InTheBite

  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Featured Stories
    • General News
    • Captain of the Year
    • Tournament Results
    • First Builds
    • Splash Reports
    • Old Salts Rule
    • Tackle Tips
    • Dock Talk
    • Crew Records
    • Conservation
  • Tournaments
    • Calendar
    • Captain of the Year
    • Champion’s Cup
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Subscriptions
    • Back Issues
    • Shirts
    • Hats & Visors
    • Miscellaneous
    • Release Rulers
  • Classifieds
  • Job Board
  • Contact
    • Contact InTheBite
    • InTheBite Media Kit
  • Log in

IGFA Names 2020 Tommy Gifford Award Honorees

March 16, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

IGFA logo

DANIA BEACH, FL – March 16, 2020 – The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) today announced its 2020 Tommy Gifford Award honorees in recognition of their significant contributions to recreational angling as captains, guides or crew.

This year’s recipients include famed billfish captain and industry leader Captain Bobby Brown; Bermuda blue water pioneer Captain Alan Card; renowned big-game skipper Captain “OB” O’Bryan; offshore innovator Captain Tom Jones; and legendary Bahamian bonefish guide Ansil Saunders. These icons of the sportfishing community will be honored at the IGFA Tommy Gifford Awards Ceremony during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show on October 29, 2020, at the beautiful Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.

“The 2020 Tommy Gifford Award winners have helped to shape the sportfishing industry into what it is today,” said IGFA President Jason Schratwieser. “Captains, guides and crew members form the backbone of our sport, and we look forward to honoring these five individuals and their achievements during our wonderful event this October.” 

The 2020 recipients were selected by the IGFA Legendary Captains & Crew Committee, a distinguished panel of internationally renowned captains and mates chaired by Captain Skip Smith. Previous winners include Jose Wejebe, Allen and Buddy Merritt, Ron Hamlin, Charles Perry, Ralph Delph, Laurie Wright, Jimmie Albright, Bouncer Smith, Steve Lassley, Bubba Carter, R.T. Trosset, Billy Knowles and more.

“It is such an honor to be able to recognize these captains, guides and crew members from around the world every year,” said Committee Chairman Skip Smith. “We need to keep the history of our sport alive and celebrate the successes and contributions of these sport fishing legends.”   

Captain Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown was born in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1946. He caught his first blue marlin at the age of 12 that weighed 456 pounds, which had a permanent effect on his life and career. Brown received his Coast Guard Captain’s license in 1967 and began running charters out of Kona, Hawaii, until 1990 when he relocated to Florida. In 1971, he caught his first grander as captain with a 1,170-pound blue marlin on 80-pound line. Brown has 18 IGFA World Records to his credit for marlin, spearfish and yellowfin tuna and is responsible for the current Pacific blue marlin All-Tackle IGFA World Record of 1,376 pounds. Brown has been a longtime proponent of single hook trolling lures and circle hooks with bait. He spent his last three years of fishing in Costa Rica fishing the FADs out of Los Suenos, targeting blue marlin with light tackle.

Captain Alan Card

Captain Alan Card has over 40 years of experience as an offshore charter captain in Bermuda. Card caught the first grander blue marlin in Bermuda and has caught seven blue marlin weighing over 1,100 pounds. He is also credited for catching a bluefin tuna that weighed in at 782 pounds and once held both the IGFA All-Tackle and men’s 50-pound Line Class record with a 42-pound blackfin tuna. For the last 20 years, he has been running the 40-foot Gamerfisherman, Challenger, with his son, Ian, alongside him. Card has won several prestigious billfish tournaments including the 1993 World Cup and 2001 Big Game Classic.

Captain OB O’Bryan

Vernon “OB” O’Bryan grew up fishing in Pompano Beach, Florida. He began his fishing career working as a mate for Captain Allen Fields, where he fished alongside legendary tuna anglers like Pat and Fred Stone, Joe Mott, Allen Merritt, and others. In 1978 he traveled to Red Hook, St. Thomas, with Captain Arty Trager on the Sly Fox, where they won the USVI Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament. O’Bryan began fishing Cozumel, St. Thomas and Venezuela in the 1980s, where he became a vocal proponent for tag-and-release fishing for marlin. He spent 10 years working on the Knightlines where, in 1985, he would catch 510 billfish in 46 days including 16 IGFA Billfish Grand Slams. During his career, O’Bryan would fish beside some of the best anglers and crew of all-time including Stewart Campbell, Barkey Garnsey, and Peter B. Wright.

Captain Tom Jones

While sailing the 65-foot sloop Miraamy along the Jersey coast in 1909, Tom Jones conceived the idea of fishing for the “horse mackerel” – bluefin tuna -that were too large and powerful for most of the tackle of the day. Several years later, he brought the first bluefin tuna to the Beach Haven Yacht Club dock. Jones was the key figure in developing tackle and trolling techniques on the Atlantic coast of the United States and, by 1922, was regularly catching bluefin tuna from the abundant schools on the Barnegat Ridge, some 20-25 miles from the Little Egg Inlet. IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame inductee, John Rybovich has also credited Jones as one of the early pioneers in Florida’s sailfish fishery. Jones fished out of Beach Haven, New Jersey; Palm Beach, Florida; and Bimini, Bahamas for over 50 years and was one of the first fishing captains in the United States to relocate his boat with the seasons to fish year-round.

Ansil Saunders

Ansil Saunders is perhaps Bimini’s most loved and revered bonefish guide. Saunders has been building bonefish skiffs since the age of 15 and is a fifth-generation boat builder in a lineage that goes back to Scotland. Saunders was known as an excellent bonefish guide and captained Jerry Lavenstein to the legendary IGFA All-Tackle World Record for bonefish; a 16-pounder caught in 1971, which still stands today. During his career, he guided a suite of famous individuals including President Richard Nixon and Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. Martin Luther King had a lasting impact on Saunders, and he would later become a member of the Bahamas independence movement, which allowed him to meet England’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Queen of England. Now in his late 80s, he no longer guides for bonefish but still takes people to the Holy Grounds so that they can share the same experience that Dr. Martin Luther King did.

The Tommy Gifford Award

The namesake of the award, Tommy Gifford (1896-1970) is considered one of the most innovative blue water anglers who ever lived, and one of the greatest charter skippers to guide anglers to the world’s most iconic marine game fishes. During his 50-year career, he developed an encyclopedic knowledge of game fish and techniques to catch them, and he served as guide and consultant to some of the most famous names in saltwater angling, including Ernest Hemingway, Michael Lerner, Charlie Lehman, and Van Campen Heilner. He never lost his zest for the sea or his awe at the creatures beneath the waves. Raymond Camp wrote, “Big game angling has a brief history, but Tommy Gifford’s name is sharply etched on every page.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

    Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, General News, News, People, Press Releases Tagged With: awards, IGFA, International Game Fish Association, Tommy Gifford Award Honorees

    Recent News

    Builder’s Choice Repeats as Marina Casa de Campo Open Champion

    Builder’s Choice, a 64-foot Jarrett Bay, hasn’t fished the Marina Casa de Campo Open for two years, but the team never missed a beat. The boat led the field of 14 boats from the start to win the 2023 Marina Casa de Campo Open, which concluded last wee … [Read More...]

    Mission and Purpose

    By Ken Kreisler “To be or not to be.” While this well-known Shakespearean quote is not associated with the boating experience, if we filter it through our marine sensibilities, it just might be coaxed into reading this way: Walkaround, express or con … [Read More...]

    2023 Chub Cay Classic Won by Following Seas

    Following Seas, a 58-foot Viking run by Capt. Charlie Vanderbeck, claimed top honors at the 2023 Chub Cay Classic billfish tournament. The third annual event was held March 9-11 at the Chub Cay Resort and Marina. Following Seas released a blue and … [Read More...]

    Weathering the Storm

    While nasty conditions offshore are generally unpleasant for anyone on any vessel, offshore fishing on an outboard-powered center console typically means that the captain and crew will be more exposed to the wind and seas than the crew of a larger … [Read More...]

    Massive Sargassum Weed Line Approaches Florida

    If you’ve ever headed offshore in search of dolphin under patches or lines of sargassum weed, you know the weed can be difficult to find at times. That seems to happen every time I fish a dolphin tournament at least! But all that may soon change. … [Read More...]

    Leave a Reply

    Connect With InTheBite

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Subscribe to InTheBite Magazine Today!

    InTheBite current cover image

    Our latest issue is hitting the docks now! Be sure to subscribe to the hottest bluewater mag on the market. Purchase or Subscribe »

    InTheBite Champion’s Cup

    InTheBite Champions Cup Logo

    New for 2022, the Champion’s Cup is an optional paid entry with a winner-takes-all prize format for teams who want to up the stakes in each division utilizing our longstanding tournament scoring formula.

    Captain of the Year Cup Standings

    COTY / ITB Cup Logo

    News

    • Builder’s Choice Repeats as Marina Casa de Campo Open Champion

      Builder’s Choice Repeats as Marina Casa de Campo Open Champion

      Builder’s Choice, a 64-foot Jarrett Bay, hasn’t fished the Marina Casa de Campo Open for two years, but the team never missed a beat. The boat led the field of 14 boats from the start to win the 2023 Marina Casa de Campo Open, which concluded last weekend in the Dominican Republic. With Capt. Brent Gaskill at the helm, the... [Read More...]

    • 2023 Chub Cay Classic Won by Following Seas

      2023 Chub Cay Classic Won by Following Seas

      Following Seas, a 58-foot Viking run by Capt. Charlie Vanderbeck, claimed top honors at the 2023 Chub Cay Classic billfish tournament. The third annual event was held March 9-11 at the Chub Cay Resort and Marina. Following Seas released a blue and white marlin to earn 700 points to top the field. Under the all-billfish release format, blue marlin scored... [Read More...]

    • Massive Sargassum Weed Line Approaches Florida

      Massive Sargassum Weed Line Approaches Florida

      If you’ve ever headed offshore in search of dolphin under patches or lines of sargassum weed, you know the weed can be difficult to find at times. That seems to happen every time I fish a dolphin tournament at least! But all that may soon change. Sargassum, an algae that’s commonly mislabeled as a “weed,” is headed toward the U.S.... [Read More...]

    • InTheBite Hires Industry Veteran John Brownlee as Editor-in-Chief

      InTheBite Hires Industry Veteran John Brownlee as Editor-in-Chief

      Dale Wills, Founder and President of InTheBite, has announced the hiring of marine industry veteran, John Brownlee, as ITB’s new Editor-in-Chief. “Under Brownlee’s leadership in editorial and digital media, his intelligent perspectives and vast industry knowledge will move the brand forward with his long list of proven skill sets,” Wills said. “It’s only fitting as we move past our 20th... [Read More...]

    • Proposed 10-Knot Restrictions

      Proposed 10-Knot Restrictions

      It’s Not Over! The Viking Yacht Company and the marine industry’s grassroots campaign to stop the advancement of a proposed 10-knot restriction along the Eastern Seaboard continues into 2023. And now, thanks to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), we have a tool at our disposal that makes it super easy to make your voice heard. In one click, send a pre-written letter... [Read More...]

    Search InTheBite

    Copyright © 2023 InTheBite, LLC · All Rights Reserved.