Contender Florida Division

Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant
Photo courtesy Endless Imagery
Capt. Jamie Ralph won the 2017 Final Sail and placed 3rd in the Silver Sailfish Derby.
Capt. Jon Brooks and the Ditch Digger team holding up the prestigious Gold Cup in 2017
Aces wins 2017 Sailfish 400
Miss Britt Contender 2017 1st Place Sailfish Challenge
Capt. Wink Doerzbacher. COTY 2013, Florida COTY 2014. Showtime!
Capt. Glenn Cameron and his mate.
COTY Travis Butters, master of the smoked pig.
Capt. Jim Mulcahy, Florida COTY 2015. Bar South.

Showtime -Photo courtesy Endless Imagery

Captain of the Year Home

2021 Standings:

Capt. Nick Carullo // Priceless/Showtime/Remix // 1350 Points

Silver Sailfish Derby, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.
Operation Sailfish, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Final Sail, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.
Quest for the Crest Series Champion, 250 Pts.

Capt. Ryan Alexander // Hell Reyzer // 900 Points

Islamorada Fishing Club’s Sailfish Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.
Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Art Sapp // Native Son // 800 Points

Sailfish Challenge, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Charlie Scoble // Tackle Center // 750 Points

Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Florida Keys Gold Series Champion, 250 Pts.

Capt. Matt Bierley // Miss Texas // 600 Points

Silver Sailfish Derby, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Invitational Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Kevin Paul // Waterman // 500 Points

Pelican Yacht Club, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Bill Davis // Canyon Lady // 500 Points

Invitational Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Stetson Turney // Catch 23 // 500 Points

Buccaneer Cup, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Luis Isaias // Jichi // 500 Points

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Jorge Sanchez // Priceless // 500 Points

Final Sail, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Christian Springsteen // Dakeri // 300 Points

Pelican Yacht Club, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Jon Brooks // Ditch Digger // 300 Points

Invitational Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Trey Claus // Team HMY // 300 Points

Operation Sailfish, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. KJ Zeher // De-Bait-Able // 300 Points

Buccaneer Cup, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. KC Spaulding // Caribsea // 300 Points

Islamorada Fishing Club’s Sailfish Tournament, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. Chris Zielinski // Weez in the Keys // 300 Points

Sailfish Challenge, 2nd Place, 300 Pts.

Capt. James Hagen // Yabba Dabba Doo //200 Points

Islamorada Fishing Club’s Sailfish Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.
Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. John Dudas // Sandman // 200 Points

Buccaneer Cup, 3rd Place, 100 Pts
Final Sail, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Hans Kraaz, Jr. // Vintage // 100 Points

Pelican Yacht Club Invitational, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Mark Lamb // Doing It All/Hardway // 100 Points

Silver Sailfish Derby, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Paul Sabayrac // Goin’ Raptor // 100 Points

Operation Sailfish, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

Capt. Jason Robinson // The Edge // 100 Points

Sailfish Challenge, 3rd Place, 100 Pts.

2020 Contender Florida Division Captain of the Year

Photo courtesy JJFISHWEEK/Lalan Productions

CAPT. JOHN DUDAS, Sandman, 1,000 points

Buccaneer Cup, 1st Place – 500 pts.
Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring, 1st Place – 500 pts.

The eldest son of a legendary captain who dominated south Florida’s tournament scene, John Dudas is in contention of winning every tournament he enters. He’s a true professional in every sense of the word and is only the second captain to win the Cup four times. “We were cold in a couple of tournaments that we didn’t do a whole bunch in, but in the Buccaneer Cup and Jimmy Johnson tournament we did really well. I put that on our crew. First of all, our boss Sandra MacMillan, who lets us do all this stuff, is a great angler. She’s really involved with everything and makes it a lot of fun. We’re lucky to be with an owner who fishes as hard as we do. She loves it and understands what it takes,” Dudas says.

During the Buccaneer Cup the majority of the fleet decided to fish on day one and then lay on Friday since it was forecasted to rain all day. The trolling boats were atop the leaderboard, though one can never count out Sandman. “The third day we were in an area where we were constantly picking off fish. Our crew was able to capitalize on it all and they did an awesome job.” In typical sailfish tournament fashion, first and second place were decided in the final minutes. When all was said and done, Dudas and crew tallied 2,800 points for 14 releases on live bait. This team has been a part of many stunning last-second wins and at the Jimmy Johnson Quest for the Ring tournament, which Sandman won in 2018, competitors scoured an expanded boundary from Palm Beach to Islamorada. Even when things don’t go as planned, winning teams know there’s always a chance until lines out is called.

“The first day of the Jimmy Johnson we fished right off Boynton Beach. I think we were 11 for 13. Tied with the De-Bait-Able but they were ahead of us on time. The second day was deadly slow for us. We watched boats catch fish all around us and we couldn’t buy a bite. Then we heard a bite forming in Miami. Some people picked up and ran, and we had such good fishing the day before and there were fish being caught all around us, so we waited it out off Boynton.” Sandra released the team’s only sailfish at 12:40:34 pm. “We only caught one fish that day, but lucky enough that fish pulled it out and won the tournament for us. It was a nail-biter really, the first day we had so much activity we were really hoping for a big day the second day. We stayed patient and everyone hung in there. We finally caught one fish. And we lost one in the last 10 minutes.”

Literally as close as it gets, the winning team was decided by 26 seconds, with De-Bait-Able calling in their 12th release at 12:41 pm. Dudas credits the program’s success to the close relationships of those who fish together. Working the cockpit are Domi Adams, Alex Castellanos, Jeffrey Liederman, Ryan Montesino, Robbie Waddick and Robbie Ramirez, who was named top master angler at the Jimmy Johnson. Sandra released three sails to earn the tournament’s top female honors for the second consecutive year.

“Really, the Jimmy Johnson tournament is the last time we fished. Everything is up in the air right now with covid. We’ve been working really hard catching live bait and have all of our pens full, so we’re all prepared. With our crew, we have one that’s a nurse and one is a firefighter, so it’s about limiting exposure being around other people. Sandra is still concerned, and she wants to fish, but she just wants to feel comfortable and safe with it. When that happens, we’ll be ready to roll again.”

Past Winners:

2020 Capt. John Dudas // Sandman // 1000 Points
2019 Capt. Nick Carullo // Showtime // 1250 Pts.
2018 Capt. John Dudas // Sandman // 1200 Pts.
2017 Capt. Glenn Cameron // Floridian // 1100 Pts
2016 Capt. Scott Fawcett // Off the Chain (Trust Me Too/Martha D) // 1300 Points
2015 Capt. Jim Mulcahy // BAR South // 850 Pts.
2014 Capt. Wink Doerzbacher //Showtime! // 1950 Pts.