2007 World Diamond Source/ABC Billfish Challenge Sets New Tournament Record |
|
|
For Immediate ReleaseTotal # of Boats – 67 Total # of Releases – 249 The 2007 World Diamond Source/ABC Billfish Challenge was greeted by arguably the best Sailfishing conditions that teams have seen so far this season. Sixty-seven teams combined to release 249 sailfish in the one-day tournament.
Within minutes of the 7am announcement for lines in the water, the releases began to pour in over the tournament channel. And the bite was red hot everywhere. “The unique 3-inlet format of this tournament makes it very accessible to Sailfish teams up and down the coast,” said tournament director, Jamie Bunn. “It gives them the ability to decide where they think the bite will be the best in advance and check out of the inlet closest to that area. Ultimately, they gain extra fishing time, save a lot of money in fuel, and reduce the potential for damage to their boats and equipment by making excessively long runs in rough seas.” Early on, it was the Kiss Country team, Country Cookin, that captured the lead and stayed in that position through midday with 6 releases before noon. Captain Dave Rigby and his team on Country Cookin checked out of Hillsboro Inlet and ran to the north to find their fish. Meanwhile, Captain John Dudas on Wound Up and Dean Panos on Double D were picking away at their fair share of fish in their home grounds off Miami Beach. “My charter was 2 for 9 on sails by 11am,” said Panos. But that’s not the only excitement his charter saw on board his 34’ SeaVee. In the process of releasing their first Sailfish of the day a 300 pound Mako appeared out of nowhere and rammed the Sailfish against the side of the boat. “The Mako struck the fish into the boat so hard that it shook the side of my boat,” said Panos. Double D went on to release 12 out of 21 Sailfish in the tournament and finish third place overall. As things heated up to the South, the tournament’s presenting sponsor, Danny Massa of D&D Welding, began to make the most of his opportunities in the waters they were fishing in 100 to 130 feet of water between Lake Worth Pier and Palm Beach Inlet. Massa and his Never Satisfied team started slowly, but quickly heated up with a double, a triple and a quadruple header. Massa’s team batted a thousand catching all nine of those fish. They went on to release 7 more fish in the tournament for a final tally of 16 for 18 on the day. Capt. Joe McGivern on the Night Prowler and the Capt. Dudas from the Wound Up made a late charge in the afternoon to push their teams into the top 5 standings at the end of the day.
1st Place – Never Satisfied – 3200 points - $41,500 In the funfish division Ryan Goldman of team Living Water weighed in a 67.45 pound Wahoo which was by far the heaviest fish of the tournament. That catch earned the team $8,600 in prize money.
Contact Info: |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Mariner's Market
