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Lo Que Sea Takes the Win at 2022 Buc Cup

February 1, 2022 By InTheBite Digital Editor

Buccaneer Cup, Feb. 1, 2022—The battle between live and dead bait came down to just one fish in the 59th annual Buccaneer Cup. The 59th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament was held January 19-22, 2022 out of Palm Beach, Fl. A total of 109 sailfish were released. The prize, a purse in excess of $380,000 the prestigious and beautiful Buccaneer Cup trophies, and bragging rights for placing in one of the oldest and most enduring billfish tournaments in the world. Teams fish a format giving them the choice to fish any two out of three possible days.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: Buc Cup, Buccaneer Cup, fishing tournament, Offshore Fishing

2020 Contender Florida Division Captain of the Year Capt. John Dudas, Sandman

February 2, 2021 By InTheBite Digital Editor

sandman team

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Captain of the Year, Featured Stories, Fishing, Tournaments Tagged With: Buccaneer Cup, Captain of the Year, jimmy johnson tournament, John Dudas, sandman

Results: 2020 Buccaneer Cup & Reef Cup

January 27, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

running boat

Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant Photography

2020 BUCCANEER CUP

JANUARY 22 – JANUARY 25, 2020

First Place: Sandman, Capt. John Dudas, 2800

Second Place: Wicked Wahine, 2400

Third Place: Two Cats, Capt. Nathan Benz, 2400

Full Results…

sandman boat running

Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant Photography

picture of sandman boat

Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant Photography

picture of sandman team

Photo courtesy Leonard Bryant Photography

2020 Reef Cup

JANUARY 22 – JANUARY 25, 2020

First Place: Sweet Release/Buckalot, Capt. Chris White, 800

Second Place: Tar Baby, Capt. JP White, 700

Third Place: Hope, Capt. Floyd Leach, 500

Full Results…

Filed Under: Fishing, News, Tournament Results, Tournaments Tagged With: 2020 tournament, Buccaneer Cup, buckalot, captain chris white, captain john dudas, fishing tournament, Florida, reef cup, sandman, Sweet release

Final Results: 56th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament

January 29, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

De-Bait-Able takes the Win in a Field of 39 Boats

The 56th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament was held January 23 to 26, 2019 in the Palm Beaches.  This year an additional fishing day was added to the format giving teams the choice to fish any two. With two days of near ideal conditions, and a much-anticipated bite pushing into the area from the north, teams were rewarded with steady fishing.  After the entire field of top competition teams taking a lay day on Thursday, all 39 boats hustled to release 180 sailfish on Friday and Saturday, The prize, a purse in excess of $352,000, the prestigious and beautiful Buccaneer Cup trophies for the top three boats and anglers, and bragging rights for placing in one of the oldest and most enduring billfish tournaments in the world. Add to that the knowledge that the tournament proceeds benefits the Recreational Fishing Alliance and The Billfish Foundation, there was a lot at stake.

Courtney Bowden, currently in her sixth year at the reigns of the Buc Cup, did a spectacular job running one of the best organized and classiest billfish tournaments on the coast. Along with her team of volunteers, including staff from TBF and RFA, she has made the Buc one of the most exciting and talked about tournaments of the season.  The comradery displayed by the teams in attendance proved to everyone that the Buc is most definitely back!

The 56th Buccaneer Cup opened with the Captains meeting on Wednesday held outdoors at the recently completed Tiki Bar at the Sailfish Marina.  The meeting was sponsored by the Viking Yacht Company and HMY Yacht Sales.  Robert “Fly” Navarro emceed the meeting and went through the rules which included a few changes in 2019 to give the teams more flexibility and fishing options.  The meeting included raffle items provided by the long list of tournament sponsors included such as items as Engel Coolers filled with goodies, Costa del Mar sunglasses, Maxel Reels, Tsunami rods and lures, Caza Offshore knife kits and gear donated by Atlantic Marine Electronics (AME), AFTCO, Hi-Liner Offshore Tackle, Grand Slam Sport Fishing, Outrigger Yacht Products, and Mustad.

The competition teams made the unanimous decision to lay on Day One, opting to fish Friday and Saturday which, based on the forecast, held the best conditions of the three available fishing days.

Day Two opened with grey skies, and light east winds and a strong bite with 14 sails being released within the first hour.  Martha D called in the first release of the tournament just 17 minutes after lines in at 8 AM.  The live baiters seemed to have the edge as Old No. 7, and De-Bait-Able took an early lead, but dead baiters Polarizer and Krazy Salts also made runs to claim the top spot for the day and the Calcutta dailies.  By lines out, Old No. 7 racked up 10 releases on live bait for 2,000 points, followed closely by De-Bait-Able just 200 points off the leader. The top dead baiters filled out the leader board with Polarizer and Krazy Salts in the 3rd and 4th spots aided by a late bite that saw six releases in the final 30 minutes of fishing before lines out at 3:30.

Day Three saw a drop in the wind and accompanying slowdown in the action, but the live baiters continued to push their advantage.  Based on radio chatter, fishing was best in a small area to the north of Jupiter Inlet.  De-Bait-Able, with Capt. KJ Zeher at the helm, put on an astonishing clinic the final day amassing a total of 4,200 points by lines out bringing their two-day total up to 21 sailfish releases and leaving the competition in their wake.

Tournament staff utilized Reel Time Apps for accurate, up-to-the-minute scoring that was available to teams and tournament enthusiasts by simply downloading the free app. The program was linked to the official radio room computer scoring team and updated minute-by-minute allowing teams to follow the leader board throughout each fishing day. At tournament’s end the radio logs were matched against the boat’s catch logs and Reel Time Apps and then verified by video confirmation.

The winning boats were De-Bait-Able on top, Old No. 7 securing second place, with Sandman just 200 points behind in third. The competition was a nail biter between the top boats and was capped by a great run by Wrapped-Up breaking out of the pack in the final hour of the tournament trying valiantly to catch the leaders.  In addition to several Calcutta categories, Old No. 7 also won the Charity Calcutta which includes an entry fee to the 2019 Buc Cup.  They have been a regular in the tournament the past few years and no doubt the crew will be back next year trying to top their second-place finish.

The top angler trophies went to Bill Bryan on the Old No. 7 in first, beating Chris Weaks on the De-Bait-Able in second by time (both had 1,400 points), and Sandra MacMillan on the Sandman taking third as well as the Top Female Angler, which was also a tie broken by earliest catch.

The Buccaneer Cup Tournament cash award for the Most Points on Live Bait ($10,000) went to the De-Bait-Able team, which pocketed $110,800.  Most Points on Dead Bait ($10,000) went to Polarizer, the team receiving a check for $66,610 in total purse for their win. The InTheBite Top Captain loving cup was awarded to Captain KJ Zeher, who skippered the De-Bait-Able to victory.

New for 2019 and created in memory of a long-time participant in the Buccaneer Cup, the Walter Johnson Award trophy for the largest meat fish went to the Bertram 61 for their 34-pound dolphin landed on Day 2.  Pat Healey explained that the award was created as a posthumous honor that recognized his love of catching meat fish, and for his contributions to the development of the MTU engine, which has become the standard in sportfishing boats, during his tenure as the top executive at Johnson & Towers.

The awards banquet was held at the Sailfish Club of Florida and sponsored by MTU Marine Power, Florida Detroit Diesel Allison, and Johnson and Towers.  The awards dinner was emceed by Robert “Fly” Navarro.  Pat Healey, President of Viking Yachts and member of the RFA Board of Directors, presented Ellen Peel of the Billfish Foundation with a $5,000 check to aid the organization in its ongoing efforts to advance the science used for billfish management and assessment.

This event would not be possible without the generous  support of its  sponsors including MTU Diesel, Florida Detroit Diesel Allison, Johnson & Towers, Viking Yachts, HMY Yacht Sales, Yamaha Outboards, Jupiter Beach Spa & Resort, Contender Boats, American Custom Yachts, Akzo Nobel-Interlux Paint, Seakeeper, Garmin, Cummins Marine Power, American Venture Boats, Bahama Boat Works, Christi/Travelers Insurance, Atlantic Marine Electronics, American Fishing Wire/Hi-Seas, Release Marine, Viking Service Center, The Buccaneer Marina & Resort, Reel Time Apps, Sailfish Marina, and Outrigger Marine Products.

We look forward to seeing all our teams and more next year for the prestigious 57th Buccaneer Cup where we can make sportfishing history again.

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: 2019, 56th annual, Buccaneer Cup, Captain of the Year, catch and release, COTY, de-bait-able, final results, InTheBite, j&t, johnson & towers, magazine, palm beaches, sailfish tournament, South Florida, sportfish, sportfishing, tournament updates, Viking Yachts, winners

Wind & Waves at the Buc – All Access Photo Gallery

February 5, 2018 By InTheBite Editor

This year’s 55th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament was definitely one for the books. Over the course of the two-day event, twenty-two of Florida’s top teams departed from Palm Beach, battling wind speeds up to 30 mph to release hundreds of sailfish. Despite the unruly conditions, the 2018 Buccaneer Cup presented great fishing!

The top finishing boats were Viking 68 taking first, Two Cats in second, and trailing in third, Sandman. The InTheBite Top Captain Trophy Cup was awarded to Captain Ryan Higgins, who lead the Viking 68 to victory.

The following photos show the action…

Filed Under: Captain of the Year, Featured Stories, News Tagged With: Buccaneer Cup, InTheBite, magazine, Viking Yachts

53rd Buccaneer Cup January 21-23, 2015

December 15, 2015 By InTheBite Editor

buccupimgExcitement Building for

53rd Annual Buccaneer Cup

January 21 – 23, 2016

Enter Now and Save!

The Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament is a Florida tradition, one of the oldest continuously run billfish tournaments in the world! This year marks the 53rd consecutive time it has been held in the Palm Beach area and it is generating more buzz among the tournament community than at any time in recent memory!

Why? Because the purse is larger with last year’s top boat winning over $92,000 in cash prizes and there’s very a good chance the purse will be larger this time. Because the tournament rules are structured to encourage teams to do what they do best, catch and release as many billfish as they possibly can. And because all the proceeds are donated to the Recreational Fishing Alliance—the political action organization that has worked tirelessly to protect pelagic fish stocks while also protecting your right to fish. In 2015 the Buc donated $50,000 to the RFA and with interest and early entries running ahead of last year the donation should be greater!

This year MTU and its distributors Johnson & Towers and Florida Detroit Diesel Allison have partnered to sponsor the gala Awards Dinner and posh seafood buffet at the Sailfish Club of Florida. Viking Yachts partnered with their leading broker HMY Yacht Sales to sponsor the Captains Meeting Party at the Buccaneer Marina and Restaurant. Our Platinum Sponsors include Yamaha Marine, Jarrett Bay Boat Works and Ocean Properties, owners of Jupiter Beach Spa and Resort, our preferred residence for teams and their families during the tournament. Gold Sponsors include Salt Life Optics/Bimini Bay Outfitters, American Custom Yachts, Contender Boats and Release Marine. The Supporting Sponsor ranks are filled by Interlux Yacht Paint, Seakeeper, Cummins Power Systems, Viking Service Center (Riviera Beach, FL), Palm Beach Towers, AFW/Hi-Seas, Bahama Boats, Rybovich Marine, O. Mustad, Sailfish Marina and others yet to be announced.

Your entry fee puts you in the running for the $10,000 cash payout plus tickets to the captain’s party and awards dinner and you can pick between numerous Calcutta extra entry categories or belly up with the big boys and enter across the board. Captains will be vying for the coveted InTheBite Top Captain loving cup.

You don’t want to miss out on fishing Florida’s Premiere Sailfish Tournament and your chance to write a new chapter in Buc Cup history. Go to www.BuccaneerCup.com and follow the instructions on the home page to enter. You can register and pay online with a credit card or follow up your registration by sending a check for payment. Questions call or write Courtney Bowden 561-909-7868 (court.bowden@gmail.com) or Gary Caputi.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Captain’s Meeting & Party

January 21, 2016 – Buccaneer Restaurant & Marina, Palm Beach Shores

Late Registration & Calcutta Entry starts at 4 PM. Captain’s Meeting and party 6 PM.

Fishing Days

January 22 – 23, 2016. No Lay Day.

Awards Banquet

January 23, 2016 – Sailfish Club of Florida, Palm Beach – 7 PM

Free water taxi service from Sailfish Marina to Club dock.

December 16, 2015

For immediate release:

Contact: Courtney Bowden 561-909-7868 (court.bowden@gmail.com)

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: Buccaneer Cup

Early Entry Savings For Buc Cup Tournament

November 3, 2015 By InTheBite Editor

Buc-Cup53rd Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament

January 21 – 23, 2016

Enter Before November 15, 2015 and Save!

The Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament has [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories Tagged With: Buccaneer Cup

Apava Wins Buccaneer Cup

January 27, 2015 By InTheBite Editor

buc_feat-2

52nd Buccaneer Cup is History!

After months of preparation, the 52nd Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament was held on January 23 and 24, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tournament Results Tagged With: Buccaneer Cup

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