InTheBite

Florida’s unDOCKumented Dock Records & Notable Catches

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sailfish thrashing around the surface

In light of the recent dock records in the Florida Keys, we’ve dug up some material of notable catches we’ve published through the years.*

map of florida

Florida

NEW SMYRNA

Heavy Hitter caught 41 sailfish trolling in a single day out of Ponce Inlet.

  • David Grubbs was the owner/operator at the time.

FT PIERCE

January 10, 2019, Grand Slam released 38 sailfish trolling dead baits during the Pelican Yacht Club Tournament

  • Capt: David Grubbs

Floridian caught 32 sailfish trolling on dead baits in January 2004.

STUART

December 1997

Boneshaker caught 22 sailfish trolling.

WEST PALM BEACH 

2006

Get Lit caught 35 sailfish in the Silver Sailfish Derby.

  • Capt: Ray Rosher
  • Anglers: Kitt Toomey
  • Mates: Charmain Rosher and Jon Cooper

Wrenegade caught 26 sails live baiting.

  • Capt: Jimmy Fields
  • Anglers: Charlie Scippola and Tony Cummings
  • Mate: Winston Wren

Feb 3, 1980 Elbow 7 caught 83 sailfish on live bait.

  • Capt: Albert Johnston
  • Angler: Louis Boski
  • Mate: Unknown

No Problem that same day caught 54 in three hours on live bait, the boat had to head in early in order to get someone to the airport.

  • Capt: Jack Morrow
  • Angler: Dave Dickenson
  • Mate: Tim Sperling

FT LAUDERDALE

April 9, 2009 Vitamin Sea Too caught 50 sailfish on live bait.

  • Captain: Tim Maddock,
  • Anglers/Crew: Mike Dinnen, Mike Reisert, Jon Krieg, Chris Meeks, Chris Zidar

MIAMI

May 1, 2019 Sandman, captained by John Dudas, caught 43 sailfish and one white marlin off Miami.

  • Crew: Diomedes Adames, Jeffrey Liederman, Steven Stallings, Sandra MacMillan

Owls Nest, captained by Matt Tambor, caught 36 sailfish on live bait out of Government Cut, a host of local quality mates were the anglers and they believe they would have caught more if they didn’t run out of bait.

March 6, 2019

L&H, captained by Jimmy David, caught 41 sailfish off Miami.

  • Mates: James David, Troy Hall
  • Anglers: Rick Smith, Matt Bowman

ISLAMORADA

Vice Versa boat crew with 76 release flags

April 23, 2020 Vice Versa, captained by Scott Martin, hold the record with 76 sailfish released in a day on live bait.

April 24, 2020 Shaka, captained by Tim Maddock, released 64 sails on April 24.

Was caught 38 sailfish on live mullet back in the 60’s.

  • Capt: Buck Stark

Kalex caught 20 sailfish live baiting (unverified if single-day record).

  • Capt: Alex Alder
  • Mate: James Allen

January of 2007 Catch 22 caught 7 swordfish without the use of electric reels.

  • Capt: Scott Stanczyk,
  • Angler: Richard Stanczyk,
  • Mate: Kristian Zeher

Marathon (Middle Keys)

April 12, 2020 Captain Marty Lewis and the crew of the Main One, out of Marathon’s Main Attraction charters, broke the record with 70 releases.

May 10, 2005 Main Attraction, captained by Marty Lewis, caught 36 sails on live bait.

April 15, 2003 Main Attraction, captained by Marty Lewis, also caught 25 sailfish on live baits.

Key West (Lower Keys)

2004

Tim Greene was an angler onboard the Beachcomber when it caught 3 blues in one day.

  • Capt: Daryl Simeon
  • Anglers: Tim Greene and Kurt Kirvan
  • Mate: Unknown

The biggest blue marlin caught out of Key West weighs 784 lbs. and is hanging at the Key West airport.

1999

Petticoat II caught 6 blue marlin in a single day.

  • Capt: Norman Wood and Wayne Hunt
  • Angler: Jim Hardy
  • Mate: Unknown

Outside the State

Born2run released 10 blue marlin during the two-and-a-half-day Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic

  • Capt. Myles Colley
  • Mates: Tyler Maxwell, Robert Bonifay, Doug Franklin, Alex Pinney and Brian “Beaver” Paul.
  • Owners, Dana and Lisa Foster

March 11 & 12, 2021 the Vaquero crew established a new proclaimed one day Pacific Sailfish release record totaling 164.

  • Captain Lance Hightower

So that’s what we have so far! We are still working on this eastern region. If any information needs to be corrected, please let us know. Also we really want to give everybody onboard the recognition they deserve so if you see any unknowns or listings that have the captain, angler or mates name missing please fill us in. Once again amy@inthebite.com.

*Records are only used if they can be verified by reputable captains.

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

 

Florida Keys 70 Sailfish Day

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Main One with 70 sailfish flags By Elliott Stark

Captain Marty Lewis and his wife Katie own and operate Main Attraction Charters out of Key Colony Beach, Florida. With five working charter boats, the Lewises are no stranger to the waters of the Lower Keys. It was this experience and familiarity that led to a hunch that turned into what may have been the best day of sailfishing in the history of the Florida Keys. On Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, Captain Marty Lewis and the crew of the Main One, a 49’ Cape Fear, released a Keys’ record 70 sails.

Here’s how it happened.

“I took my wife and daughter out tuna fishing on Saturday off of Marathon. It was a slick calm day but I could see that the Gulf Stream was running in close. I knew that the next day might be a good day to go sailfishing but it was Easter Sunday. I asked my wife if I could go and she gave me hall pass to go fishing,” Lewis explains with a bit of a laugh.

girl holding blackfin tuna

Katie Lewis with a nice, day-before-Easter blackfin

Upon returning to the dock after fishing Lewis’ mate, Digger Rodamer, sent out a group text to round up a crew for the following day. The next day, Digger, Shelby Bentley, Aaron “Nautical” Sutcliffe, Steve Fitzgerald and Joe Marino joined Marty to head offshore. Loaded up with 800 or 1,000 live pilchards the crew departed the dock at Key Colony Beach Marina at 7:00.

keys sailfish on leader

They started fishing about 25 miles west of Marathon. Captain Marty found what he was looking for—the spot where the Gulf Stream tucked in—off of the American Shoal near Big Pine Key.  “Every fish we caught was tailing. We cast live pilchards to them. There was no kite fishing or trolling. We probably saw 100 fish on the day, but we couldn’t get to all of them. Almost all of those that we cast a bait to ate—only two or three turned away. There was no pressure on them, we only saw two or three other boats out,” Lewis describes.

sailfish flipping on leader

Lewis and company caught their first fish at 10:00. Forty minutes later the tally was up to six. “We had a steady stream of groups of fish passing through most of the day. There were two rallies when we’d have a guy hooked up on the bow and a guy fighting one at the stern and then we’d hook others. One time we had a guy fighting a fish for an hour. We must have caught eight or ten fish while he was fighting his.”

By 3:15 pm the tally eclipsed 40. By 5:00 the total was 60 and the crew realized they had a shot a breaking the Keys’ record of 65 sailfish releases in a day.  Lewis kept a running tally with his wife Katie over text message. The final text came through at 6:35—“70 and done.”

It was a record breaking day for the veteran charter captain and a group of his buddies. Captain Marty spent the day in the tower directing his guys where to cast as sailfish tailed into range. The fish were caught on Mustad ultra point 6/0 circle hooks using 30 and 40 pound leader.  All of the fish were caught slinging live pilchards to tailers on Penn spinning outfits.

News of the epic day brought led 30 or 40 boats to fish the area the next day. While Capt. Marty decided to take Monday off (after all he wasn’t going to catch 70 again) the bite continued for the next couple of days. Monday produced 46 releases followed by 30 on Tuesday. The hot streak produced an incredible 146 sails over three consecutive days for Main Attraction Sportfishing Charters.

Captain Marty Lewis and the crew of the Main One– and all the a whole pile of sailfish flags! 70 of them.

To book a day with Marty and the Main Attraction Charters, visit them at: www.mainattraction.org or give them a call at: 305.289.0071

Outage Hooks 3 Blues and 42 Sails Over Two Days

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A trip offshore on the Outage, a 60′ Jim Smith owned by Hans Kraas out of Los Sueños, brought in a nice haul that included sailfish and blue marlin.

The highlight was when a blue came in on the left teaser, with 13-year-old Cole, Kraas’ son, throwing the left pitch only for it to then fade off before Cole’s mom, Nikki Bates, on the rod, fed it perfectly on the right long, and hooked it, making it the first blue she hooked herself.

This was Cole’s second blue on the wire, handling it like a pro.

In total, the group hooked two blues and 11 sails the first day and 31 sails and another blue the next. Not a bad couple of days at all.

Captain Brad Philipps Knows his Guatemala Billfish

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Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

By Mark B. Hatter

“We know more about the moon than we know about the habits of billfish.”

Brad Philipps, captain, owner and operator of the charter boat Decisive and Guatemala Billfishing Adventures, introspectively remarked as we sipped whisky and smoked Cuban cigars on the rooftop of his Casa Philipps in Antigua, this January. It had been a VERY slow week, yet under the uncharacteristic circumstances, we raised and released more sailfish using fly tackle than any other boat in the fleet.

So, I am not so sure about Philipp’s moon and billfish remark.

In November, I rode along with Philipps on the Decisive during the three-day charity No Sancocho tournament sponsored by Casa Vieja Lodge in Puerto San Jose. It was a remarkable tournament played out under a variety of conditions, from glassy calm to stacked waves from the “Papagayo,” which blew hard on the third day. Yet, under the changing conditions, one thing was abundantly clear: Brad Philipps knows more about billfish than science knows about the moon!

Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

By the end of the tournament, the competitors were, well, in a word, crushed! Philipps and his team racked-up an amazing 55 sailfish releases (including three triples) and an unprecedented eight blue marlin releases, including four on the last day. All on light tackle!

I have been to Guatemala many times in the last 15 years and have fished with several captains. Yet, until last November, I was only familiar with Philipps though his peers, where his reputation preceded him. Invariably, his name invoked admiration with, perhaps, a tinge of envy.

Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

And why not? In his 20 years fishing Guatemala he has amassed a plethora of trophies and accolades from every blue-water organization on the planet. On November 30, 2015, Philipps released his 30,000th billfish. He is getting close to exceeding 40K by now, his wife and business partner, Cindy, has been nagging him to give her the current update so she can post it on their website.

Considering that the Guatemala fishing season runs October through May, when you do the math, it deduces to an amazing average of 16 sailfish releases per day. No wonder why his crew rigs at least one hundred ballyhoo for a day’s charter and why he carries and, more importantly, may deploy dozens of different plastic teasers out of his arsenal of more than 100 in a day’s outing.

Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

When I came back to fish with Philipps in early January, guess what I carried with me? More new, custom teaser heads and sheets of plastic skirts he’d ordered from the states!

Philipps is humble and will downplay his successes, explaining that his formula is simple: consummate preparation will reward you when opportunity presents itself. This was self-evident in November during the No Sancocho tournament and again in January where Philipps found agreeable sailfish for the fly rod when the bite was virtually nonexistent.

“I wish I could at least see a F*#king sailfish!” one captain quipped over the radio as we had yet raised another aggressive fish in our spread on our last day.

Photo courtesy Mark B. Hatter

The next time I hope to sip whisky with Captain Brad Philipps, I will remind him of our January starlight cocktail conversation. Then I will offer him the following corollary: “We know more about the moon than perhaps most know about the habits of billfish.”

And I know just who that exception is.

The Numbers Game: Tournament Fishing

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By Katie Coeckelenbergh

If it is your goal to fish and place consistently in any of the world’s best release tournaments, there is a certain set of practices that you’ll need to follow. Teams that place consistently do so not just with skill, but by adhering to a strenuous set of standards…one that doesn’t often include rod holders or cold beer during fishing hours. Here’s an insider’s look. (If you are a captain, this might be a good read for your tournament team as well). — ITB

[Read more…]

Caribsea wins 56th Annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament

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Photo courtesy Tim Rahn Photography

The 56th Annual Islamorada Sailfish Tournament kicked off at Whale Harbor hosting 80 anglers, plus friends and family with a grand buffet. Great Sailfish action started on Friday morning and continued over the next three days concluding on December 8th.  Captain KC Spaulding of the Caribsea led anglers Kenny Spaulding, Sam Milazzo, Phillip Bryan and Lee Gahagen all from Islamorada, FL to the winner’s circle with a total of 19 sailfish releases. The team took home beautiful sailfish sculptures sponsored by Caribee Boat Sales and Yamaha Outboards.  141 Sailfish were released out of the 154 called in hook ups with nearly $55,000.00 going to the winners. 

[Read more…]

InTheBite Dock Talk: White’s Tackle

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White’s Tackle is a full service tackle store located in Ft. Pierce and Stuart Florida. The staff are knowledgeable anglers who’ve fished the globe learning the secrets from the best captains and crews, and will be glad to pass them on to you. For over 90 years White’s Tackle has been outfitting inshore and offshore anglers from all over with the best tackle and service imaginable. If you have any questions feel free to call the Fort Pierce Store at 772-461-6909 or the Stuart Store 772-266-4010 or send an email to: info@whitestackle.com

Splash Report: Hatteras GT59

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Captain Jeff Donahue provides a thorough breakdown of the all new Hatteras GT59. Captain Jeff runs the Hatterascal, hull number one of the GT59 series, on it’s wide ranging tournament schedule. See how the boat is designed, performs and what all goes into making a Hatteras. You won’t want to miss it.

Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator Celebrates 15 Years

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MAY 07, 2004

Fifteen years ago today, was the date that Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator was launched with 3 regions in the northern Gulf of Mexico which has now grown to 36 regions; Gulf of Mexico, East coast, West coast, Central America, South America, Caribbean, and more! What an incredible journey, meeting so many great people over the years doing what we all love – fishing!

The site has evolved tremendously over the years and is still evolving – we will be unveiling several new features next week at the Mobile Big Game Membership meeting as well as the Orange Beach Billfish Classic!

A couple of sneak previews; our new service called Hilton’s SAT2NAV system as well as our new “H.E.L.P.” program.

Stay tuned – more details to come!

Thank you very much to everyone who has supported our service over the years!

All the best,

Tom Hilton

www.HiltonsOffshore.com