How Wayne Johnston became one of Tampa Bay's Premiere Fishing Boat Manufacturers.

By the time Wayne Johnston retired from the jewelry business he knew just what he wanted in a fishing boat. And why wouldn't he? He'd been fishing since he was 4, bought his first boat at age 12, and had owned over 30 different boats from 16 to 44 feet by that time. With 40 years of experience the questions had all been answered.

Wayne grew up in a fishing family, and it has been a major focus for his whole life. He sport fished with friends, he commercial fished for money and personal reward, and at age 9 he started his first business as a taxidermist, doing fish mounts. At age 11 he was doing a local TV science show on marine biology, and commercial fishing provided a summer job all through school. During his teens he ran a shrimp boat catching bait shrimp, AND a bait and tackle shop selling those bait shrimp. He also began repairing watches, and found he loved the intricacy and the artistic aspect of the jewelry business. This became Wayne's primary vocation for the next 30 years, but fishing remained his passion, and commercial fishing remained a secondary income producer. Meanwhile, his personal interests turned to Tarpon fishing. He fished the Suncoast Tarpon Roundup from 1968 to 2002 and much of his spare time was spent pursuing "Sabalo" and learning how and where to find and catch them.

By the time he was ready to retire from the jewelry business in 1994 Wayne was also ready to own "the perfect fishing boat". But he found that what he was looking for just wasn't available. While he had never given a thought to becoming one of the many Florida boat manufacturers, he had learned a lot about boat repairs, boat construction, and what works and what doesn't in a fishing boat. He decided that he would build a 26 footer that would meet his needs for fishing on Florida's Gulf Coast, and he would manufacture the best fishing boat he could imagine, based on a lifetime of fishing experience.

That boat became the Sabalo 26 and it wasn't long before others wanted one as well. As Wayne geared up to become a boat manufacturer he was contacted by some people from Grenada who were looking for a good workboat to fish for yellowfin tuna. They liked the look of the Sabalo 26, but needed a little more boat, and the Sabalo 32 was born. That was soon followed by a 16 foot skiff and more recently Sabalo Boats has developed a 22 footer that may well be their most versatile fishing boat yet.

While Wayne didn't originally set out to become "The" Tampa Bay Florida fishing boat manufacturer, Sabalo Boats now offers the most complete and diverse line of fishing boats in Tampa Bay, and quite possibly in all of Florida and beyond. With the recent addition of the 40 foot Expresscat, Sabalo Boats can now take you from the skinniest water of the backwater flats to the open water of any of the world's oceans in search of whatever type of fish you're after.

Sabalo Boats: Pinellas County Fishing Boat Manufacturers with boats for sale to meet every angler's needs.