Congratulations to Captain Joe Garberoglio & the Fragrant Harbor crew! The champions of the 82nd Annual Silver Sailfish Derby with 13 releases overall and being Top Boat Day 1.
There were 43 boats in the tournament. The total number of sailfish released in the two days of fishing was 201. 
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
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI – (November 26, 2018) — Wahoo Smackdown X, hosted by the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina on November 8-12, 2018, saw 23 boats competing for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes. Out of the 23 competing boats, 22 teams landed fish, bringing 152 wahoo to the scales in the process.
The team from Who’s Your Daddy took top team honors with 16 fish weighing a total of 231.5 pounds, taking home $15,000 in cash winnings.
Second place was the Blitzsea Team earning $7,500 in cash winnings, an 84.7 pound monster. They weighed 21 fish for a total catch weight of 206.4 pounds.
Team Murderize, out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, finished third, taking home $2,500 in cash winnings, with a total catch of 11 fish with a total catch weight of 193.6 pounds.
The team from Little Giant caught the largest wahoo of the tournament at 50.7 lbs.
Tournament festivities included live local entertainment nightly, a cocktail reception poolside for the Captains Meeting, a cookout on day one of the tournament, and a closing awards party on the great lawn, featuring a buffet, live entertainment and a full open bar.
Sponsors for this year’s tournament include American Beverage Marketers www.masterofmixes.com as the Title Sponsor, Bahamian Brewery and Beverage (Sands), artist David Dunleavy. Tropic Ocean Airways, Caza Offshore, Live Wire Tackle, Flanigan’s, CS Custom Lures and Bimini Big Game Club.
Winning boats:
1st – Caramba
2nd – Mi Lujo
3rd – Demencia
The 65th edition of International Billfish Tournament of Club Náutico de San Juan (CNSJ) ended
up with 89 releases, including 22 releases among the top four boats and winning teams from
CNSJ, Palm Beach Florida and South Africa, among others, said Salvador Egea, Jr., chairman.
Top boat, Caramba, released five blue marlin and one sailfish with Capt. Victor González, whose
name is now included in the “Mike Benitez Best Captain Perpetual Trophy”. Egea highlighted
Gonzalez’s work as outstanding and committed to sportsfishing.
Second best boat, Mi Lujo, release four blue marlin and two white marlin with Capt. Jose Colon
on the helm, while the third best boat, Demencia, released five blue marlin with Capt. Javier
Rivera. All three captains received a check from CNSJ.
For more information you may go to Facebook: @San Juan IBT or visit
www.sanjuaninternational.com.
After 13 years, team Predator strikes gold in Cabo. Predator was the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Tournament champion and day 1 overall winner with a 522-pound blue marlin reeled in by angler Jarrod Smith. After a forty-seven minute fight, Smith landed the huge fish. Hundreds watched as the 522-pound billfish was lifted as teammates Morgan North (boat owner), Jarrod Smith (angler), Gary Willmott and Jose Grejeda watched.
CABO SAN LUCAS, BCS, Mex. – A 458-pound black marlin landed on the final day of the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Tournament was worth $520,485 in prize money to the Wild Hooker Team aboard the Wild Hooker.
It took tournament angler Danny Hogan 1 hour, 25 minutes to subdue the monster which ate a skipjack tuna.
The winning fish narrowly beat a 455-pound black marlin caught aboard the boat Predator. The second-place fish was worth $333,418 in prize money.
In all, the tournament’s 123 teams composed of 763 anglers and crews competed for a record $1,165,000, according to event director Wayne Bisbee.
Other notable winners in various categories included:
· A 235-pound yellowfin tuna by Team Overtime aboard the boat Overtimevalued at $129,860;
· A 73-pound tuna by Team Altata Bay aboard the Catamaran valued at $78,200; and
· A 455-pound black marlin by team Los Compadres del Dorado valued at $9,686.
Winning amounts are determined by tournament entry fees together with various daily and event jackpot prizes.
The tournament was divided into seven categories limited to marlin, tuna and dorado. Five billfish exceeded the minimum weight of 300 pounds, eight tuna and numerous dorado were brought to the scale. All the fish (2,869 pounds — 8,607 meals) that were brought to the scale were given to charities for orphans, homeless or disabled.
2018 Los Cabos Billfish Tournament Final Results
The 20th Annual Los Cabos Billfish Tournament recorded 150 billfish catches across three days of fishing.
CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO (MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2018) — Radio Channel 28 stayed lively all three days of the 20th Annual Los Cabos Billfish tournament, with the tournament fleet averaging 50 releases each day. Last year, anglers released 61 blues and 31 striped marlin; this year, the striped marlin bite returned with a fury. In total, the fleet of 52 boats caught 150 billfish, consisting of 109 stripes, 29 blues, five blacks, five sailfish and two spearfish. Days one and two saw stronger afternoon bites, while day three’s afternoon bite was the slowest of the tournament.
Fishing teams were competing for $642,300 in cash, plus prizes.
The overall winner of the 20th Annual Los Cabos Billfish Tournament was Team Sea Angel, scoring 1,700 points. Sea Angel didn’t weigh any fish, but thanks to their 28 striped marlin releases and one blue marlin release, they were able to hold onto the top spots in the Overall Team Division and Overall Release Points Jackpot. Plus, they won the Day Two Release Points Jackpot. The team, consisting of Capt. Billy Chase “BC” Angel, Andrea Angel, Greg Angel, Austin Angel, Chase Travers, Fico Ortega and Juan Carlos Buenes, earned $113,500 for their efforts and an invitation to the 2019 Offshore World Championship in Costa Rica. For his outstanding showing, Capt. BC Angel won the top captain and received a Garmin Quatix watch.
The Los Cabos Billfish Tournament awards 300 points for black and blue marlin releases, while striped marlin, sailfish and spearfish are just 50 points. Marlin weighed over the 300-pound minimum are awarded points based on their weight. In 2018, each pound was worth 1.5 points, so a 500-pound black marlin catch earned 750 points. The Los Cabos Billfish Tournament point system favors blue and black marlin releases, or catching a monster marlin for weigh-in, but Team Sea Angel was able to defy the odds by totaling 28 striped marlin releases. The year 2018 was the first time a team not weighing a marlin won first-place team in the tournament.
Second-place in the Overall Team Division went to Team Chupacabra with 1,548.5 points. The team released two blue marlin and four striped marlin for 800 points. On the third day of fishing, angler Blake Stamper landed a 499-pound blue marlin worth 748.5 points. The monster blue marlin won all four levels of the Day Three Marlin Jackpot and the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot. The team, consisting of Capt. Clay Hensley, Bo Jenyns, Jason Douglas, Blake Stamper, Don Stamper, Don Logue and Pablo Pino, earned $195,950, the largest check of the tournament.
Third-place in the Overall Team Division was secured by Team El Suertudo with 1,400 points with four blue marlin, three striped marlin and one spearfish. The team also scored the Day One Release Points Jackpot and Second-Place Overall Release Points Jackpot. Their top-three finishes earned them $57,780 in total. The El Suertudo team consisted of Capt. Greg DiStefano, Bruce McDonald, Alfonso Ortega, Guy Yocom, Oswaldo Ortega, Gary Mason, Dave Elow, Azam Flores and Noe Isaias Cruz.
Three qualifying marlin were caught during the tournament, with Team Chupacabra’s the heaviest. But two other marlin catches on days one and two won teams Carpe Diem and Second Wind large cash payouts.
On day one, Carpe Diem’s Dr. Rick McShane landed a 467-pound blue marlin. The blue marlin won all four levels of the Day One Marlin Jackpot, earning $81,750 for the team. The 2018 Carpe Diem team was made up of Capt. Jeff Hamm, Dr. Ricky McShane, James McDonald, Gary Benson, Kellium Tice, Alex Hill and Juan Manuel.
On day two, Team Second Wind won the day with a 363-pound black marlin caught by angler Ryan Donovan. The catch solidified all four levels of the Day Two Marlin Jackpot and second place in the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot for a grand total of $119,550. Second Wind got redemption with their day-two catch after weighing a marlin on day one that was seven pounds shy of the qualifying weight of 300 pounds. The Second Wind team consisted of Capt. TJ Dobson, John LaGrone, Ryan Donovan, Tony Frascone, Erik Chang and Jerry Bribiesca.
Team Yahoo had two strong days of striped marlin fishing after a slow first day to win third place in the Overall Release Points Jackpot. On day three, the team also won the Daily Release Points Jackpot with 12 striped marlin released worth 600 points. Team Yahoo consisted of Capt. Ricardo Escamilla, Bryce Schell, Mike McKamey, Kurtis McKamey, Jose Escamilla, Ricardo Escamilla and Valentine Ucamp. In total, the team won a check worth $18,420.
Teams entered in the Tuna/Wahoo/Dorado Jackpot who weighed gamefish species were also able to get on the winner’s stage and take home cash prizes. No qualifying dorado were landed over the three days of fishing so that prize money was distributed to the tuna and wahoo winners. On day three, no qualifying wahoo were caught, so that purse was split between the day one and two winners.
Day One
Angler Edward Cota, of Team Estella Del Norte, landed a 66-pound yellowfin tuna to win the Largest Tuna Daily Jackpot. The fish won Team Estrella Del Norte $10,762. The team consisted of Capt. Adrian Miranda, James E Rosenwald, Daniel Camacho, Adrian Miranda and Edward Cota.
Angler Jesus Garcia, of Team El Animal, landed a 37.2-pound wahoo to win the Largest Wahoo Daily Jackpot. The fish won Team El Animal $13,837. The team consisted of Capt. Hugo Beas, Jesus Garcia, Jose Roberto Sanchez, Jose Macias and Daniel Fiol.
Day Two
Angler Scott Leonard, of Team Game Time, landed a 31.3-pound yellowfin tuna to win the Largest Tuna Daily Jackpot. The fish won Team Game Time$10,762. The team consisted of Capt. Javier Zamaya, Kris Anderson, Scott Leonard, Matt Condon and Manuel Gil.
Angler Jim Smith, of Team Mjolnir, landed a 43.9-pound wahoo to win the Largest Wahoo Daily Jackpot. The team consisted of Capt. David Harris, Brandon Walton, Jim Smith, Brandon Baiocco, Jared Dow and Kevin Schloot.
Day Three
Angler Jim Smith, of Team Mjolnir, landed a 70.3-pound yellowfin tuna to win the Largest Tuna Daily Jackpot. For their day two and three catches, the team won $19,987.
Winner of the Billfish Release division with 23 white marlin releases & 1 blue marlin release is Buckshot.
Winner of the tuna category with a 150.2 lb. big eye tuna is Pumpin Hard.
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.
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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