavy spinner bait. I had the first hook up and it was a decent keeper. As I started to fight the fish the waves were working against me. The bow of the boat went up with a wave causing me to pull hard on the line. This in turned cause the fish to become a torpedo, it cam ripping out of the face of a 3 foot wave danced around in mid air for a second, spit my rig out and then the wave swallowed it back up. It was pretty funny to see that poor LMB come popping out of the wave and hang in mid air. My next fish didn’t come until 4 or 5 hours later when the sun went down.

This trip is memorable for a few different reasons. The first was how bad the conditions were, the second was all the ball breaking and laughing we did, and the third was listening to Birch cuss under his breath at how bad the bite was. At one point late in the trip we must have ended up on a rock pile and I literally when 4 for 4 with hook ups while Findbass and Twater didn’t even get a tap. The fish were small but it is not often that I can out fish either of these guys (yes it was all luck). I have learned a ton of things from both of them. The most important one is patience. We fished hard that day and put in a good 11 hrs on the water. In the end we did poorly as far as numbers but we still had a good time.

9. What is your personal best largemouth and smallmouth? When, where and how did you catch them?
My personal best Largemouth was just over 5lbs and I caught it in the pond behind Highland school over by the metal tube where the feeder stream comes in under the side road. That was a long time ago; I didn’t even have a driver’s license. I don’t know if the pond even still exists. I caught it on an earth worm floating under a bobber.

My personal best smallie is 2.5 lbs and that was at Gardner. I picked that up last year on a spinner bait.

10. What is one of the most versatile lures for targeting bass?
Everyone has their favorite but for me the most versatile would be a jig with a grub or pork trailer. There are so many ways to fish it. It can be worked slow, fast, deep, shallow, in heavy cover, and swam in open water. It’s an all occasion bait. My largest LMB’s have come on a jig.

11. Are there some things you think the CT DEP could do differently?
I think the CT DEP does a very good job with the resources that they are given. If anything I wish they had more funding so they could add more officers. With man power stretched thin its difficult to canvas everywhere. More patrol men and women would give an increased presence which in turn should make it easier for them to enforce the laws we already have in place. It only takes a few people that are doing wrong or breaking laws to ruin things for everyone. A larger presence from the DEP would help keep the few dishonest people in check.

12. Is there a dream fishing trip you would like to take?
After reading all the reports about the smallie bite in early spring I wish I could put together a trip up to Maine or New Hampshire. I have a standing offer from a friend to go to N.H. so hopefully I can put that together next season.

Going after peacock bass in Mexico also sounds like an awesome time. Joe G’s reports would make anyone want to go down and give it a try.

13. What are some of your favorite CT and RI lakes, as well as your favorite ways to fish them?
My favorite CT Lakes would be Beach Pond, Gardner, Rogers Lake, and Candlewood. I like these lakes because they have easy access and hold good to decent size and populations of bass. My Favorite would be Rogers. Twater and I used to fish it all the time because it was a good mid point between us. Now we fish it because we like it. It is not the fishery it was 5 years ago but it still produces good fish and hopefully the lack of tourneys will help it recover. At all of these lakes my favorite lures are jigs and spinner baits. I also prefer to fish them at night. At night a good thumpy black spinner bait can produce a very nice bag on any one of these bodies of water.

In RI it would be Sand Dam, Brothers pond, Stump pond, Upper Slatersville res., and the Blackstone river. I live in northern RI. The only pond in the area without a 10 hp or electric only rating is Slatersville res. The place gets hammered but I know it well and can usually pick up a few even on a bad day. This place was great about 6 or 7 years ago but it’s suffered since then. The other places are good and don’t get as beat up because they have restrictions keeping the tourneys and big boats off. I have a nice little 12’ Jon, a crawdad, and a canoe that make hitting the ponds easy. Because of pressure on these lakes my bait of choice is almost always a jig and pig and a tube. Either of these can be worked slow and methodically. The tube always produces well at Slatersville res. I think that place gets spinner baited big time and the fish are now wary of them.

14. Tell us about some of the restoration projects you have done.
I have a sickness called blinded by potential. I always see what could be more than what is. This often causes me to take on projects that most would consider a lost cause. It also causes what my wife calls the revolving family of boats and trailers. I have restored many aluminum boats over the past 10 years.

My current herd consists of a 14’ canoe. 12’ crawdad, 12’ Jon, and a 17’ bass boat. The bass boat is 80% redone. I have done new floors, new carpet, new wiring, and new electronics. Next will be the helm and then she is like new. It’s a seanymph and has a very comfortable layout that works well with my wife and kids.


The restored 12-footer.

I redid my 12’ Jon 2 years ago. This season I rebuilt a trailer for it and was going to sell it but after using it a few times I can’t part with it. It’s perfect for the small ponds and or skinny water. It moves real nice with a 41 lb troller or a 4 hp outboard.


A restored 14-footer.


Another of the restored 14-footer.

The 14’ I had before the 17’ was an awesome boat. I wish I had never sold it. Everything was either replaced by me or was newly replaced when I got it. It had a nice open hull and was very simple to use alone or with a partner.


Mark layered at Messerschmidt's Pond with one of the boats he restored.

15. What do you think about the new direction of CTF?
I was definitely on the fence with this new concept. The money was not the issue; I would pay twice as much just for the networking with new and old friends. The reports and information make it that much easier to justify. Overall I am happy with the new set up. There is much less BS and the bottom feeders that took without giving back have disappeared. All in all I would say that the pay to play concept has greatly improved the quality of the site. My concern with the change was with the “I am paying so what do I get for my investment” attitude but I have not seen that. Often when people “pay” for something they expect something physical in return.

16. What are some of your favorite brands of rods and reels?
I have found that it’s better to buy good equipment that last long rather than buying cheap stuff that needs to be replaced often. I swear by Shimano and Diawa reels. I love the Shimano Stradics (spinning reels) and the Chronarch Mg (bait caster). These hold up well and have great performance. I also love the Diawa Fuegos (bait caster). I have 3 of them and they are awesome.

For rods I love the St Croix Avid line both spinning and bait casting. I also like Kisteler rods and I have an older Ugly stick light that I am embarrassed to admit I still use for jigs at night.

17. What do you like to watch on TV?
Mostly I watch Discovery channel and the History channel. But for fun I love Heroes, 24, and Chuck. I don’t watch much TV (no free time) so when I do, I want it to be either totally educational or totally fictional. I don’t like any of the reality shows. I think they are all hype.

18. What kind of music do you enjoy?
I Love all types of music. I listen to classical and punk and everything in between. I love old Van Halen and Aerosmith but lately I have been grooving on Jack Jonson. With the kids the mellow stuff is safer. My daughter loves pop and some of it I can deal with but mostly I like the older stuff. Old school Rock n Roll, The Dead and Phish are my usual choices.


Mark and daughter.

19. What is most rewarding about raising children?
For me everyday is magical when it comes to my kids. When I was younger I never saw myself being a parent, owning a house, driving a minivan, or being a coach. Today I wouldn’t trade any of it. (O.K. I would do away with the minivan. It is impossible to be cool and drive one but if you have one and you have kids its hard to see living without one). The best part of being a parent is the unconditional love that your children show you. Kids idolize and imitate their parents. Fishing with my kids or coaching them in soccer is awesome. They love it and it fills me with pride. Basically I think parenting is what you make of it. You can be high stress and have a tough time or you can be laid back and roll with it. I don’t roll as easily as I wish I could but I always make the best of what is going on. My kids have taught me a lot about myself and about what is really important in life.

It is also very cool that my kids understand how dedicated to the outdoors and hunting and fishing that I am. It is something that they both want to be involved with and something that we share. Even just going on a walk with them is awesome. My kids are a constant source of joy for me and the things they say just blow my mind.

20. When compiling your questions, I PM'd a few members for ideas. This was one response:
"After giving me and many others so much help, how could we help you?"
It is difficult to put into words the relationships I have formed with people because of CTF. I have a ton of friends here; many will be friends for life. I help people because I love to help and teach. I don’t do it for any reason other than wanting to. This is part of the reason that I don’t use an avatar. I have no desire to be in the lime light. Even answering these questions has been difficult for me. I am used to talking about boats and trailers not myself. I do love that people enjoy reading my post and that they find them helpful. It's awesome when someone walks up to me at a CTF function and says “Your GAMA BAIT?” I love reading your post or you were a huge help or thanks. That is my reward I don’t seek fame but it is nice to be recognized for putting in some effort.

Extras...
You have posted about having some tough outings can you elaborate on that?
Yes I am a weather magnet. Birch is convinced that I only fish in the rain and most of my other close friends think I only fish post front. It just seems like every trip I plan it either rains or just rained. That is not completely true but I do stay committed to an outing no mater what the weather does. It has taught me a lot about fishing and working hard for your fish.



What advice would you give to a new member here at CTF as far as learning the lay of the land?
That’s simple. Be yourself and be truthful and you will have no issues. Don’t tell outright lies in your post or post only for fame. If you do you will probably get called on it. CTF has a way of weeding out the BS pretty quickly.

Also go to some functions. Meeting real people makes a world of difference. Putting a human to the CTF name is nice but it’s also about true networking. To me there are not really clicks as much as there are groups of people that have met up outside of Cyberspace and now they are friends. It’s not exclusive but you do need to make some effort.