InTheBite

Final Results: 56th Annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament

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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.

“Main Attraction” Wins 29th Annual Cheeca Presidential Sailfish Tournament

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ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys – Captain Marty Lewis of Marathon, Florida, led his team aboard Main Attraction to the overall win in the 29th annual Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament that ended Jan. 27.

Team anglers Mark Busch, Daniel Roberts, Clint Rodamer and Shelby Bentley, all residents of Marathon, together released 10 sails in the best time for top honors.

Team HellReyzer captured second place with 10 sails, with Captain Ryan Alexander of Cutler Bay, Florida, at the helm. Anglers included Rey Acosta, Mike Acosta, Travis Upchurch and Jorge Corzo, of Pinecrest, Florida.

Team Indigenous earned third place honors with nine sailfish releases. Islamorada’s Captain Travis Dickens led anglers Wade Stafford, Coleman Wherly, Mike Varney and Mark Toledo, from Merritt Island, Melbourne, Key Largo and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, respectively.

Varney also captured the tournament’s grand champion angler award for his five releases.

Cheeca Presidential Tournament director Liz Hill reported that 73 anglers aboard 19 boats released 82 sailfish during the two-day fishing contest.

The “Presidential” is the final leg of the three-tournament Florida Keys Gold Cup Sailfish Championship, which includes the Islamorada Sailfish Tournament and the Islamorada Fishing Club Tournament.

Team Last Dance totaled 25 releases over the series’ three events to be named overall Gold Cup Series champion. According to organizers, the team was awarded the first-place prize of $24,000.

2018 Hawaii Division Captain of the Year Winner: Captain Rob Ellyn

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Captain Rob Ellyn

Lightspeed, 47-foot Cabo

Homeport: Honokohau Harbor, Kona

1,250 points include: Kona Throw Down, 1st Place; Firecracker Open, Heaviest Marlin, 667.5-pounds; Hawaiian Tournament Series, 1st Place.

Congratulations to Captain Rob Ellyn for winning the 2018 Hawaiian Division Captain of the Year award. Ellyn, running the 47-foot Cabo Lightspeed out of Honokohau Harbor in Kona, is no stranger to the Captain of the Year (COTY) award or the winner’s circle. In the five-year history of the COTY in Hawaii, the captain has won the award twice, winning it in 2014 and 2108. The two-time COTY champion fished against a field of renowned Hawaiian captains. Winning the accolade twice, when fishing against notable captains such as Kerwin Masunaga, Marlin Parker, McGrew Rice, Stymie Epstein, Kevin Nakamaru, Carlton Taniyama, Gene Vanderhoek, Shane O’Brien, Teddy Hoogs and Jeff Kahl just to name a few, is quite an accomplishment.

In 2018, InTheBite sanctioned 11 major tournaments in the calm, marlin-rich waters of Kona, Hawaii. Using the COTY scoring system, Ellyn won the honor by earning 1,250 total points. He racked up 500-points with the heaviest blue marlin, a 667.5-pounder, in the two-day Firecracker Open. He then won 500 first-place points by winning the Kona Throw Down, a three-day event that coincides with the World and Kona Cups, when his angler Rick Shedore tagged and released eight blue marlin.

The day the tournament season ended, Ellyn had 1,000 COTY points and was tied with two other excellent Kona captains. Veteran Capt. Carlton Taniyama, on the Five Star, who won first-place in the Rock and Reel and the Lure Maker Challenge. Shane O’Brien on the Strong Persuader, a young captain who has been on fire in both Kona and Cabo the past couple of years. O’Brien won first-place points in Hawaii by winning the Skins Marlin Derby and the Big Island Marlin Tournament.

When the points were tallied for Jody Bright’s Hawaiian Tournament Series, a total of seven major tournaments, Ellyn won the Series top boat award, and Lightspeed angler Rick Shedore won the Series top angler. The 250-points for winning a tournament series put Ellyn over the top to win the COTY with 1,250 points. It is worth noting that Rick Shedore was the defending 2017 Series Champion angler as well.

Congratulations to both Capt. Carlton Taniyama, on the Five Star and Shane O’Brien on the Strong Persuader. I would consider them in a second-place tie. Capt. Teddy Hoogs on the Bwana takes the third-place position with 900-points.

The Lightspeed is armed with two great anglers, owner/angler Rob McCarthy and Rick Shedore. McCarthy and Shedore have only been fishing in Kona together for the past two years, but they have great chemistry. Ellyn has known Shedore for a long time. The two were good friends when Ellyn used to fish in Mexico. Ellyn says, “Communication is the key,” for the good juju onboard the Lightspeed. Congratulations also goes to the 2018 Lightspeed crew members, Travis Ota, Scott “Scooter” Fuller, and Chris Storrs.

I asked the humble, salty captain – who immediately went elk hunting in Idaho after the tournament season was over – about his thoughts on winning the COTY for the second time. He said, “I would like to thank Rick and Rob for the opportunity to fish the tournaments. Without them it wouldn’t be possible. Again, a big thanks to Rob McCarthy for giving us the opportunity to fish in such an awesome fishery. If you haven’t fished Kona, you should.”

Like I always say whenever anyone asks, “When is the best time to fish Kona?” The answer is simple – “Anytime you can.” Nice going Rob! – by Mark Johnston

The 2019 Captain of the Year Cup presented by Hatteras is proud to announce a full slate of divisional sponsors for 2019. Contender Florida Division, the Los Suenos International Division, the AIRMAR East Coast Division, the Furuno Gulf Division, and the Sea Genie II Hawaii Division. ITB thanks all of the sponsors – stay tuned for an exciting year.

Jan/Feb Issue 2019: Hitting the Docks Now

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Forget about New Year’s resolutions… InTheBite is straight to the point in 2019.

Grab a copy of the latest Jan/Feb Issue, hitting the docks now!

Nominate an InTheBite Young Gun

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Know any up and comers? InTheBite is calling for nominations for our Young Guns features. To be eligible must be a full time sportfishing captain (private or charter) 33 years old or younger. Having a great story, running an interesting operation, or just being a good person who can catch fish will put a nomination in the running.

Email: info@inthebite.com

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47th Invitational Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament Final Results

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47th GOLD CUP

TEAM FISHING TOURNAMENT

January 3 – 7, 2019

Showtime! Takes Home its First Gold Cup Trophy

PALM BEACH – The Sailfish Club of Florida hosted its 47th Annual Gold Cup Invitational Team Fishing Tournament January 3-7, 2019. Chairman Anthony Cummings led this year’s tournament.

The tournament had 28 teams and 119 anglers. Five of those teams were competing in the Gold Cup for the first time! The tournament also included its “regular” teams who have been fishing the Gold Cup for years, including Ed Joy, on the Streaker who has participated in the tournament every year since its inception.

Unfortunately, this year the fish were not biting, and only 58 sailfish were released among the 4-day tournament. The 2018 Gold Cup ended with a total of 232 releases and in 2017, 448 releases!

Six of the 28 boats fished the first day and only brought in 9 releases. The second day had 26 boats out in the water and only 20 releases

Taking home this year’s Gold Cup trophy for the first time with a total of 8 sailfish and 2,400 points was the team aboard Showtime! Representing Sailfish Point Yacht Club was Boat Captain, Wink Doerzbacher, Team Captain Fred Hardwick and anglers Nancy Hardwick, Tom Russell, and Howard Webb. Howard Webb was the top angler of the evening winning the Chairman’s Award (best ratio of shots to releases), John Rybovich Memorial Award (most sailfish released on dead bait), and heaviest dolphin award.

Capturing second place was the team aboard Wrapped Up representing the Sailfish Club of Florida. Boat Captain, Andy Ford, Team Captain Chris Lazzara, and anglers Hunter Beall, Kendall Cheatham, and Brian Kirkpatrick released a total of four sailfish, all on Day 2, and ended with 1,200 points. The team also received the High Daily Award for Day 2.

Third place with 900 points was the Lo Que Sea also representing the Sailfish Club. Lach Cheatham led the team with Boat Captain Kevin Paul and anglers Gunner Askeland, Geoff Mayfield, Dave Cash, and Alternate: Tonya Love-Cheatham.

The Gold Cup was founded in 1972 by John Rybovich to test the skills of anglers catching and releasing sailfish off the east coast of Florida. The Gold Cup is a perpetual trophy maintained by the Sailfish Club and is one of the most coveted prizes in competitive sport-fishing.

Thank you to the Gold Cup Committee for an excellent tournament!

Photos by: Leonard Bryant Photography

Final Results: Pelican Yacht Club’s 39th Annual Invitational Billfish Tournament

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Opening day of the Pelican Yacht Club’s 39th Annual Invitational Billfish Tournament!
It’s also a sanctioned event in our Captain of the Year Contender Florida Division. Good luck and tight lines to all fishing! 

Photo Courtesy of Island Marine Services, Fort. Pierce

DAY 1 RESULTS:

Full results on Reel Time Apps

DAY 2 5:00pm UPDATE:

Photo courtesy of Jessey Rudolph, mate on Grand Slam.

FINAL RESULTS:

Annual Silver Sailfish Derby to Celebrate 82nd Year

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The venerable West Palm Beach Fishing Club (WPBFC), founded in 1934, will again host the ‘World’s Oldest Sailfish Tournament’, the prestigious 82nd Silver Sailfish Derby January 9th – 12th, 2019.  The Derby attracts some of the best sailfish anglers, captains and crews in the sport to our region each season.
The tournament is limited to 50 boats who will be vying for some of sailfishing’s most coveted awards.  Part of what makes theDerby so special are the traditions and the people behind them.  Many Derby awards are sponsored by families who have been associated with the event for decades.  The Derby’s top angler award is the Mrs. Henry R. Rea trophy, a magnificent silver sailfish sculpture that dates back to the event’s origin in 1935 and is sponsored by Elizabeth Richebourg Rea of Connecticut.  The Rea Trophy remains one of the crown jewels in all of angling.  The Top Lady Angler trophy is sponsored by the Hampp Family of New Jersey in memory of Rose Hampp, who won the honor in the 1957 Derby along with many other awards throughout her accomplished angling career.  The Louis S. Boski award for Outstanding Angling Achievement honors the late Lou Boski, an active WPBFC member who set the Atlantic sailfish single day catch record of 83 releases in 1980.  Other prizes include awards for the Top Small Boat, Junior Angler, Captain, Tag Team, Daily Angler & Daily Boat awards, and Overall Boat & Angler awards.
Those who are not fishing the event can follow tournament boat standings on the Derby’s mobile friendly virtual scoreboard.  The Derby scoreboard will go live just prior to the event and can be found on the WPBFC website. Photos from the tournament are posted on Instagram & Facebook @westpalmbeachfishingclub and under #SilverSailfishDerby.  Proceeds from the event benefit the WPBFC’s many conservation and education initiatives.  For registration and additional details on theSilver Sailfish Derby contact the WPBFC at (561) 832-6780or visit:

More on Derby History & Sailfish Conservation….
According to America’s angling historian, Mike Rivkin, the Silver Sailfish Derby is the touchstone of all other billfish tournaments. Started in 1935, this patriarch played an important role by attracting people from across the country to the Palm Beaches as a way to stimulate tourism and business at a time when the region needed it most, the years following the Great Depression.  TheDerby became a significant sporting attraction and its popularity grew.  In the late 1950’s famous American author and avid big game angler Ernest Hemingway was a Derby trophy sponsor.  While plenty of celebrities have participated in the event through the years, it’s the Derby’s long standing support of billfish conservation that has been its hallmark.
 
The Derby’s contribution to the conservation of Florida’s Official State Saltwater Game Fish, the Atlantic sailfish, has been significant.In the late 1930’s Derby organizers began promoting catch and release fishing for sailfish, a very new and radical concept for the day.  This forward-thinking approach to offshore saltwater fishing set the stage for the catch and release ethic that is widely practiced by billfish anglers today. Perhaps the most notable conservation contribution attributable to the Derby is the development of the red release pennant.  The WPBFC began flying and promoting the pennants in 1938.  Today, the little red pennant is recognized around the world as a way to signify a sailfish release.  The Derby was also among the first tournaments to incorporate game fish tagging for scientific purposes into a competitive format.  Joining forces with the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the 1960’s, the WPBFC helped initiate the cooperative Game Fish Tagging Program for science.  It was an important scientific partnership that included ground breaking sonic tagging of caught and released sailfish to document survival. The sonic tagging study was too expensive to have been accomplished with only state resources, so the WPBFC helped fill the void. WPBFC members and Derby participants have tagged thousands of billfish.  In 1970, the WPBFC convinced Florida’s State Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg to establish an east coast research field laboratory initially inside its clubhouse premises, rent-free, to evaluate the biological status of this critical sport fish.  Later the WPBFC became an early advocate for the use of non-offset circle hooks when fishing for sailfish and required their use in the tournament prior to the National Marine Fisheries Service mandate.
Today the sailfish remains abundant in our western North Atlantic region, while in other areas and oceans many billfish are less abundant and overfished. The WPBFC’s long civic role, enthusiastic angling participation, experimentation and outstandingDerby catch and release ethics has made it one of the most unique institutions of its kind.  Along with its 1,400 members, allied businesses, educational, scientific and conservation organizations, and its charitable affiliate, the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation, this entity continues to contribute especially to children’s education and Palm Beach County’s unique environmental needs. In recent years the WPBFC has been honored by the American Fisheries Society, The Billfish Foundation and the Florida Wildlife Federation for its conservation contributions.  The WPBFC, located in downtown West Palm Beach on the corner of 5th Street and North Flagler Drive, became one more of America’s significant National Historic Sites in 2016 when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Big game fishing historian and author Mike Rivkin chronicled the club’s and theSilver Sailfish Derby’s storied history in his book,The West Palm Beach Fishing Club: A 75-year History.