InTheBite

“Waste Knot” Catches 683-Pound Blue Marlin to Win Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament

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Waste Knot Wins the 15th Annual VBBT with a 683-Pound Blue Marlin, Five White Marlin Releases

The 15th annual Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament wrapped up Saturday night and closed the chapter on a historic event. A record 80 boats competed this year for a new benchmark $620,000 in prize money. For the first time, two blue marlin were weighed and one of them made a huge difference for the Manteo, North Carolina team, Waste Knot. Angler Ed Groce boated a 683-pound blue and combined with five white marlin releases, gave the team the top score (1,033 points) and the top payout, $282,000.

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2018 MidAtlantic Tournament: Final Results

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2018 MidAtlantic Comes to a Close in Record Setting Fashion!

The 2018 MidAtlantic, the 27th edition of sportfishing’s “Main Event,” came to an exciting close last night for the 157 participating boats and crews with award ceremonies featuring lavish buffet dinners and record cash payouts for numerous winners celebrated at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland. The week saw numerous records set once again including a cash purse of well over $3.36 million up for grabs, record single payouts for the top winners in the white marlin and tuna categories and a record number of blue marlin (55) caught and well over 750 white marlin released!

The final day of the 2018 MidAtlantic dawned sunny and clear with a light breeze and full moon in the sky. Once again, a bit of tournament history was set as for the first time in the event’s 27-year history the entire fleet of 157 boats was eligible to fish on the final day. Day Five saw several changes on the leaderboard on what has traditionally been called Moving Day at the MidAtlantic. This event was the first billfish tournament to use the phrase in reference to the major shake-ups which occur on the leaderboard and this year would be no different. Sea conditions improved dramatically from the previous day and the billfish bite continued its scorching pace.

The most significant changes occurred in the white marlin category when Captain Doug Ortlip backed Sean O’Donnell’s Cape May-based Got Game to the scales at Canyon Club in Cape May and weighed a 78-pounder for angler O’Donnell to jump to the top of the leaderboard. O’Donnell and crew later in the evening accepted the winner’s check of $905,408 in Cape May, a record payout for white marlin! Got Game’s 78-pounder pushed Thomas Colquhoun’s Special Situation from Ocean City, Maryland and Justin Branning’s 3’s Enough from Wall, New Jersey, leaders from Day One of the tournament, into a tie for second place as each had weighed white marlin of 73-pounds. 3’s Enough received $293,712 while Special Situation netted $134,006. Worthy of note is the difference in payouts reflects the level of side bets, known as Calcuttas, each participant enters. Another significant change to the leaderboard on Day Five occurred when Captain Paul Robertson weighed a 69-pound white marlin for angler Joey Hurley from their Dayton, Maryland-based FFMD and moved into a tie for third place with Leonard Tallo’s Gusto from Islamorada, Florida. For their efforts Gusto received $169,466 while FFMD netted $141,376.

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2018 Texas Billfish Classic: “Draggin’ Up” Takes the Win

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Draggin’ Up wins the 2018 Texas Billfish Classic!

The 3rd Annual Texas Billfish Billfish Classic (TBC), for the third year in a row, saw growth in participation and a substantial increase in prize money. The TBC fleet released eight Blue Marlin, one White Marlin and six Sailfish while weighing one Blue Marlin. The TBC is one of the fastest growing billfish tournaments in Texas and the only event to allow participants to leave at noon on Thursday and begin fishing right away the same day.

Draggin’ Up, a 74′ Viking from Houston, TX was the only boat to weigh a Blue Marlin on Saturday to claim top honors in the Blue Marlin division. Angler Sam Rasberry 119.5 inch Blue Marlin topped the scales at 514 pounds. “We were having a slow first day with no bites so decided to make a move for second day. We got the bite shortly after 9am,” said Draggin’ Up Captain Kevin Deerman. “We definitely knew the fish was a keeper after second set of jumps and got the gaffs ready. Great tournament and worked out for us betting heavy in the Blue Marlin kill pots!”

In the Catch and Release Division, Bimini Babe a 74’ Viking, took home top honors with three Blue Marlin Releases and one Sailfish, while Tico Time, a 65’ Hatteras released one Blue Marlin and two sailfish finishing in second place. Over-Ride, a 64’ Titan finished in third place releasing one Blue Marlin and edging out High Noon on time. The Bimini Babe Team were also crowned Champions of the Billfish Classic Cup. This new event was developed to reward competitive teams fishing in both the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic and the Texas Billfish Classic. Owner Babe Appling, Captain Robert Jones and Team left with an extra $10,000 and custom art to commemorate the big win!


The Tuna category was won by Clark Miller aboard Smoker II with a 93 pound Yellowfin. No stranger to the podium, Kurt Pantle on $ea Dollar$ came in second at 90 pounds followed by Lee Bull on the REHAB at 50 pounds. A nice summer Wahoo raised the bar pretty high as Jasen Gast and the REHAB crew pulled up his 51 pound fish, barely topping the second place fish brought in by Tiger Neal on the Smoker II. Brian Wood, Draggin’ Up, came in third at 29 pounds. The Dolphin category was taken with the only qualifying fish at 23 pounds by Chris Gavlick aboard the REHAB.

The Top Lady Angler was Emma Griffith on Over-Ride and the Top Junior Angler Award was presented to Ethan Middleton on the Change Order.

Official 2019 Texas Billfish Classic Results

Blue Marlin
1st- 514.0 lbs. Draggin’ Up – Angler Sam Rasberry

Catch and Release
1st – 2,000 pts – Bimini Babe – Captain Robert Jones

2nd – 1,000 pts – Tico Time – Captain Mike Hester

3rd – 600 pts – Over-Ride – Captain Jacob Dawson

Tuna
1st – 93 lbs – Smoker II – Clark Miller

2nd – 90 lbs – $ea Dollar$ – Kurt Pantle

3rd – 50 lbs – REHAB – Lee Bull

Wahoo
1st – 51 lbs – REHAB – Jasen Gast

2nd – 47 lbs – Smoker II – Tiger Neal

3rd – 29 lbs – Draggin’ Up – Brian Wood

Dolphin
1st – 23 lbs – REHAB – Chris Gavlick

Top Lady Angler
Emma Griffith on the Over-Ride

Top Junior Angler
Ethan Middleton on the Change Order

Renewed FishSmart Program Aims to Strengthen Conservation

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Industry Reinforces Commitment to Conservation Through Renewed FishSmart Program

Program aims to increase red snapper, red drum and other South Atlantic species survival rate

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – June 25, 2018 – The American Sportfishing Association – the sportfishing industry’s trade association – announced the launch of a new project to improve the survival of caught-and-released fish in the South Atlantic, as part of the FishSmart program.

The new FishSmart Red Snapper and Red Drum Conservation Project seeks to promote best practices for releasing fish and encourage greater awareness and use of tools proven to improve fish survival. Working in partnership with state fish and wildlife agencies, industry and other organizations, descending devices for deep water fish and short leader rigs for red drum will be distributed to anglers throughout the region, along with best practices for handling and releasing fish. Through participant surveys, valuable information will be gathered on the use of these tools and techniques that can help form better management decisions in the future.

In the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, many reef fish such as red snapper are being released due to short seasons and high rates of encounter. Without proper handling techniques a significant percentage of released fish die, to the detriment of fisheries conservation and future fishing opportunities.

“We’re always working on ways to help increase fish survival rates and showcase the work anglers and industry do as conservationists,” said Mike Leonard, ASA’s Conservation Director. “The aim of FishSmart is to further bolster the recreational fishing community’s stewardship of the fisheries we enjoy. Through education and awareness, we expect to make a positive impact on fish populations and keep these fisheries robust for years to come.”

This South Atlantic project builds upon the success of a similar FishSmart project recently conducted in the Gulf of Mexico. From 2015 to 2017, the program – coordinated through ASA’s FishAmerica Foundation – recruited more than 1,100 anglers to use best practices for saltwater catch and release, which included the use of descending devices, such as the SeaQualizer – a tool that rapidly returns fish to the depth in which they were caught, allowing them to reacclimate for a successful release.

It’s estimated that 3,000 to 9,000 red snapper lowered to their original depth survived because of the descending device. The survival rate of the approximately 22,000 reef fish, or other species that anglers reported releasing, was also improved.

“We learned a great deal about anglers and their habits, techniques and overall viewpoints during FishSmart’s initial launch,” said Martin Peters, senior manager of Communications and Government Relations at Yamaha Marine Group – one of the program’s chief supporters. “By showing how increased use of best practices for releasing fish can lead to healthier fisheries, we are not only promoting fisheries conservation but also allowing for greater fishing opportunities. With healthy fisheries, everybody wins.”

Nearly 75 percent of participants in the Gulf of Mexico project had no prior knowledge of descending devices and shared that they are now likely to use the devices to release most or all fish, when needed. This finding suggests that with education and the proper gear, anglers are empowered to make a positive impact on marine fisheries.

The renewed FishSmart program will begin with 1,500 to 2,000 project participants in the South Atlantic region. These anglers will report their catches and best practice release techniques using distributed descending devices and short leader rigs via survey.

This program is possible in part through partnerships with: FishAmerica Foundation; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Grey’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary; NOAA Marine Fisheries; North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality; Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation; South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; and Yamaha Marine Group.

To learn more about the FishSmart Red Snapper and Red Drum Conservation Project, visit www.TakeMeFishing.org/FishSmart.