InTheBite

Champion’s Cup and COTY Winners

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breathe easy

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

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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.

[Read more…]

The Evolution of the Captain of the Year—The Championship of Sportfishing

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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.

[Read more…]

2020 Hawaii Division Captain of the Year Capt. Shane O’Brien

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wild hooker on the water

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.

[Read more…]

2020 AIRMAR East Coast Division Captain of the Year Capt. Russell Sinclair, Wave Paver

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wave paver crew on the water

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.

[Read more…]

Third Week of February Arrives with New Round of Champion’s Cup Tournaments

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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

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mollie team with captain jeff shoults

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.

[Read more…]

Champion’s Cup, Captain of the Year Updates

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jumping sailfish

We’ve got a short intermission before the next round of sanctioned tournaments kick off and the Champion’s Cup is gearing up for another couple of weeks of tough competition. Currently, 13 teams are fighting for the top prize among the Florida, Gulf Coast, East Coast, International and Hawaii Divisions. Check out the competition below, and if you feel like you’re up for a challenge, register now.*

Current Champion’s Cup Team Lineup:

  • BAR South
    60′ Spencer
  • Lo Que Sea
    58′ Paul Mann
  • FLORIDIAN
    60′ SPORTSMAN
  • LUNATICO (Effie May)
    63′ Titan
  • LUNATICO2
    42′ Invincible
  • FINS UP
    54′ Bertram
  • Fish Tank
    65′ Hatteras
  • Krazy Salts
    80′ Viking
  • Wild Hooker
    68′ Blackwell
  • Lucky Dog
    57′ Bayliss
  • Eight Eights
    72′ Viking
  • Uno Mas
    77′ Mark Willis
  • You Never Know!
    72′ F & S

Winning a coveted Captain of the Year Cup is worth far more than any amount of money you could attain for the victory and this longstanding tradition will still be presented independently of the Champion’s Cup. However, we thought it would be nice to reward the rest of the fleet with new opportunities to win some extra cash.

Click the links below for additional information on each division or click here to register for an event.

Upcoming Captain of the Year Sanctioned Tournaments:

  • February 17 – February 21
    Sailfish Challenge, 2nd Leg of the “Quest for the Crest” Series
  • February 24 – February 27
    Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, Leg 2
  • February 28 – March 4
    The Masters Angling Tournament
  • March 2 – March 6 
    Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring
  • March 12 – March 13
    Quepos Billfish Cup
  • March 17 – March 20
    Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, Leg 3
  • March 18 – March 20
    Marina Casa de Campo Open

*Teams should register one month prior to their next division tournament in order for InthBite to process all the boat’s information.