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Costa Rica’s Largest and Richest Fishing Tournament

February 7, 2023 By InTheBite Magazine

Quepos, Costa Rica—The 7th Annual Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament makes Costa Rican and Central American sportfishing history two years running! With a record-setting 94 teams and 553 anglers catching and releasing 1,131 billfish for more than $1.3 million in prize money, the Pelagic Rockstar solidified its place in tournament fishing history as the largest and richest fishing competition in Central America.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, Fishing, News, Tournament Results, Tournaments Tagged With: Costa Rica, quepos, tournament results

The Masters Celebrate 60 Years in Style

February 3, 2023 By InTheBite Magazine

Left to Right: Chase Offield (2013, ‘16, ‘19 & ‘21), Dale Creamer (2018), Pat Healey (2011, ‘12 and ‘23), Myles Reis (2005), Dennis Coleman (2022), Carmine Galati (2017) (Photo/Ronald Rojas)

Costa Rica never disappoints; calm seas, a world class fleet and fast billfishing for 30 Master Anglers who gathered together at Los Suenos on January 24th for the annual boat draw. Veteran anglers welcomed five “freshmen” into the club and after greeting old friends, the Rules Committee reviewed a new scoring procedure for fighting marlin. Marlin scores were first introduced in 2022, and the anglers embraced the change.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: Costa Rica, International Masters Angling Tournament, Los Sueños Tournaments, tournament results

2022 Captain of the Year Awards

December 20, 2022 By InTheBite Magazine

The Captain of the Year award logo.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: Captain, Captain of the Year, tournament results

Country Girl Wins 39th Annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament 

August 22, 2022 By InTheBite Magazine

The crew of the Country Girl posing with a check for their prize money.

(Photo/Capt. Dave Lear)

MANTEO, N.C.—With less than a minute to go in the last hour of the last day, Capt. Charles Foreman relied on his vast local knowledge as a charter skipper to put his team on the winning fish. A sailfish vaulted Country Girl to the top of the leaderboard to claim the biggest payout for the 2022 Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament. A total of 274 anglers on 86 boats were competing for more than $1.04 million in prize money this year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News, Press Releases, Tournament Results Tagged With: billfishing, Pirates Cove Billfish Tournament, press release, tournament results

July 2-11, 2022 Tournament Results

July 11, 2022 By InTheBite Magazine

The Captain of the Year logo

[Read more…]

Filed Under: General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: airmar east coast division, Firecracker Open, furuno gulf coast division, Release Marine International Division, Release Ruler Hawaii Division, tournament results

Final Results: Fish Heads of Stuart Quickie & Pirates Cove Sailfish Classic

December 10, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

Final results for the 2019 Fish Heads of Stuart “The Quickie”

First place – Floridian, Capt. Glenn Cameron with 9 releases

Second Place – Vintage, Capt. Hans Kraas Jr, with 8 releases

Third Place – Intents, Rhett Bailey with 7 releases … beating out the Lo Que Sea by time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Tournaments Tagged With: fish heads, Pirates Cove Sailfish Classic, Stuart Sailfish Club Light Tackle Tournament, tournament results

“Gypsea” Takes 2019 Viking Key West Challenge Crown

April 18, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

Fishing, Fun and Family in the Florida Keys

Capt. Ben Sharpe and Gypsea capture the 6th Annual Viking Key West Challenge.

Top Boat – Gypsea

(Key West, Florida, February 13, 2019)—Forty Vikings from 42 to 82 feet and a record 475 participants descended upon the southernmost city in the United States last week for the 6th Annual Viking Key West Challenge. Ben Sharpe was the winning captain for the fourth time, leading the Viking 56 Gypsea to victory in a closely contested – but fun-focused – competition.

“The Key West Challenge has been a success every year, but this time around the energy level, excitement and fishing was at an all-time high,” said Viking President and CEO Pat Healey. “This is an event exclusively for Viking owners, family and friends. It gives us the opportunity to thank them for being part of the Viking family.”

After a captain’s meeting at Dante’s Tiki Bar that featured delicious food, fun prizes and lots of camaraderie, the teams headed off the following morning for a glorious day on the water. A total of 45 sailfish were released and one swordfish was caught on day one. Gypsea topped the Day One leaderboard with five sails released (500 points), followed by the Viking 80 Mr. Grinch with four sails (400 points). The Viking 62 Tami Ann also released four sails and took third on time. The teams steamed back to the scales at Conch Harbor Marina to weigh their catches and pose for pictures. The Viking 44 Miss Peggy Sue II and captain/owner David Heeter stole the show with a 108-pound swordfish, which was donated for lunch the next day!

More Than Just Fishing

A pool party and lunch, a kids dock tournament and a poker run (i.e. bar crawl) highlighted a relaxed but festive lay day. In the kids tournament, which was sponsored by The Billfish Foundation, Colin Dicembrino took first place, with sisters Ella and Mia Wilson placing second and third, respectively. “This is what it’s all about – passing on the passion for fishing to the next generation,” TBF President Ellen Peel said. “Great job kids!”

The fishing turned white hot on the final day, with 87 sails released. The Viking 48 Fish Wish released eight sails and caught an 8.3-pound dolphin for 808.3 points. Last year’s champ, the Viking 55 Ragin Cajun, was right on their heels with seven sails and a 21.4-pound tuna (721.4 points).

Gypsea had a solid day two as well, with five sails. But it was their dolphin that turned out to be the difference-maker. With an overall point total of 1,004.6, Gypsea edged second-place finisher Mr. Grinch (1,000 overall points) to take the 2019 Viking Key West Challenge crown. Ragin Cajun landed third place overall with 933.8 points. Natalie Rarick on the Viking 82 Bandit took both Top Angler and Top Female Angler awards with eight sailfish and a total of 892.2 points. All results are listed below.

Top Sailfish Boat – Mr. Grinch

The four-day event wrapped up with an outdoor evening dinner and awards ceremony at the Margaritaville Resort that began with a beautiful Key West sunset. “You can’t beat this,” said Pat. “We truly do appreciate your participation in making this a very special Viking event.”

Top Angler – Natalie Rarick, Bandit

Next year, the 7th Annual Key West Challenge will be held April 15-18, 2020. Book your slip today!

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: anglers, ben sharpe, Captain, catch, florida keys, gypsea, InTheBite, magazine, Margaritaville Resort, Mates, mr. grinch, release, Sailfish, sixth annual, sportfish, sportfishing, swordfish, top, tournament results, Viking Key West Challenge, viking yacht company, Viking Yachts, winners

Final Sail is Back: Who Will Be Named Crown Jewel of Sailfishing?

March 29, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

Miami Beach, Fla. (Mar. 18, 2019) – The party moves south, as the highly anticipated grand finale of the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series, Final Sail, closes out in Miami Beach this year on April 3-7.  A hefty purse in excess of $800,000 is not the only prize teams have their eyes on.  The prestigious burgundy jackets are also awarded to the top overall team at this final leg of the series.  With an elite fleet of competitors, this world title is as tight as the lines, but the leader will be cut soon and just one team will claim their spot in the competitive sailfishing hall of fame.

Major payouts aren’t the only attraction for teams at Final Sail.  This grand finale takes place in Miami Beach, with an exciting kick-off party overlooking beautiful Biscayne Bay and a Resorts World Bimini sponsored “Casino Night” where anglers compete on the green felt to help raise money for the tournament charity, Fishing for Muscular Dystrophy.  The kick-off party is held Wednesday, April 3rd at the incredible DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay.  With a “day of rest” in between, competition starts on Friday, April 5th with lines in at 8 a.m.  Following lines out on day one, teams can unwind for happy hour at the famous Monty’s Restaurant in Miami Beach Marina with complimentary drinks and food. Day two of competition is Saturday April 6th and tensions will be high as the final scores determine both the winners of Final Sail and the Quest for the Crest series.

With a total purse exceeding $1.9 million dollars, several boats have claimed six figure prizes at each stop for the series.  With a current payout approaching $350,000 and a winner-take-all format, the Release Round Up  has the undivided attention of every team and many spectators heading into Final Sail. Run the table in Final Sail and your team will have a shot at a payday in excess of $500,000. Five teams were in arms reach of the jackpot in the last tournament, Sailfish Challenge, and two of those teams needed just two more releases to win the massive jackpot. The signature category is broken into four rounds of fishing (morning and afternoon) over the two-day competition.  In each round, a random number between 1 and 6 is drawn at the start of the round and represents the minimum number of sailfish a team must release during the 4-hour round in order to advance to the next. A team must advance through all four rounds and have the most releases in the final round among their competitors in order to claim the jackpot.

The results of the first two legs in the series have been diverse, with Utopia taking first place for Operation Sailfish with 14 releases, MDALA only a release behind with 13, and Kluch/Reel Easy taking 3rd place with 12 releases. Sailfish Challenge was a nail-bitter to the end. Native Son, one of the final five in the Release Round Up at the Challenge, secured 1st place with 20 releases. Team Good Call followed closely behind in 2nd with 19 releases and Kluch/Reel Easy snagged back-to-back 3rd place finishes with 18 releases. Their consistent performances earned them the lead in the series standings with 56 points followed by Bar South in 2nd place with 51 points, and one of the center-console favorites, team Showtime in 3rd place with 49 points on their 39’ SeaVee.

Claiming the world champions title and the burgundy jackets requires dominant performances and most importantly – consistency. As the final sailfish tournament of the season, teams know what is at stake.  Who will rise to the occasion?  The 7th annual Final Sail will be one to remember and the tournament of the season you won’t want to miss!

2019 Final Sail Details:

The Final Sail kick-off party is held on Wednesday, April 3 at the beautiful DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach.  Competition days are both Friday, April 5th and Saturday, April 6th, followed by an awards ceremony Sunday, April 7th at the DoubleTree Grand Hilton Hotel ballroom. Tournament registration is available online at www.FinalSail.com and remains open until the conclusion of the kickoff party on April 3rd.

For more information on Final Sail, visit www.FinalSail.com or call 954-725-4010. The entire Quest for the Crest schedule and series standings can be found at http://www.questforthecrest.com

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News Tagged With: 2019, Biscayne Bay, blue water movements, burgundy jackets, champions, crown jewel, Final Sail, finale, hilton grand hotel, InTheBite, miami beach, Quest for the Crest, Sailfish, sailfishing, sportfishing, tournament results, updates

Team Seraphim Wins 2019 Jimmy Johnson Billfish Championship

March 12, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — Team Seraphim of Ocean Reef, led by Captain Jerry Pohl of Miami, Florida, tallied 12 sailfish releases to take top honors at the two-day Billfish Championship, a main event of the Jimmy Johnson Fishing Championship Week that ended March 9 in the Florida Keys.

The Seraphim team earned $405,000 in overall prize money for the victory, as well as authentic, custom-designed Jimmy Johnson’s NBC Championship rings for each team member. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: 2019, anglers, Bar South, billfish, boats, Captain, Community Initiatives Foundation, final results, fishing, Florida, florida keys, InTheBite, Jimmy Johnson Billfish Championship, key largo, magazine, Mates, Sailfish, sandman, sportfish, sportfishing, Team Seraphim, tournament results, winners

Sailfish Challenge Final Results: “Native Son” Takes the Win

February 27, 2019 By InTheBite Editor

Native Son Wins Sailfish Challenge with Walk Off Release

Four boats make it to final round of $314,000 Release Round Up

Pompano Beach, Fla. (Feb 26, 2019) – Nothing short of exciting and unpredictable with a 52-boat fleet, 466 anglers, 3 inlets and 2 days of competition, the 16th annual Sailfish Challenge was one for the books. The tournament opened with an amazing kickoff party hosted at the International Game Fish Association, charitable beneficiary for the tournament. Within these two-days a total of 427 sailfish were released from Palm Beach down to Miami, with a majority of the boats fishing from Palm Beach to Jupiter. The record setting bite got off to a hot start at lines in on day 1 and stayed steady until the end of the tournament with multiple boats hooked up each day all the way through lines out.

Competition was stiff and the stakes were high with a $639,220 total purse and the $314,100 Release Round Up on a tight line, the first number drawn Friday morning was 1. 29 boats advanced to the second round. At noon on Friday the second number was pulled and coincidently it was number 2. 19 boats advanced on two round 3 where it would take 4 releases or more to make it to the final round on Saturday afternoon. 5 boats made the cut and were only a few hours and 5 more releases away from a $314,100 winner-take-all payday! Native Son, Double Diamond and Chips Ahoy Too all got the closest, each releasing 3 fish a piece in the final round, however the 5-release mark was not met.  Native Son went 3 for 6 in the final round, however it was not meant to be. With no winner, the massive jackpot rolls over into the Final Sail tournament in Miami on April 3-7 where it is expected to reach $350,0000!  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Featured Stories, General News, News, Tournament Results Tagged With: center consoles, final results, Florida, InTheBite, magazine, native son, palm beach, Quest for the Crest, release round up, Sailfish, Sailfish Challenge, sportfish, sportfishing, tournament results, winners

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