
Photo courtesy Endless Imagery
First Place: Native Son, Capt. Art Sapp
Second Place: Weez in the Keyz, Capt. Chris Zielinski
Third Place: The Edge,
Photo courtesy Endless Imagery
First Place: Native Son, Capt. Art Sapp
Second Place: Weez in the Keyz, Capt. Chris Zielinski
Third Place: The Edge,
KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — Team Seraphim of Ocean Reef, led by Captain Jerry Pohl of Miami, Florida, tallied 12 sailfish releases to take top honors at the two-day Billfish Championship, a main event of the Jimmy Johnson Fishing Championship Week that ended March 9 in the Florida Keys.
The Seraphim team earned $405,000 in overall prize money for the victory, as well as authentic, custom-designed Jimmy Johnson’s NBC Championship rings for each team member. [Read more…]
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/
February 1, 2016
2015 Contender Florida Division Captain of the Year Cup Award Presentation
On Wednesday, January 27th InTheBite presented the 2015 Contender Florida Division of the Captain of the Year Cup to Captain Jim Mulcahy, BAR South. Team owner Rob Gothier, and the remainder of Team BAR South, were on hand for the presentation, which took place during Sailfish 400 Captain’s Meeting. The title provided a fitting finale to a great year for the team.
“It’s a great privilege to be recognized with this award. I owe it all to my team, I just drive the bus. To be recognized with all the other captains who have won this award is an honor and privilege,” said Mulcahy upon receiving the award. 2015 was an incredible year for Captain Jim and his team. The Ocean Reef-based team took top honors in the tightly contested Florida Division of the Captain of the Year Cup, edging the field with 850 points. Three other captains finished the year with 800 points, making the Florida Division one of the most tightly contested races in the history of the award.
46 Teams Competing
Day 2 Final Results: 1st Bar South 12, 2nd- Swagger 12, 3rd-One Up 11 sailfish
Day 1 Results: 1st- Miss Annie 7, 2nd- Kimbuktu 7, 3rd- One Up 6 sailfish releases [Read more…]