I got an e-mail from Billy today. Y'all need to go see him; he's a living coastal legend and true Texas icon:

My 25' Mexican Panga and I will be at Roy's Customer Appreciation Days (Corpus Christi) both days, Friday and Saturday, April 18th-19th, 8am-8pm daily. I will be giving seminars at 12:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. both days on fishing our area in general (surf-bay-nearshore)but will be there to answer questions throughout the day both days. Seems to be lots of interest in the pangas so heres your chance to see one rigged out for big game offshore/bay. Hope to see you there.

Capt. Billy

Wow, there is no doubt that is a fishing boat!

Check out the story below, and it is true:

How Billy got the Panga is a good story; I can't do it justice in a short time, but here's the gist. Billy is on PINS nearly every day of the year. PINS, Padre Island National Seashore, is the longest, 65 miles, stretch of uninhabited seashore in the U.S. Because of that, a lot of unusual things happen there.

Billy had been making his rounds and spotted a boat coming in on a very isolated strip of beach. He got off the beach and watched as it, a big Panga he could now tell, came in riding big waves and a heavy surf. While they were landing, the DEA and reinformements roared up.

The Panga hit the beach heavily loaded with four Mexican drugrunners, cocaine, gasoline and all the guns they could carry, but by then, Billy and the South Texas branch of the DEA were waiting for them. The bad guys were captured, and the good guys confiscated the Panga, drugs, gasoline and guns.

The boat, as a captured drug boat, slowly moved through the system and was finally auctioned off. Billy bought the beauty and fitted it out for Texas Gulf fishing. In the spring, he, I, and Gene Titus, a friend and University of Texas computer whiz, are going out for tarpon and shark.

If any of you all ever want to fish the bays and a little way out from shore for tarpon and shark, or surf fishing for anything that comes there, get Billy Sandifer for your guide. There is no better.

After that, you can tell all your friends you hit the Texas coast in a sure 'nuf Mexican drugrunner boat, and you'll probably be able to also tell them you caught a lot of fish off of it!

Pangas down here are rough, tough, seaworthy boats. The drugrunners came in from the Gulf after crossing from Tampico.

Ray

Now there's a story to go with a boat!

Don't forget Billy at Roy's tomorrow and Saturday, guys!!! I wish I could be there.

Ray

I've fished in a lot of pangas in Mexico and it really is a great fishing boat.

Never have had the chance to fish w/Billy but hope to do so some day. I attended one of his forums once and there's no doubt Billy knows a whole bunch about salt water fishing. He respects the resource, too, something which is important to me.

If you have the chance to hear him, it will be worth your while....even the experienced can learn from him.

cool story and nice boat? How much does one cost? Are they only made in Mexico?

Everybody's talking about the boat, but I can guarantee you from fishing with him that Billy is a lot more colorful than any old (or new) boat. If you haven't met him or heard him speak, it's worth the trip. He'll have to change his "title" though. For years, Billy's been known as "The Land Captain." He's turned driving an old beat up Suburban up and down North Padre Island into an art form.

Go see him before he gets blown away by some vengeful drug kingpin or dragged to sea by some monstrous shark.