Photo courtesy Pete Pehrson
The Islamorada Fishing Club welcomed 48 anglers fishing on 16 boats for the Islamorada Fishing Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament. Northwest winds at 15kts greeted the fisherman with lines in at 8 a.m.
Captain Greg Eklund aboard his charter boat Cloud Nine called in a doubleheader of sailfish at 8:24. Mate Eric Ehlers would get the release on both fish putting the Cloud Nine in first place with two fish.
Photo courtesy Pete Pehrson
The team would sit on pins and needles throughout the day searching for more sailfish. Other teams would slowly catch up to them, first Crisdel then Hell Reyzer followed by Remix, Conetagious and Relentless all with two releases.
When the committee boat called lines out at 4 p.m. anglers Josh Jackson from Temple, TX along with Cory Nelson and Jake Turek from Islamorada, Fl, would breathe a sigh of relief as the early morning double landed them in first place on time. Centennial Bank would present the team with beautiful Tim Rahn Photography prints and a check for $16,000. Winning Captain Greg Eklund was awarded the Captain’s Cup full of gift certificates from local establishments.
Photo courtesy Pete Pehrson
Second Place went to Crisdel with anglers Frank and Tony Criscola from Fairhills, NJ along with Joe Prestiffillpo also from NJ. Captain George Stellar along with mates Brad Goodrich and Jeff Dickman were all awarded Caribee Boat Sales and Yamaha Outboard sponsored second place trophies for the team’s two releases.
Captain Ryan Alexander of the Hell Reyzer took third place with two fish on time. Anglers Victor Paneda, Eric Darvill and Johnny Vilorio along with Mate Cap Hinkley all from Miami would take home the third-place awards sponsored by Baker Mitchell Plumbing and Tackle Center of Islamorada.
“The Islamorada Fishing Club put on another great event”, stated tournament director Dianne Harbaugh. “The great food and service the club provides makes it a fun place to have a party.”
In total 17 fish were released in the one-day event. The Islamorada Fishing Clubs Captains Cup Dolphin tournament will be held June 25, 2020. More information can be found on the web site theislamoradafishingclub.com
