Photo courtesy Will Drost
By Ric Burnley
When I was young, my father gave me some great advice: “Let the tool do the work.” I was probably yanking on a hook with my pliers or trying to hack up bait with scissors when Dad gripped my wrist, looked in my eyes, and told me to stop fighting my tools. Since then, I’ve been a tool geek.
MGCBC
Photo: Teddy Hoogs
Capt. Keith Robinson and the Sea Genie II team won largest marlin at the 2022 Lazy Marlin Hunt with their blue weighing in at 942.5 pounds.
2022 Sailfish Challenge—In standard fashion, the 2022 Sailfish Challenge saw teams battling on both ends of the 100-mile boundary for the chance to grab the ‘W’ at the second leg of the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series. 56 teams turned out to compete for a $583,700 purse. Contender boats had the hot hand on Day 1 with team On Sail, on their 39ST, trading places at the top of the leader board multiple times with team Contender One, on their Yamaha powered 44ST. Fishing off of North Palm Beach, On Sail held the lead with 12 releases with only 45 minutes before lines out.
Goombay Smash/Remix tied up at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island after a champagne celebration of the tournament victory. Leonard Bryant Photography
Silver Sailfish Derby, Thursday, Jan. 2022—Eager anglers charge sailfish season as soon as they can feel it in the air. Preparation for the Silver Sailfish Derby starts well before the week of tournament as crews aim to dial in all the details that could make or break their chance to become a part of the storied 4-line tournament history. The Derby celebrated its 85th year with a sold out 50 boat fleet in early January.
Endless Imagery Photography
Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, 2021 Dust’Em Off Sailfish Warmup—Last week marked the kick-off of the 2021 South Florida sailfish season with the Dust’Em Off Sailfish Warmup kicking off the eighth year with a record 56 teams competing from South Miami through Jupiter (up & down Floridas’ Atlantic Coast).
Although eight teams took home large checks and trophies and the tournament beneficiary, Mahogany Youth Corp, will receive a check for $10,000 raised in the charity Calcutta division where 100 percent of funds are donated to the organization. Tournament Founder, Captain Ben Sharpe, is a product of Mahogany Youth and knows first hand how important having healthy mentors and self esteem, skill building organizations can be, especially for underprivileged youth. Ben joined at age 14 and now has a long-standing career as a successful Captain.
By Kevin Deerman
Most of the tournaments in the Gulf of Mexico are won catching one big fish. Boats set up to handle a dozen or more live tuna with high-velocity pumps often head straight offshore. However, dredge fishing for release numbers dominated our tournaments in Texas this summer as the inshore bite remained strong throughout the season.
What does billfish conservation mean? Days like these…The Blue Bird with a banner blue marlin day in the DR, the Rebel flying a pile of white marlin flags in Virginia Beach, and the Main One with evidence of 70 sailfish releases in the Florida Keys.
Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter
By Mark B. Hatter
“We know more about the moon than we know about the habits of billfish.”
Brad Philipps, captain, owner and operator of the charter boat Decisive and Guatemala Billfishing Adventures, introspectively remarked as we sipped whisky and smoked Cuban cigars on the rooftop of his Casa Philipps in Antigua, in January of 2020. It had been a VERY slow week, yet under the uncharacteristic circumstances, we raised and released more sailfish using fly tackle than any other boat in the fleet.
So, I am not so sure about Philipp’s moon and billfish remark.
It’s not too late to shop for DAD! We’re offering our Father’s Day Special- 2 for 1 subscriptions. Our latest June issue is hitting the docks now. Everybody loves fishing with Dad. Give him a year’s subscription on us! Happy Father’s Day from InTheBite.
