| Florida Keys Outdoor Channel Tournament Counts 153 Sailfish Releases From Just 14 Boats February 4th, 2006 |
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| by Carolina Bustamante |
| Page(s): 1 |
| (Jan. 20, 2006 - Islamorada,
FLorida Keys)... It was a dark and stormy morning, but the weather
didn’t deter the 14 boats setting out from Islamorada for the second and
final day of sailfishing during the second annual Outdoor Channel
Offshore Classic. Though the skies later cleared and the air stayed cool, the fishing remained hot and heavy -- 115 hook-ups and 83 releases, most of which were fish over 50 pounds. During the two-day tournament, the 56 anglers logged 222 hook-ups and 153 releases. The tournament title went to the team of Neil Grange and Jimmy David of Miami; Fenton Langston of Key Largo, Fla.; and Rodger Wilson of Homestead, Fla. The anglers released 31 sails over the two days while fishing with Islamorada’s Captain Paul Ross aboard Relentless out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina. Grange also took top angler honors with 12 releases. Langston, who won the top angler award in the inaugural 2005 tournament fishing with Ross, came in second with eight releases. Upon accepting his award, Grange said, "The fishing was great down here. I would definitely come back." Langston enjoyed the chief difference between Keys and mainland fishing. "Down here they rigger fish, while up in Miami it’s mostly kites," he said. "But there were a lot of fish out there. We saw five, six fish around baits a lot of the time." The team took home a prize jackpot worth more than $11,000 in cash. Second place went to the Critter Control Fishing Team -- Goran Limgmerth, Jay Arney and Cam Garst, all of Deerfield Beach, Fla; and Kevin Clark of Islamorada. The critter controllers released 16 fish while fishing with Islamorada’s Captain Glenn Miller aboard Wet Dream. Third place was taken by the Paralyzed Veterans of America team, fishing aboard Pretty Work, also out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina, with Captain John Oughton of Islamorada. Doug Warren of New Boston, Texas; Terry Tyna of Valley View, Ohio; Ron Hoskins of Downingtown, Pa.; and Steve Michels of Tualatin, Ore., released 15 sails, taking third place by time over Captain Brian Cone’s Contagious. The PVA team fished from wheelchairs and Pretty Work’s fighting chair. Ex-Marine Tyna, who has been involved with PVA bass tournaments, fished for sailfish for the first time. He said, "This was totally physical. I’m not accustomed to this -- when they say ’turn it, pump it, reel it in,’ you’ve got to do it or you’re going to lose your fish." During the tournament, Tyna hooked five fish and brought four to the boat. The winning team won an invitation to fish the prestigious 2007 Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The 2007 Outdoor Channel Offshore Classic is scheduled for Jan. 15-17 in Islamorada, and some of the top captains already have been booked. |