Champion’s Cup and COTY Winners
Three divisions down, two to go. As the year is wrapping up, so is the Champion’s Cup and Captain of the Year sanctioned tournaments. Already, Capt. Shane O’Brien and the Wild Hooker team have taken first place for the Hawaii Division Most Points as well as Hawaii Largest Blue for their 600.5-pound marlin. This also give O’Brien the win for the Captain of the Year Hawaii Division. Over in the Gulf the Breathe Easy team with Capt. Patrick Ivie kept their first place spot for Largest Gulf Blue with an MBGFC tournament win reeling in a 584.2-pound marlin. Like O’Brien, Ivie also took home first for the COTY division as well. [Read more…]
Captain of the Year and Champion’s Cup Updates
Photo courtesy Brian Leiser
Sept. 27, 2021—It’s a Wrap! The sanctioned Hawaii tournaments have wrapped up with Capt. Shane O’Brien on Strong Persuader winning the most points with five tags at the It’s a Wrap Tournament. Capt. Tracy Epstein and the Last Chance team brought in a 565-pound blue winning them biggest marlin. This means O’Brien and the Wild Hooker team have won the Hawaii Champion’s Cup for Most Points and Largest Blue Marlin.
The previous weekend was a win with the MBGFC Invitational Labor Day Tournament when team Breathe Easy’s Craig Smith reeled in the largest blue marlin weighing in at 584.2 pounds. This earns the team points within the Champion’s Cup Overall Blue Division and Gulf Division Largest Blue further cementing their spot in first for the Gulf.
Our Captain of the Year also wrapped up in three categories: East Coast, Gulf and International. Capt. Patrick Ivie on the Breathe Easy took first in the FURUNO Gulf Division with 1500 pts. Over in the Release Ruler Hawaii Division, Capt. Shane O’Brien on Wild Hooker blew the other competition out of the water with 3500 points. Finally, for the AIRMAR East Coast Division, Capt. Miles Herring on Glazed won the first place spot with 1000 points. Congratulations to all three captains and their teams. Stay tuned later in the year when we announce the International and Florida COTY winners.
The Evolution of the Captain of the Year—The Championship of Sportfishing
The InTheBite Captain of the Year Cup is the championship of sportfishing. The Cup is the world’s only quantifiable way to recognize the tournament success of professional sportfishermen. Comprised of 90-sanctioned events that span the world, there is nothing else like it. Winning an InTheBite Captain of the Year Award is a major achievement. From the winners to the Cup’s origin, it is an interesting tale.
Updates: Quepos Billfish Cup, Pelagic Shamrock Shootout
Photo courtesy Quepos Billfish Cup
Quepos Billfish Cup
1st place: Hattadream
Captain: Johnny Martinez
2nd place: Bradass
Captain: Ronald Mejias
3rd place: Spit or Swallow
Captain: Oscar villalobos
Weekend Tournament Updates, COTY Rankings
Photo courtesy JJ Fish Week
2020 Hawaii Division Captain of the Year Capt. Shane O’Brien
Wild Hooker, 2,150 points
Lazy Marlin Hunt 2nd Place – 300 pts.
Firecracker Open 1st Place – 500 pts.
Kona Throw Down 1st Place – 500 pts.
Skins Marlin Derby 3rd Place – 100 pts.
Big Island Marlin Tournament 1st Place Release – 500 pts.
Hawaiian Marlin Tournament Series Overall Champions – 250 pts.
2020 AIRMAR East Coast Division Captain of the Year Capt. Russell Sinclair, Wave Paver
Photo courtesy Steve Momot
White Marlin Open, 1st Place Release – 500 pts.
MidAtlantic, Most Points Overall – 500 pts.
It never hurts to have a former champ in the driver’s seat and for the third time in five years, Capt. Russell Sinclair of Merritt Island, Florida, has earned a coveted Captain of the Year Cup. And with his 2020 showing, Sinclair is the first captain to win different divisions. With tournaments being forced to shutter across the globe, this was unlike any fishing season anyone had ever experienced. “So, we started last year in March and had some great fishing in the Abacos. We had two trips down there. And right before the closure, we moved the boat back to the U.S. and we sat there waiting during the whole quarantine thing to see what to do with our season. We wanted to go down to St. Thomas and fish the BVI and USVI, but we finally just pulled the plug on everything and went to the Northeast. We kinda weren’t supposed to be there,” Sinclair says.
Third Week of February Arrives with New Round of Champion’s Cup Tournaments
Kicking off the tournaments for this week is the second leg of the “Quest for the Crest” Sailfish Series, with its three checkpoints from Government Cut in Miami to Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach and Lakeworth Inlet in West Palm. Leg two of the Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series starts February 24 and runs until the 27th. A day later The Masters Angling Tournament starts with fishing heading into March. Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring begins March 2 followed by the Quepos Billfish Cup, Leg 3 of the Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, Marina Casa de Campo Open.
Captain of the Year
Teams with a first-place win so far in 2021 include:
Contender Florida Division
Capt. Kevin Paul // Waterman // 500 Points
- Pelican Yacht Club, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Capt. Matt Bierley // Miss Texas // 500 Points
Silver Sailfish Derby, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Release Marine International Division
Capt. Eddie Wheeler // Cabana // 500 Points
- Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament, 1st Place, 500 Pts.
Champion’s Cup Sponsor Highlight
Captain of the Year Capt. Jeff Shoults, Furuno Gulf Coast Division
Photo courtesy Brian Leiser
Mollie, 2,100 points:
MBGFC Memorial Day Tournament, 1st Place – 500 pts.
MBGFC Memorial Day Tournament, Heaviest Marlin – 613.8 lbs. – 500 pts.
Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, Heaviest Marlin – 660.4 lbs. – 500 pts.
Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, 3rd Place – 100 pts.
MBGFC Invitational Labor Day Tournament, 1st Place – 500 pts.
