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The Genesis 1:26 Project~Gamefish Status Inc

Professional Biography:

Captain Mark Noble

Founder, Genesis 1:26 Project – Game Fish Status

Author, The Saltwater Fisherman’s New Testament

St. Simons Island, Georgia

Captain Mark Noble is a lifelong Georgia saltwater fisherman, charter captain, inventor, television host, author, and conservation advocate whose professional career spans more than four decades on the water.

His documented fishing history in Georgia dates back to 1976, when he set his first Georgia State Record — a 116-pound thresher shark, a record that still stands today.

In 1980, he set a second Georgia State Record — a 455-pound bull shark, which also remains the standing state record.

These official state records, recognized by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, reflect the beginning of a lifelong professional commitment to offshore and inshore fishing in Georgia waters.

Professional Career & On-Water Experience

Raised fishing the Georgia coast beginning in the 1970s, Captain Noble has fished professionally for over 44 years and currently operates multiple charter vessels year-round, logging between 150 and 210 days annually on the water. Across decades of professional effort and fleet operation, he has accumulated thousands of documented fishing days — forming a rare, longitudinal understanding of Georgia’s inshore and offshore fisheries.

He is the former host of Captain Mark Noble’s Outdoor Journal, a regional television program sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and produced through WNW Incorporated. The program was independently funded through advertising and provided freely to local broadcast outlets in the public interest, promoting fishing education and coastal access for the Georgia community.

Captain Noble currently serves as President of the Golden Isles Charter Fishing Association and is owner of the St. Simons Fishing Center.

Innovation & Industry Contribution

Captain Noble is the inventor and patent holder of the Thunder Chicken Popping Cork, developed in the late 1990s and patented in the early 2000s (review initiated circa 1999; patent secured around 2001).

The Thunder Chicken significantly influenced inshore saltwater presentation techniques and helped popularize popping cork methods that remain widely used for targeting speckled sea trout, red drum, and other coastal species.

National Media & Publication

Over a 25-year span, Captain Noble appeared regularly on O’Neill Outside with O’Neill Williams, as well as on Nuts & Bolts of Fishing, Outdoors in the Heartland, and North American Fisherman, helping position Georgia as a premier saltwater destination.

He was featured in Salt Water Sportsman magazine, where writer Bob McNally authored:

   •   “Silver and Gold” — the first nationally published tarpon article focused on Georgia.

   •   “Tails at 12 O’Clock” — a landmark article elevating Georgia as a world-class sight-fishing tripletail destination.

During this era, Georgia was recognized as a leading East Coast destination for trophy bull red drum.

International Offshore Experience

During the 1980s and early 1990s — prior to widespread public GPS — Captain Noble navigated offshore waters internationally using traditional seamanship.

His expeditions included Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and the Virgin Islands (U.S. and British), with his pre-GPS blue marlin expeditions out of St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands ranking among the most formative experiences of his career.

Long-Term Engagement with Georgia DNR CRD

Beginning during the tenure of Director Dwayne Harris, Captain Noble engaged in informal and closed-door discussions with CRD leadership, including Susan Shipman, Spud Woodward, and later Doug Haymans, addressing issues such as:

   •   Atlantic croaker and spot croaker limits

   •   Weakfish de minimis status

   •   Whiting deregulation

   •   Creel survey data supporting 25-fish / 8-inch limits

His engagement reflects decades of sustained, data-oriented participation in fisheries governance.

Foundational Principle

Captain Noble’s work is grounded in a core conviction:

All research and advocacy must be based in truth and transparency.

Through GoFishUSA (Genesis 1:26 Project) and The Saltwater Fisherman’s New Testament, he advocates for restoring conservation principles — including Game Fish Status — to ensure equitable public access and long-term sustainability for future generations.

At his core, Captain Mark Noble is a fisherman — one who has lived the waters of Georgia since the 1970s, set state records that still stand, innovated within the industry, helped elevate Georgia onto the national stage, and now works to protect its fisheries for those who will follow.