The Crawgator team with their first place 492.6-pound blue marlin.
Top Captain Landon Bell and Top Mate Connor McLeod, Southern Charm.
Photo: SC Gov Cup/The Buckskin Billfish
Jay Weaver, captain of the Blue Sky, seized first place in the 54th annual Georgetown Blue Marlin tournament, which ran from May 26 to May 28. No fewer than 71 boats participated in the event, the largest turnout since 2000, according to Tournament Coordinator Amy Dukes.
The Blue Sky caught and released three blue marlins and one sailfish, while Capt. Stuart Lackey of the Reel Hook Up came in second with one blue marlin, one white marlin and one sailfish. Capt. Mike King of the Frequent Flyer followed in third with one blue marlin and one sailfish. The Hydrosphere, captained by Mike Bierley, reeled in the biggest marlin, which weighed 532.1 pounds and measured 110 inches in length.
Blue Sky won a prize of $154, 395, which came out of a total payout of $569,875 across all categories.
Florida Sailfish Cup, June 3, 2022—After seven months of fishing, the first annual Florida Sailfish Cup has come to a close. 41 boats participated in the tournament and represented all different locations over Florida, from New Smyrna Beach all the way to Key West, FL. 183 Sailfish were released between the top three teams across their five fishing days and a total of 688 fish were released by the 41 boat fleet. The total purse for the tournament was $265,850, with the biggest payout being awarded to team Reel Synergy!
Capt Justin Drummond, mates Matt Driscoll, Cyler Pape, Matt Reed, Juan Garcia.
Rod Hayes Lures
By Peter B Wright
How important is the color of a lure to a billfish, a tuna or any other large pelagic game fish?
For many fish, including everything from small bait fish to giant marlin and tuna, color vision can be hugely important.
Consider mahi-mahi. Almost certainly, they would never have developed their outstanding coloration if they were not also gifted with color vision. This is a part of what makes them, and other tropical fish often found in tanks and aquariums, so special.
James Roberts of Midway landed the 68-pound, 1.6-ounce dolphin on April 26. He was fishing over Deli Ledge approximately 80 miles east of St. Catherines Island, according to DNR’s Coastal Resources Division, which administers the Georgia Saltwater Game Fish Records Program.
New Lines
By Ric Burnley
A good mate is worth his weight in gold. From wiring a blue marlin to serving cocktails, the second in command on a professional sportfishing boat has many jobs to master and many people to please.
So, how do you quantify the value of excellence? How do you compensate a person for unwavering dedication, extensive technical knowledge, a crushing physical toil and a winning attitude? Paying a mate what he’s worth would quickly run most operations out of financial resources. With all the adventure, excitement, drama and sheer fun of professional fishing, at the end of the day, it all comes down to a wad of cash passed from the fisherman to his best friend on the water. [Read more…]
Black marlin have wide, powerful bills built for smashing tuna and not breaking.
ITB Staff
They say that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they present themselves. A few observations about the anatomy of a fish can just as accurately provide ways to approximate how they behave. There is an adage in biology that form follows function. The way something appears can tell you quite a bit about what it is good at doing.
By Captain Scott “Fraz” Murie
I’ve been approached several times recently about frustrated captains who say, “I’ve got something for you to write about in your next two-minute warning column.” Their frustration is real. Their complaint is a valid one.
And it concerns radars. It seems that everyone who owns a boat these days has a radar. From the cruisers and bay boats, monkey boats to the motor yachts and mega sportfish boats. A lot of the bigger boats have two radars. It’s a valuable tool for safety and fishing but it seems that everyone with a radar turns it on as soon as they’re leaving the dock, then they leave it on 24/7.
Chub Cay Invitational
