Left to right: Aaron Rosenburg, Thomas Key, Tonya Love-Cheatham, Kelly Kirkpatrick, Boat Captain Jon Meade, Molly Fleming, Serena Wilson and Jason Popovich. Photo Leonard Bryant
Team Showtime! with Capt. Tonya Love-Cheatham took first at the 2022 Gold Cup Fishing Tournament followed by team Seven and Tami Ann.
West Palm Beach, Florida/Dallas, Texas—In partnership with Allen Exploration, Fly Zone Fishing has announced that it will be producing the second annual Walker’s Cay Invitational, slated for May 18-21, 2022, in Walker’s Cay, located in the northern Bahamas. [Read more…]
Goombay Smash/Remix tied up at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island after a champagne celebration of the tournament victory. Leonard Bryant Photography
Silver Sailfish Derby, Thursday, Jan. 2022—Eager anglers charge sailfish season as soon as they can feel it in the air. Preparation for the Silver Sailfish Derby starts well before the week of tournament as crews aim to dial in all the details that could make or break their chance to become a part of the storied 4-line tournament history. The Derby celebrated its 85th year with a sold out 50 boat fleet in early January.
Derby Fleet headed out Palm Beach Inlet, circa 1950
Monday, Dec. 20, 2021—The West Palm Beach Fishing Club will again host the ‘World’s Oldest Sailfish Tournament’ on January 6th and 7th, 2022. In its 85th year, the Silver Sailfish Derby is rich in history with a lot of prestige on the line for participants. The tournament fleet is limited to 50 boats and already sold out headed into the new year.
Endless Imagery Photography
Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, 2021 Dust’Em Off Sailfish Warmup—Last week marked the kick-off of the 2021 South Florida sailfish season with the Dust’Em Off Sailfish Warmup kicking off the eighth year with a record 56 teams competing from South Miami through Jupiter (up & down Floridas’ Atlantic Coast).
Although eight teams took home large checks and trophies and the tournament beneficiary, Mahogany Youth Corp, will receive a check for $10,000 raised in the charity Calcutta division where 100 percent of funds are donated to the organization. Tournament Founder, Captain Ben Sharpe, is a product of Mahogany Youth and knows first hand how important having healthy mentors and self esteem, skill building organizations can be, especially for underprivileged youth. Ben joined at age 14 and now has a long-standing career as a successful Captain.
Adrian de Silva, first fish landed | Tropic Star Lodge
Piñas Bay, Panama, November 23, 2021—Year after year, enthusiastic anglers head to Piñas Bay, Panama to compete in the Annual Billfish Tournament hosted by the famed Tropic Star Lodge. As a conservation tournament, this event draws participants who not only share a passion for sportfishing, but for the protection of the marine species that sustain the sport.
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.
Gray FishTag Research, a not for profit, all species, international tagging program, will be holding the first-ever Southeast Suzuki Invitational Swordfish Tagging Expedition—SwordQuest. Mike Lund and Mike Lardani, owners of Outboard Specialties in Pompano Beach will be sponsoring the program in an effort to continue swordfish research work in Southeast Florida.
1998 – Instigator (861 lb)
If you’re looking for world-class blue marlin fishing along the East Coast, you need to be in Hatteras, North Carolina May 11 – 15, 2021 for the Hatteras Village Offshore, an InTheBite Captain of the Year sanctioned event. Hatteras Village offers a laidback atmosphere for the opening tournament in the NC Billfish Series, where year after year quality blue marlin are brought to the dock. In addition to the great fishing, we have amazing food lined up for you three out of the five nights, leaving you a couple of free evenings to enjoy all that Hatteras has to offer.
