Weez in the Keys Collects $210,000 and the Champion’s Dog Tags

The 6th Annual Operation Sailfish tournament made landfall on December 6th in West Palm Beach at host venue, Sailfish Marina.  A total of 42 teams showed up to compete for a purse in excess of $720,000 and pay tribute to our United States military.  The tournament got underway with its signature ‘Take a Hero Fishing Day’ where 30 veterans, wounded warriors and active duty military had the opportunity to pair up with the best sailfishing teams in the world for the fishing trip of a lifetime.  For many, it was a bucket list trip catching their first sailfish ever.  Captain Skip Dana and his crew aboard Sir’ Reel won the ‘Take a Hero Day’ with an impressive tally of nine releases.  Tyler Wells caught his first two sailfish ever while fishing together with his brother-in-law Chris Lemieux on board Advanced Roofing/Sailsmen.  His two sailfish releases were enough to earn him the Top Hero trophy as well.  Gator One won the trophy for the heaviest meatfish with a 14.6-pound dolphin.

On Friday December 8th, the tournament action kicked off when the 8am lines-in call was made for Day 1 as teams looked to kick start the first leg of the Quest for the Crest with a bang.  Team Doing it All/Hard Way found the fish early in their 39’ Contender.  They released five sails before noon to take the early bite and a bonus $1,000. Team Kona Blue and their 39’ Mercury powered SeaVee was hot on their heels at the midday turn with four releases of their own.  With just an hour to go on Day 1, Captain Chris ‘Zig’ Zelienski and his Weez in the Keys team caught fire releasing five fish to propel themselves into a first place daily and the late bite worth $77,950.

Day 2 fishing was postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to severe storm warnings associated with an approaching cold front.  A forecast for winds off the north and temperatures in the mid-forties on the backside of the front had teams fired up for the potential of an epic bite on Sunday.  The morning started slower than expected for most, but newcomers to the tournament, team MDALA, got into a groove early releasing five sailfish before 11am to claim the early bite.  As the day pressed on, teams Free Bird and Utopia got on the fish and continued climbing the leader board as well.

The first half of Day 2 had to seem like an eternity for Day 1 leaders, Weez in the Keys.  By noon they had not called a fish in and their lead was rapidly diminishing.  Sure enough, at 12:54pm team Utopia called in release number 12 and took the lead in the tournament with only two hours of fishing to go.  Shortly after that, Free Bird released another fish to leap frog Weez in the Keys for the second place spot with 12 releases.  At 2pm Captain Zig knew he needed to make an aggressive move.  He did just that and Weez in the Keys went on a tear releasing three fish in the last hour to reclaim the lead and win the tournament with 14 releases and a $210,000 payday!  Utopia finished in second with 13 releases and $75,150 in prize money.  Team Seraphim finished strong on Day 2 releasing 10 fish to win the daily.  Their 13 fish two-day tally was enough to bump them into third place overall in the tournament with total winnings of $122,180.  The Top 5 were rounded out with Free Bird in fourth with 12 releases followed by Advanced Roofing/Sailsmen in fifth with 11 releases.

Doing It All/Hard Way cruised through the first two rounds of the Release Roundup competition in the tournament releasing five fish in the first round and three in the second round, although they only needed one release in the second round to advance.  On the start of Day 2 and Round 3, lucky number two was pulled and the $196,200 jackpot was getting closer and closer to a reality for the team.  Unfortunately, they ran out of steam releasing one fish in the third round.  So the jackpot rolls forward into the next leg of the series, Sailfish 400, where it is expected to exceed $225,000 for a $1,000 buy in!

Captain Ray Rosher and his Miss Britt II crew put Stephanie Choate on the fish once again as she claimed the Top Lady Angler title for the second year in a row with seven releases.  Wes Stevens took the Top Male Angler title aboard Weez in the Keys with seven releases as well.  Stephanie edged Wes out on time to earn the Master Angler title in the tournament and a beautiful handmade American flag trophy.

In addition to the great payouts to teams, a check for over $7,000 will be presented to the tournament charity, Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting military families as they transition from service back into civilian life.  To learn more about how you can help support their mission, visit www.operationhomefront.org.

Three more legs remain before the top sailfishing team in the world is crowned. Leg 2, Sailfish 400, takes place January 17-21 in Miami, with a third stop in Fort Lauderdale on February 21-25 and the grand finale in Key West on April 17-21.  For a complete breakdown on the tournament results for Operation Sailfish, visit www.operationsailfish.com For a complete list of the point standings in the Crest race, visit www.questforthecrest.com

For Complete Results Click Here

Congrats to BAR South Team- 2015 4th Annual Operation Sailfish Winner

Operation Sailfish is fished December 11-12, 2015.

December 12, 2015 Final Results

2015 Operation Sailfish Sets Multiple Records

# of Boats: 54                                    Total # of Releases: 384

A record setting purse reaching a near $700,000 set a tone of intensity for 54 boats at the 4th Annual Operation Sailfish in West Palm Beach, FL. This first leg of the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series took place on December 12th & 13th at Sailfish Marina and was the first chance for teams to put points on the board for the coveted Crest Jacket. Team BAR South, winners of last year’s Operation Sailfish, took home the top title for the second year in a row with a total of 18 releases that landed them a payout of $255,950 – the largest amount ever paid out to a team in any of the Quest tournaments.  BAR South also earned a set of six custom 14-karat champion’s dog tags from Altier Jewelers of Boca Raton.

Even though BAR South took home the top title, it was a slow start for the team during the first day of fishing with only four releases under their belt. Blue Time took the lead on Day 1 with a total of nine releases to earn a daily payout of $96,400.  They added just 2 more releases on Day 2 to finish in 7th place overall with total earnings of $100,900.  Team Sailsmen trailed closely behind Blue Time on Day 1 with eight releases, earning a daily payout of $47,520!

Tournament sponsors, Contender and SeaVee Boats were well represented on the leaderboard with a number of their teams performing well over the course of both days. Towards the end of Day 2, both Contender One, a 39-foot Contender, and Kimbuktu, a 39-foot SeaVee, found themselves in a heated battle for the top spot in the tournament. Contender One capitalized on a late bite with just minutes to go in the tournament to secure the 2nd place spot with 15 releases.  Second place netted the Contender One team a total payout of more than $134,000.  Kimbuktu finished in 3rd with a check for $38,720 and 14 releases.  Contender Boats also claimed the Boat Builder’s Throwdown trophy as the top scoring boat brand in the tournament.  They finished with a total of 70 points followed by SeaVee Boats in 2nd with 68 points.

The stellar sailfish bite wasn’t the only excitement of the tournament. A 104.6 lb yellowfin tuna, caught by Tara Eddings aboard Miss Britt, set another record as the largest fish ever weighed during any Quest for the Crest tournament and any of the Bluewater Movements tournaments for that matter. Unfortunately, Miss Britt was not entered in the Big Fish Bonanza and the $19,350 pot went to Lion’s Den with a hefty 46.1 lb dolphin.

The last 10 minutes in the radio room were on fire with teams calling in hook ups left and right before the 4:00pm lines out.  Team De-Bait-Able created some real excitement when they hooked 5 fish just before the lines out announcement! With $700,00 on the line and a clock ticking down, teams were frantic as the pressure of a single sailfish release could make or break their ranking and a possible paycheck. When the dust settled, a total of 384 sailfish were released during the two competition days of Operation Sailfish.

Master Angler of the tournament went to Rob Gothier of BAR South with a total of nine releases. The Top Lady Angler was Stephanie Choate of Miss Britt with five releases and the Top Junior category was awarded to Erik Perna of Miss Emma with four releases.

Three more legs remain before the top sailfishing team in the world is crowned. Leg 2, Sailfish 400, takes place January 27-31 in Miami, with a 3rd stop in Fort Lauderdale on February 17-21 and the grand finale in Key West on April 12-17.  For a complete breakdown on the tournament results for Operation Sailfish, visit www.operationsailfish.com For a complete list of the point standings in the Crest race, visit www.questforthecrest.com

Congrats to Capt Mike Brady and the Cowpoke Team for winning the 2015 Stuart Light Tackle Tournament

The Tournament Boats will fish December 11,12,13, 2015

December 13, 2015 Final Results