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Michael Latham Biography and Mission Statement
Michael Latham, or “Mikey,” as his friends call him, began big-game fishing in the early 1980s. His first experience with a blue marlin occurred while fishing a local club tournament out of South Pass, Louisiana. Afterwards he was hired for his first traveling job and took off to Cozumel, Mexico. He soon found himself fishing some of the top destinations in the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, BVIs, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Cabo San Lucas, Brazil, Canary islands, Madeira, Azores, Australia, Tahiti and Cape Verde. Fishing and traveling became Mikey's passion — a passion that later opened the doorway to begin shooting video while fishing.
One of the most exciting places Mikey's fished is the island of Madeira. For him, this small island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, represents one of the most majestic fishing grounds in the whole world. In the five seasons he fished Madeira, Mikey recalls many incredible fishing days, but three specific days stand out as the most special. Mikey was fortunate enough to wire two 1,000-pound blue marlin in one day fishing on the French Look with Capt. James Roberts. On another amazing day Mikey was running the Freed'Em, and put marine artist and angler Guy Harvey on to two 1,000-pound blues in one afternoon using 80-pound tackle with wireman Clay Hensley. The third special day occurred while fishing aboard the Chunda with Capt. Barky Garnsey and wireman Charles Perry. Mikey was filming Mrs. Nikki Campbell as she caught five blue marlin on 30-pound tackle in one day. One of Nikki's catches, a 706-pounder, was large enough to earn her the women's 30-pound line class world record.
Over the years, Mikey has had the privilege to fish with and learn from the sport's top captains including Skip Smith, Bobby Brown, Phil Tedder, Tommy Sealy, Peter B. Wright and many others. He has also traveled and shot underwater video with Guy Harvey and Bill Boyce in the Cape Verde islands and the Azores.
Various phases of LathamCams included the use of several different cameras. The goal was to get the smallest camera possible to fit in the most unusual of places and by the same token, to acquire never-before-seen footage. The object was to hear somebody say, “How did they get that shot?”
The first cameras used were the Elmo and Sony lipstick cameras. The next big step was to waterproof the cameras so they could be attached on the outside of boats without any worry of water damage and the saltwater environment.
After 13 years of trial and error with three different productions of cameras, Mikey has designed a camera that meets the demands of today's top offshore fishermen. He found a camera company with the same interests and beliefs and they united their efforts to design and manufactured a special camera that's waterproof “right out of the box.” They also added a polarized filter that helps cut out the glare and enhances visual clarity.
Mikey continues to fish and video around the world, always looking to catch the most action with his new state-of-the-art gadgets.
Please click through the navigation links to learn more about LathamCams for sportfishing cameras, recording systems and security cameras. Contact Mike for more information.
LathamCams- Mission Statement
Our commitment is to take our clientele a step closer to their dreams.
We have developed several camera packages to meet the varying needs of distinguished fishermen and help them capture their passion and love of sportfishing on film. We want their memories to last a lifetime!
LathamCams will provide each customer with professional, one-on-one service to tailor each individual need.
Honesty and ethical values are the key to our service. We first think of our client's special needs. Our goal is to earn the respect and loyalty of our customers, because LathamCams' aim is to provide them with the very best service possible.
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As a young man, Mikey spent a lot of time concentrating on light-tackle world record fishing under the watchful eye of Capt. Skip Smith and helped pioneer the bait-and-switch technique. They caught several women's and men's world records including the 8-pound Atlantic blue marlin, women's 12- and 16-pound Atlantic blue marlin, women's 2-pound Pacific sailfish, women's 2-pound dolphin, women's 8-pound Pacific blue marlin and too many near records to count. 
Mikey soon decided the best way to capture the action was to mount a camera so it could get a clear shot of the cockpit and the action around it. Using a hand-held camera was very difficult (especially back then) because it was big and bulky, limiting the places where the camera could be mounted. This marked the beginning of attaching cameras in the riggers and the hard top to catch the fishing experiences. LathamCams was finally born.
Over the years Mikey's main goal has always been to develop consistent equipment that goes hand in hand with the most demanding fisherman, keeping in mind that fishing should be fun and simple, but exciting at the same time. The idea of the Latham video camera systems is to help fishermen around the world capture unforgettable footage of their experiences at sea to share with their friends and family. LathamCams' aim is to give people all the assistance and products they need to fulfill those dreams by providing them with a camera system that will shoot all the thrills, high jumps and exciting on-water experiences that make people love offshore fishing.