InTheBite

“Reel Addiction” with 796.9lb Blue Marlin to Win Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic

By

Reel Addiction Wins the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic with 796.9-Pound Blue Marlin

After a pursuit lasting more than a decade, Team Reel Addiction finally topped the field of 117 boats to win the 2018 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. Angler Chase Pate of Pensacola, Florida, Capt. Scooter Porto, owners Rocky and Laurie Jones, and mates Zach Taylor, Seth Brennan and Nate Dennis boated a 796.9-pound blue marlin after a 30-minute fight Saturday morning. The largest marlin of the week earned the team $405,705 for the top tournament award and optional entries. The overall tournament prize money was nearly $2.2 million.

“Winning this one was on my bucket list,” Rocky Jones explained before Sunday’s awards breakfast. “We won top release boat 12 years ago and I’ve been trying to win the whole shooting match ever since. We finally did it!” Reel Addiction, a 56 Viking and regular on the Gulf big-game circuit, is based in Pensacola Beach. With the win, the team also earned an invitation to compete in the 2019 Offshore World Championship in Quepos, Costa Rica.

Team Supreme, with anglers Alex Krake, Chris Howell and Capt. Chase Lake, didn’t go home empty-handed, even though their Friday night marlin weighed 739.1 pounds. The 76 Viking from Destin went back out and caught a 156.6-pound yellowfin to boost the overall winnings to $313,115 for the second-place tournament award and optionals.

Pearl took the third-place tournament award and pocketed $122,970. Angler Edgar McKee and Capt. Shawnie Clemons and the team aboard the 48 Viking based in Orange Beach boated a 611.5-pound blue to earn that payout.

The Catch and Release Division was close and final standings were determined by time of catch. Relentless Pursuit (Capt. Robbie Doggett), was the overall winner with 1,800 points (three blue releases), earning a check of $265,050. The 95 Jim Smith calls New Orleans home. Done Deal (Capt. Jason Buck) came in second in the division, also with 1,800 points. Angler Katie Gonsoulin took top Lady Angler honors and the team won $133.830. Money Shot (Capt. Dale Bergeron) was the third-place release team with 1,200 points, good for a $12,000 payday. A Work of Art, Born2Run and Wynsong also won optional money in the release division. Ryan Cooper, fishing on CE, was named the top junior angler based on his two white marlin releases.

Angler Robeau Whibbs and the family/friends team aboard Swee Pea, a 50 Topaz from Pensacola, captured the top tuna. Their yellowfin weighed 182.3 pounds, good for $24,000. No tuna topped the current Mississippi record of 205.8 pounds, so the special $500,000 bonus went unclaimed. Bennie Goldman and his team on Reelentless, a 37 Freeman from Dauphin Island, took second place tuna honors with a 172.8 yellowfin. That fish was worth $139,725 in category and optional money. Fourteen-year-old Sawyer York, competing aboard First Choice, a 60 Hatteras based in New Orleans, whipped a 166.3-pound yellowfin tuna to earn his team $90,585 in prize money. Triple Threat also won optional prize money for its 159.2 tuna.

Anthony Stauffer (Hayride) boated the largest swordfish, a 144.1 broadbill, good for $39,600 in tournament and optional money. Matt Carpenter, on Long Straw, was second with a 125.2-pounder ($20,160), followed by Anthony Lopez on Titan Up (123.5 pounds/$26,940).

Johnny Moore, fishing aboard Alma-Ann, a 48 Cabo (Capt. Nick Jones), made MGCBC tournament history when he finally landed the new record dolphin after a two-hour waiting game. The 57.2-pound bull earned the team $66,750. Kevin Berry, on Deadline, a 52 Viking, was second with a fishing weighing 45.2 pounds ($18,000), while Michael Burroughs whipped a 44.6-pound dolphin for Team Quicktime ($37,650). Amnesia, Big Torch, Heads N Tails and Questionable Judgement also took home optional prize money for their dolphin.

The wahoo this year didn’t quite meet normal Classic averages but were respectable fish nonetheless and earned nice payouts. Lined Out and Jeff Dees caught the largest, 61.4 pounds, good for $48,300. Seament’s Doug Lake was second with a 48.5 wahoo ($37,125) and Neal Foster, betting heavily on Team Intensity, took home $82,425 for three entries in the optional categories.

“We had great weather and some exceptional fish brought to the scales this week,” said Tournament Director Bobby Carter. “I’d like to congratulate our champion Reel Addiction and thank all the teams, our wonderful sponsors and my staff for making this 22nd annual event so special. We hope you’ll join us again next year from June 3-9, 2019.”

The Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel was this year’s tournament host. High Roller sponsors included the City of Biloxi, Release Marine, Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast, Gorenflo’s Tackle and Marina Store and Yeti Coolers.

Team “Wynsong” Wins 2018 Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic

By

Wynsong, 66’ Viking, takes the Hardware!

The 14th Annual Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic, presented by H&E Equipment Services, the second leg of The Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship, is now in the record books. With a fleet of 46 boats, ranging in length from 32′ to 95′, our participants fished for a total purse of $662,400.00, plus trophies and prizes.

Our festivities started Tuesday evening, May 29, with our Dock Party, sponsored by our host facility, Cypress Cove Lodge & Marina. Everyone enjoyed the boiled shrimp, smoked pork, and of course, the bread pudding. A good time was had by all. Wednesday, May 30, was our official Registration Day, Captains Meeting, and Kick-Off Party. As usual, we were slammed with last minute arrivals of boats due to the weather that came in over the Memorial Day weekend. Acme Oyster House lived up to their reputation at our Kick-Off Party, sponsored by our friends at Le Beouf Towing, with seafood pasta, oyster bar, fried fish and all the trimmings. Thank you Acme and LeBeouf Towing!

Thursday, May 31, started a little slow (as a result of too much fun Wednesday night maybe?). Optional entries closed at 11:00 am with a total purse of $662,400.00. Father Gerry Stapleton from St. Patrick’s Cathedral of Port Sulphur, Louisiana visited to continue our tradition of the Blessing of the Fleet. At 1:00 pm, boats departed for the river, the rip, rigs, Mississippi Canyon and Green Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico, led by Chasin Tail an 80′ Weaver, with owner John Engquist of H&E Equipment Services and Captain Clayt James and crew.

The phones started ringing early Thursday afternoon with Carrie Gerber-Collins, fishing on the 64’ Tribute, Cut N Run, calling in a White Marlin release at 4:38 pm. This was followed quickly by Jr. Angler, Ryan Cooper, age 15, fishing with his dad Scott Cooper on their 37’ Freeman catamaran, Triple C, calling in a Blue Marlin release at 5:55 pm. Maybe the bite was going to be good. Next, owner/angler John Engquist, of H&E Equipment Services, our Presenting Sponsor, fishing on his 80’ Weaver, Chasin Tail, with Captain Clayt James calling in a Blue Marlin release at 6:25 pm.

Friday, June 1, our phones started ringing at 8:13 am, with Team Reel Addiction, Rocky Jones’ 56’ Viking, with Captain Scooter Porto reporting a 111” Blue Marlin in the cockpit for angler Tyler Massey, and heading to the scales. When they weighed in at Cypress Cove Marina, it tipped the scales at 545 lbs. Then, the phones started blowing up with 18 more Blue Marlin releases, including Captain Robbie Doggett on the 95’ Jim Smith, Relentless Pursuit, with owner Dennis Pasentine having 3 Blue Marlin releases and multiple boats with 2 releases. Also, Second Wind, a 68’ Viking with Captain Marlin Brown and owner Mitch Jurisitch calling in a boated 110” Blue Marlin for angler David Schaefer heading to the scales. Second Wind’s Blue Marlin weighed in at 488.9 lbs. At 6:30 pm, A Work of Art, a 92’ Viking with owner Art Favre and Captain Ron Woodruff called in a 117” Blue Marlin for angler Kevin Courville, but they chose to stay out fishing and come in on Saturday. When A Work of Art came in, their Blue Marlin weighed in at 521.3 lbs.

Saturday, June 2, started out a little slow until the 66’ Viking, Wynsong, owned by Will Wilson with Captain Allen Staples calling in a hook up for angler Zach Tokheim. All they could say is it a BIG one. 5 ½ hours later, Wynsong, reported a really fat 117” Blue Marlin in the cockpit! During Saturday, the 70’ Viking, Done Deal, with sponsor/owner Jon Gonsoulin and Captain Jason Buck had called in 2 Blue Marlin releases for Jon’s daughter, Katie Gonsoulin (another gold cap special). Wynsong backed in and their Blue Marlin weighed in at 699.3 lbs to take over 1st Place, putting Reel Addiction in 2nd Place at 545 lbs, with A Work of Art coming in with 3rd Place at 521.3 lbs. in our Blue Marlin Division.

Wynsong 1st Place Blue Marlin 699.3 lbs $90,450.00
Reel Addiction 2nd Place Blue Marlin 545 lbs $46,170.00
A Work of Art 3rd Place Blue Marlin 521.3 lbs $119,520.00

Our Release Division, sponsored by Release Marine, ended with the following standings and all winners receiving custom inlayed step boxes from Release Marine:

Relentless Pursuit 1st Place 1500 points $105,300.00
Wynsong 2nd Place Release 1500 points $40,230.00
Chasin Tail 3rd Place Release 1000 points $49,770.00

Our Dolphin Division saw some nice Dolphin weighed in for this early in the season with the following standings:

Money Shot owner/angler Ross Sampey 1st Place at 44.9 lbs $5,175.00
Snafu angler Bart Barre 2nd Place at 39.7 lbs $3,105.00
Carib owner/angler Larry Wireman 3rd Place at 38.0 lbs $2,070.00

Our Tuna Division ended with the following standings, with Wynsong again in the money:

Wynsong angler Pickett Reese   1st Place at 156.4 lbs  $27,000.00

Relentless Pursuit angler Mike Akiu    2nd Place at 115.0 lbs  $58,770.00

2×4 angler Chris Scott 3rd Place at 94.7 lbs  $2,520.00

Triple C Youth Angler Ryan Cooper 1st Place at 40.3 lbs $8,595.00
Crawgator angler JD Dugas 2nd Place at 32.6 lbs $2,565.00
Crawgator angler Mike Butler 3rd Place at 28.7 lbs $1,710.00

Our Top Billfish Boat Award, the Bob Potter Memorial Award went to Team Wynsong with 3 Blue Marlin releases and a 699.3 lb Blue Marlin for 2199.3 points. With the Top Billfish Boat Award came an invitation to fish the Offshore World Championship in 2018 in Quepos, Costa Rica, produced by Marlin Magazine and Bonnier Corporation. Top Captain and Top Mate trophies, in Memory of Benny Collins, were presented to Captain Allen Staples and Mate Caleb Brown of the Wynsong. Congratulations goes to Team Wynsong taking 1st Place Blue Marlin, 2nd Place Release, 1st Place Tuna, Top Billfish Boat, along with Top Captain and Top Mate prizes, winning them a total of $157,680.00.

Our Top Money Boat was Relentless Pursuit, taking 1st Place Release, and multiple Tuna jackpots for a total purse of $164,070.00.

Our Top Female Angler Award, sponsored by The Roosevelt Hotel of New Orleans, went to Katie Gonsoulin, fishing with her dad, Jon Gonsoulin on their 70’ Viking, Done Deal, with 2 Blue Marlin releases for a total of 1,000 points.

Our Top Youth Angler Trophy, in Memory of Jim Peachey, was awarded to 15 year old Ryan Cooper, fishing with his dad Scott Cooper on their 37’ Freeman, Triple C. Ryan had a Blue Marlin release, a White Marlin release, and 1st Place Wahoo at 40.3 lbs, along with a 33.9 lb Dolphin.

All our winning Captains received Mustad gift bags with loads of prizes from Costa Sunglasses, Professional Sports Shop, comefishla.com, Squidnation, CAZA Offshore, and the Billfish Foundation. Our 1st Place winners, along with Top Female Angler, Top Youth Angler, also received custom remarked prints from our Official Artist Steve Goione, gorgeous custom logo Orca Coolers, in addition to their Mustad and Costa gift bags. Our Top Captain and Top Mate also received custom logo Orca Coolers, in addition to their Mustad and Costa prize bags.

Saturday evening, Acme Oyster House put out their spread again of wonderful Cajun food and desserts, hosted by our friends at Florida Marine Transporters. Thank you Acme and Florida Marine Transporters!

Sunday morning, our Awards Breakfast was hosted by our Presenting Sponsor H&E Equipment Services with food by Cypress Cove Grill–thank you Charlotte and Rene!

1st Place Blue Marlin Wynsong

Top Billfish Boat Wynsong

Top Captain and Top Mate Wynsong

1st Place Release Relentless Pursuit

Our fleet had a good bite with 26 Blue Marlin releases, 4 White Marlin releases and 2 Sailfish Releases, with 4 boated Blue Marlin.

We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors, new and old participants, and the staff of both Cypress Cove Marina & Lodge and Venice Marina along with our tournament staff for a wonderful week in southern Plaquemines Parish! See you in Venice next year or trolling the rip. Thank goodness Tropical Depression Alberto went East! Best of luck to everyone fishing the Gulf of Mexico tournament circuit this summer!

Thanks everyone,

Steve Thomas Tournament Director

2017 East Coast Captain of the Year Award Presented to Captain Chucky Moore

By

Photo courtesy of Cameron Rhodes

InTheBite joined forces with Hatteras Yachts’ Captain Jeff Donahue and Rob Everton to present the 2017 East Coast Captain of the Year Award to Capt. Chucky Moore. The presentation took place at the awards ceremony of the 2018 Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament at the Georgetown Landing Marina in South Carolina. Part of the South Carolina Governor’s Cup, the tournament was a great event full of history.

Captain Chucky Moore won the 2017 Captain of the Year Award at the helm of the Gryphon, a 60’ Hatteras, based out of Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Joining Moore in taking home hardware were Mates of the Year Bryce Bell and Mark McDevitt. A full write up of Moore’s award-winning 2017 season may be found here.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Rhodes

The Captain of the Year Cup Presented by Hatteras is the Championship of Sportfishing. Consisting of five divisions and more than 90-sanctioned events around the world, the Cup awards captains for placing first, second or third in tournaments. The East Coast Division consists of 17 events ranging from South Carolina through New Jersey. Captain Chucky Moore and the Gryphon finished with 1,050 points to edge out 2016 winner Captain Harvey Shiflet aboard the Anticipation.

Congratulations to Moore, Bell and McDevitt. For more on the Captain of the Year Cup presented by Hatteras or for up to date standings, please visit inthebite.com.

Photo courtesy of Cameron Rhodes

2017 Captain of the Year Jason Buck: Takes the W at Orange Beach Billfish Classic

By

Congratulations to Captain Jason Buck & the Done Deal team for winning the 2017 Captain of the Year Gulf Division AND for coming out on top for the Orange Beach Billfish Classic tournament over the weekend! Special thanks to tournament director, Johnny Dorlane, for presenting the award.

Final Results from Captain of the Year Sanctioned Tournaments: May 2018

By

The Hatteras Village Offshore Open, Orange Beach Billfish Classic, and Production vs. Custom Shootout are all InTheBite Sanctioned Tournaments that finished up this past weekend (May 15-20). Here is a look at the final results.. Congratulations to all the winners!

Hatteras Village Offshore Open-

Winner Capt. Bull Tolson on Sea Toy: 1st Place – Levels I, II & IV and total of 800 pts.

Sea Toy’s 690.4 lber. (Photo Courtesy of Nicholas Hamann)

Capt. Bull Tolson and Sea Toy Crew – 1st Place – Levels I, II & IV

Photo Courtesy of Nicholas Hamann

Orange Beach Billfish Classic- 

Winners: Captain Jason Buck and Angler Katie Gonsoulin on the Done Deal with a 740.6lb Blue Marlin.

Captain Jason Buck and Angler Katie Gonsoulin on the Done Deal heading to the scales at the Orange Beach Billfish Classic with their winning 740.6lb Blue Marlin.

Scores and Photo Courtesy from Orange Beach Billfish Classic Facebook Page

Done Deal-Angler Katie Gonsoulin with a 740.6lbs Blue Marlin.

Chasin’ Tail- with 164.6lbs Tuna.

Wynsong -with 110.4lbs Wahoo.

Geaux Time- with 35.4lbs Dolphin.

Production Vs. Custom Shootout-

Winner Capt. Ricky Spikes of Free Spool, a 62′ Viking – With 6 Blue Marlin and total of 2400 pts.

Photo Courtesy of Debra Todd Photography

Big prizes and Payouts in Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout

By

POMPANO BEACH, FL – The 20th Anniversary of the Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout concluded Sunday with a total of 124 teams who competed for a cash purse in excess of $185,000. Big prizes and payouts were abound from the kickoff party through the awards ceremony with a 20th Anniversary celebration for the ages! In addition to chasing fish, they were also chasing golden tickets and the chance to win great prizes and cash from tournament sponsors on a 4-foot ‘Spin-to-Win’ wheel!

(Photo courtesy – Endless Imagery)

Doing It All/Hardway came into the Shootout gunning for the top team title after a 2nd place finish in 2017. They accomplished their goal weighing in a tournament limit of 10 fish that included 4 kings, 4 blackfin tuna and 2 dolphin for a total of 180.9 pounds. The first place finish earned them a $10,000 check and secured the first place points in leg 1 of the race for the Showdown Crown top team of the year title. Doing It All/Hardway also announced at the awards ceremony that they were donating $1,650 of their winnings back to the tournament charity, the Perry J. Cohen Foundation. This gesture earned them a golden ticket for the “Spin-to-Win”wheel where they scored another $100 cash towards their $21,955 payday!!

Gator One placed second in the Shootout with 165.7 pounds led by Top Male Angler, Tanner Easthope.  Their winnings totaled $10,552. Keri-N-On finished third with 136.9 pounds, followed by team Advanced Roofing in fourth with 125.5 points and Fenian in fifth with 119.5 points.  Keri-N-On also won the Non-Pro Division, Show Me The Mahi, and third place dolphin to boost their tournament winnings to $5,000.

Living Water/Shockwave cashed in the largest, single payout by being the only team to secure the three species needed for the KDW jackpot! Their kingfish, dolphin, wahoo haul netted them a payout of over $50,000!  Team Fenian also proved that aggregate weight is not the only way to take home a nice paycheck in the Shootout. With two kingfish weighing 47 pounds and 42.5 pounds, they took a $30,773 check to the bank by winning the Bluewater Challenge, placing 1st and 3rd in the Big Three and kingfish division, plus 5th overall in the tournament, Top 561 SeaVee team, and 2nd in the Non-Pro Division. Team Contagious weighed a stout king as well.  It was the second heaviest fish of the tournament, 45.4 pounds, and bumped them into a number of added value categories worth $14,201.

Barbara Lange from team Slob City was the Top Female Angler with 102.9 points.  Wyatt Lauretano on Cache Money was the Top Pee-Wee Angler with 61.3 points.  Hunter Irvine on Young Guns was the Top Junior Angler for the second year in a row with 48.8 points. He was also the recipient of the Safety First award in partnership with the Perry J. Cohen Foundation and Bass Pro Shops.

The Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Slam is the 2nd leg of the PBSC summer series, which kicks off June 7th-10th. Registration for the Saltwater Slam is currently open at www.saltwaterslam.com The early entry discount deadline is Wednesday, May 23rd.

For a complete list of results from the Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout, visit www.saltwatershootout.com

BAR South Wins Final Sail & Free Bird Sets New Series Record

By

After four legs of hard fought competition, the 2018 Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series wrapped up on April 21st with Final Sail, the grand finale of the series, hosted by Margaritaville Key West Resort & Marina. The festivities began with a kickoff party along the Margaritaville pier featuring live music, open bar and an amazing spread of food.

Heading into the Final Sail, team Free Bird had the lead in the chase for the burgundy jacket with 85 points, followed by Sandman in second with 82 points and Weez in the Keys in third with 76 points. With just one release on Day 1, Free Bird fell behind Sandman and Weez in the Key was able to close the gap.

Photo Courtesy: Endless Imagery

With no substantial change in conditions on Day 2, teams knew that they would have to make every bite count. Team Sir’ Reel came out swinging with a few releases early to claim the early bite and win the daily for $40,350. Sandman backed their Day 1 performance with another second place daily on Day 2. With less than two hours to go on Day 2 and no releases on the board, the burgundy jacket appeared to be slowly slipping away from Free Bird. Battling a zero-wind condition, Captain Nick Carullo made the call to put away the kites and start chasing floppers. It was a call that paid off. They caught a triple off a flopper before lines out to boost the team into the third place spot for the day. More importantly it brought them back within a 1-point margin of team Sandman for the burgundy jacket and the #1 title. In true championship format, it would all come down to the final day.

Photo Courtesy: Endless Imagery

In the midst of the battle between Free Bird and Sandman, team BAR South had quietly moved themselves into striking distance for a Final Sail victory, sitting in third place heading into the final day. Day 3 belonged to Captain Art Sapp and the BAR South crew. They got off to a hot start with five releases in the first half of the day and went on to release one more in the afternoon for a total of 11 releases that would be enough to secure the victory and a $136,835 payday! Contender One battled back from a slow Day 2, releasing four fish on Day 3 to claim second place overall in Final Sail and a check totaling $85,125!

Photo Courtesy: Endless Imagery

Sandman released their first couple of fish on Day 3 and appeared to be on their way to becoming the first 2-time winner of the burgundy jacket. True champions rise to the occasion and that is exactly what team Free Bird did. They answered the call releasing five fish on Day 3 to finish the tournament in fourth place overall with nine releases and season earnings of $224,400. More importantly they sealed their fate as the new #1 sailfishing team in the world with a two-point margin of victory over team Sandman. Free Bird set a new series record scoring 112 points out of a possible 124 in the series. They posted a first place finish and three fourth place finishes, never falling out of the Top 5 in the most competitive billfish tournaments the sport has to offer. Sandman finished the season in second place with total earnings of $312,940 followed by Weez in the Keys in third place with total earnings of $299,150.

Photo Courtesy: Endless Imagery

Combined payouts across all four legs of the series tallied $2.1 million dollars. For a complete list of results for Final Sail visit: https://www.bluewatermovements.com/final_sail_results/

For a complete list of the standings from the Quest for the Crest, visit: https://www.bluewatermovements.com/quest_for_the_crest_point_standings/