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

Maria Magalhaes: Winning Top Angler the Second Year in a Row

April 29, 2022 By InTheBite Digital Editor

Maria Magalhaes

Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

“I had no idea I was going to win,” says Maria Magalhaes, who was named Top Angler Overall for the second year in a row at the 2022 Triple Crown Series. Magalhaes also took home Top Female Angler Overall.

Last year, Magalhaes not only took home the win for the 2021 Top Female Angler but the Signature Triple Crown Top Series Angler Overall, becoming the first woman to claim this achievement. Maria was named top angler for the 2021 Series thanks to catching 18 sails and five marlin for a total of 4,300 points.

This year her win came after catching 12 sails and nine marlin equally 5,700 points.

“That last leg a lot of other boats caught a bunch of marlins,” Magalhaes recalls. “I was fighting for every fish, I don’t give up until the last second. But I was like ‘oh I don’t know if we’ll do it this year.’ I did not expect it.”

Maria Magalhaes

Maria started fishing the tournament only a few years ago, noting that what pushed her to become better is her competitiveness, something, she says she and her husband, Uno Mas Captain Brooks Smith, share. Before this she had only bottom fished lakes with her sister in Brazil. The first time she went offshore fishing just so happened to be in Costa Rica.

“I was introduced into deep sea fishing with Brooks so I probably started in 2017 I just started to go on the boat and watch them fish,” she says. “I caught a few sails but I didn’t actually catch the sail I just reeled it in, I was learning the basics. But it was amazing, I fell in love.”

Maria Magalhaes and brooks smith

Smith, who is an accomplished angler himself, taught Magalhaes how to hold the rod, tease fish and understand how fishing changes depending on the location. And in 2018, Magalhaes was ready to step up her angling game.

“I told him, ‘listen I want to continue coming along but I’m not going to be sitting here on the bench, I want to fish.’ So he took me to Guatemala and we spent a weekend in Casa Vieja and there we caught a bunch of fish. That’s when I felt like, ok, now I can catch my own fish.”

One tournament led to another and as they say, the rest is history.

Maria Magalhaes on uno mas

Maria Magalhaes and Brooks Smith on the Uno Mas.

And while the Uno Mas team doesn’t usually come back to Costa Rica until the next season, that’s changing this year. They’ll be spending some time fishing the coastlines before heading to Bermuda in July and possibly onward to Madeira.

But it’s Costa Rica where Magalhaes says the fishing is different from any other place.

Maria Magalhaes

Maria Magalhaes, (left) was the top overall angler, beating out all other anglers. Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

“My husband says that if you learn to fish in Costa Rica you can fish anywhere because the fish are sneaky, sometimes they just take little bites of your bait, sometime they take your whole bait,” Magalhaes explains. “You’ve got to have very sensitive fingers in order to feel the fish. We’ve had many anglers in the boat that have fished everywhere else but when they’re in Costa Rica they feel like they’ve got to relearn how to fish. It teaches you a lot.”

As for sportfishing in general, Magalhaes shares a sentiment that most anglers can probably agree with.

“That adrenaline when you catch a fish…it’s amazing.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

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

    Filed Under: Crew, Featured Stories, Fishing, People Tagged With: Costa Rica fishing, female angler, Maria Magalhaes, triple crown series, Uno Mas

    Recent News

    Last Day Marlin Wins World Record Payout … Again

    For the second year in a row, the last white marlin weighed netted a world record purse. In 2021, Sushi out of Ocean City, MD, took the top white marlin at the last minute and at the time collected (a then world record payout) of $3,200,000 for … [Read More...]

    The CY55 on the water.

    CY55 Debuts From Composite Yacht

    The new Composite Yacht CY55 reaches a top speed of 54.9 knots, a speed potentially not yet seen by conventionally driven diesel sportfishing boats. Lou Codega and Associates had this goal in mind when they designed this high-performance hull. To … [Read More...]

    A dock at night lit by the light from a ship's tower.

    The 24-Hour First Mate: Boat Monitoring Technology

    By Steve Katz Don’t you wish you had a mate who could work 24 hours a day without tiring, in all conditions, checking on the boat and all its systems, for little pay? Well, with today’s advanced electronic remote boat monitoring and managing sys … [Read More...]

    Scania-Powered Blackwell Boatworks’ New 50 XL

    Blackwell Boatworks' new 50 XL features a pair of Scania DI13 304M 900 HP engines, to be commissioned by Scania Dealer, Down Jersey Marine Services in Greenwich, New Jersey.  UNPARALLELED OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE 98% PARTS AVAILABILITY 98% parts … [Read More...]

    The unfinished hull of the Lunatico.

    Splash Report: Lunatico

    Titan Yachts’ latest endeavor, the 63-foot Lunatico, charged straight out of the marina like a blue marlin chasing a livey from the moment it touched the water. Jokingly referred to as the “Splash and Go,” the Lunatico set out for the Bahamas two days … [Read More...]

    Leave a Reply

    Connect With InTheBite

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Subscribe to InTheBite Magazine Today!

    InTheBite Magazine Current Issue Cover

    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

    • Last Day Marlin Wins World Record Payout … Again

      Last Day Marlin Wins World Record Payout … Again

      For the second year in a row, the last white marlin weighed netted a world record purse. In 2021, Sushi out of Ocean City, MD, took the top white marlin at the last minute and at the time collected (a then world record payout) of $3,200,000 for catching a fish. That record payout lasted just 10 months when angler Matthew... [Read More...]

    • CY55 Debuts From Composite Yacht

      CY55 Debuts From Composite Yacht

      The new Composite Yacht CY55 reaches a top speed of 54.9 knots, a speed potentially not yet seen by conventionally driven diesel sportfishing boats. Lou Codega and Associates had this goal in mind when they designed this high-performance hull. To endure the loads a boat of this size and weight must support at these speeds, the vessel has a carbon... [Read More...]

    • The 24-Hour First Mate: Boat Monitoring Technology

      The 24-Hour First Mate: Boat Monitoring Technology

      By Steve Katz Don’t you wish you had a mate who could work 24 hours a day without tiring, in all conditions, checking on the boat and all its systems, for little pay? Well, with today’s advanced electronic remote boat monitoring and managing systems, you can have all of this and more, and let your mate get back to rigging... [Read More...]

    • Splash Report: Lunatico

      Splash Report: Lunatico

      Titan Yachts’ latest endeavor, the 63-foot Lunatico, charged straight out of the marina like a blue marlin chasing a livey from the moment it touched the water. Jokingly referred to as the “Splash and Go,” the Lunatico set out for the Bahamas two days after it splashed. In a hurry to make it to Marsh Harbour to participate in Skip’s... [Read More...]

    • Tackle Tips: DIY Outrigger Tune Up

      Tackle Tips: DIY Outrigger Tune Up

      By Dale Wills Coastal Riggings President Brendon Ziemba, along with his brother Preston, have been specializing in outrigger installation, repair and maintenance for 25 years. Before watching Brendon get into his work, I had no idea an outrigger could be broken down into so many different parts. Watching them disassemble, service and reassemble a pair of 3-spreader outriggers was an... [Read More...]

    Search InTheBite

    Copyright © 2022 InTheBite, LLC · All Rights Reserved.