The second annual Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament kicked off at Fairfield Inn on April 20th, 2023. Each of the 14 registered teams showed up to pick up their tournament buckets filled to the brim with promotional items, drink tickets, and wristbands for the banquet. Each team was provided with a Gray Taxidermy tagging kit, neck gaiters, and hooded fishing shirts in their respective sizes. Excitement was in the air, there would be 83 anglers this year, and the weather starkly contrasted from the prior year. This time around, the sun was shining, and last year’s thirty-mile-per-hour gusts were replaced with a light ten-mile-per-hour breeze.

While last year the rough sea conditions were a worry this year, the question everyone was asking themselves was: was it too calm? Would they be able to fly kites? Would the sailfish even bite on a slicker of a day?

Teams gather at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Marathon, Florida, on Thursday, April 20, 2023, to collect promotional items and attend the reading of the rules.

On April 21st, 2023, the committee boat was set up outdoors in the sunshine to get the best radio reception. The committee consisted of Katie Lewis, the founder of the tournament, Dianne Harbaugh on the radio, Michael Rodriguez on live scoring, and Nicholas Yeager on website/tech and social media. Temperatures were in the mid-seventies with a light eight-mile-per-hour wind and quickly warming up as the morning sun rose.

At 8 am Dianne announced lines and wished everyone luck, and the second annual Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament was officially underway. Three minutes later, team No Slack with Captain James “Bucko” Platt at the helm, called in a hookup. Captain Ariel Medero of team Big Game called in a hook-up one minute later. Big Game angler Robert “Reggie” Hiro released his sailfish at 8:08 am just as they hooked another sailfish. Four minutes later, Captain Ariel released their Second sailfish on the day. Four minutes later No Slack called in a successful release. At 8:17 team Killbox also hooked up!

In the first 17 minutes of the Tournament, four sailfish had already been hooked. Tournament founder Katie Lewis let out a sigh of relief. Now Katie knew the calm weather wouldn’t shut down the bite entirely.

The teams pulled out all the stops to have the best chance of winning the grand prize. Some teams used giant helium balloons to assist in getting their kites aloft. At 8:43 am, Captain Marty Lewis aboard the Main One called in a hook-up. Shortly after the release went to angler Ben Zdan putting them in third place behind Big Game and No Slack. Half an hour later, Killbox called in their successful release with Junior Angler Corbin Buckley on the rod, putting him on the Junior Angler leaderboard.

Crew aboard the Main One attempt to tag an acrobatic sailfish.

By lunchtime, Team Big Game called in another hook-up and release. Robert “Reggie” Hiro was the angler, putting him at the top of the Male Angler leaderboard with two fish. Team Big Game had also tagged all three of their fish before release, putting them in 1st place in the most tagged category.

Then the sailfish bite slowed down. The committee boat joked that the sailfish were giving them a chance to eat their lunch. Katie was happy to see almost every category had a potential winner. Katie just needed a female to catch a fish, and all her beautiful trophies would find a home. Two hours later, at 2:07 pm, the silent hunter broke the silence! Captain Bj Meyer called in a double hook-up which was exciting for the committee boat. Angler Bill Blum was credited with the successful release a couple of minutes later. The second fish managed to escape, a stroke of bad luck.

Team Silent Hunter with Captain B.J. Meyer at the helm.

Captain Aerial called in another hook-up three minutes later, but they also lost that fish. ViceVersa called in a hook-up 7 minutes later, and they were able to convert with angler Tyler Rodriguez. Over the next half hour, Reel Attraction, Silent Hunter, and No Slack would release three more fish. Melissa Bennett from No Slack was the angler on the release putting her at the top of the female angler leaderboard. Katie Lewis was thrilled knowing she could hand out every trophy this year. Approximately 40 minutes later, team Vice Versa converted two releases on a double-hookup. Team Executive Decision’s Jill Paglia caught and released a fish putting her in second for top female angler. Twenty minutes later, Dianne called lines out at 4 pm, and day one of the tournament was officially complete.

Melissa Bennett fighting a sailfish aboard the No Slack.

Day Two

The weather on day two was similar to day one, and Dianne promptly called for lines-in over the radio at 8am. Eighteen minutes later, team Killbox’s Joe Marino caught the first sailfish of the day. Ten minutes later, Team Vice Versa called in a release.

Team ViceVersa on the prowl for a hungry sailfish.

The sailfish were being caught steadily but not at the pace of the day prior. By 9:15 am Jill Paglia caught her second sailfish aboard the Executive Decision putting her at the top of the female angler leaderboard. Just shy of an hour later, team Big Game tagged and released another Sailfish. Moments later, team Main Attraction-Sails Call’s Alexis Bowcock caught and released a sailfish. Alexis was last year’s Top Female Angler and is now in third place on the female angler leaderboard.

Team Main Attraction-Sails Call.

Not long after, Captain Marty Lewis, aboard the Main One, called in a release from angler Mark Busch. Around lunchtime, the bite slowed down as it did the previous day but Captain Alex Bell of team Blue Magic managed to put Trevor Cowieson on a Sailfish that he successfully released at 12:37pm.

Team Blue Magic launching a kite with the aid of a helium balloon.

After a lost fish or two and some humorous reports of Bonitas being caught, at 2:42 pm, team ViceVersa called in a hook-up and release. Just a minute later, it was No Slack’s Melissa Bennett with a Catch and release. Melissa was in second place on the top female angler leaderboard. 15 minutes later at 2:59 pm, one minute before the end of the tournament three boats called in hook-ups the Big Game, Main Attraction Sails call, and Vice versa. It was incredible! According to the rules, although it was lines out at 3 pm, any boat hooked up is allowed until 4 pm to tag or release their fish. Unfortunately for all three teams, they promptly lost their fish, and the fishing had concluded.

Winners

Awards Banquet

The awards banquet was held at Aquarium Encounters in Marathon, Florida, for the second consecutive year. Katie received so much positive feedback on the previous year that she was sure only to make changes that could further enhance everyone’s experience. This year they had a DJ and a better PA System. There were two bars instead of one. Brutus Restaurant & Seafood Market catered the event again this year, serving excellent fresh sushi, hand-rolled at the table, and an upscale take on a low country boil.

The Trophies made by Gray Taxidermy were a big hit. Eddie Forbes Art also provided beautiful artwork pieces with Marathon and Florida Keys Coastal themes used as prizes and raffle items for fundraising. The raffle was considerably larger than the prior year, with many fantastic prizes. Winners took home Fishing rods, reels, Costa sunglasses, Pelagic clothing, Stanz gear, marine-themed artwork, and more.

By the end of the evening, there were lots of smiles, and Katie Lewis once again accomplished her goal of being able to pay out prizes to the winners but still have enough proceeds to donate to a fantastic charity, Mission Fishin’.

Tournament director and founder Katie Lewis is already planning for the event in 2024!