Turnout of fishermen and fish set a record at the 12th annual Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament held March 15 to 18 out of Charlotteville, Tobago.
Thirty-eight boats and 184 anglers participated, says Capt. Gerard “Frothy” DeSilva, tournament director and owner of Hard Play Fishing Charters. “We had 44 blue marlin released, two brought to scale, and 14 sailfish, breaking the record set last year for most billfish caught in a tournament for Trinidad & Tobago.”
Day One saw Zingo, a boat out of Trinidad & Tobago, jump to the front of the pack with two blue marlin and a sailfish release for 1000 points. Then Day Two, Why Worry reversed its slow start and took Best Boat for the day with a whopping 1200 points. On Day Three, Viking IV took the Best Boat daily prize with two blue marlin releases and catapulted to the top of the leader board overall with a three-day total of 1802.70 points.
A week after the tournament ended, Tobago’s record-setting fishing continued. “We released our largest marlin to date on March 25 with longtime customers and friends Nick and Hailey Drakes of SEKARD Technologies, makers of the famous Hard Play Special lure and many other top lure designs,” says DeSilva. “Nick fought the 700-pound-plus monster for 50 minutes on 80 pound tackle. Not only was the fish huge, it was also spectacular and she brought out the best of every one on board to get her to boatside for a clean release.”
DeSilva optimistically added, “Maybe the Grander that we have been pursuing for many years may show up this season. We are most certainly prepared and ready to Tango.”
12th ANNUAL TOBAGO INTERNATIONAL GAME FISHING TOURNAMENT
RESULTS
Top 10 Boats:
1st Place Boat VIKING IV 1802.70 pts.
2nd Place Boat MISCHIEF 1730.63 pts.
3rd Place Boat GONE AGAIN 1676.88 pts.
4th Place Boat CHARGE UP 1333.38 pts.
5th Place Boat ZINGO 1300 pts. (based on time of catch tie-breaker)
6th Place Boat PALAWAN 1300 pts.
7th Place Boat WHY WORRY 1200 pts.
8th Place Boat EQUITY 1000 pts. (based on time of catch tie-breaker)
9th Place Boat HARD PLAY 1000 pts.
10th Place Boat PICK II 1000 pts.
Largest of Species:
Largest Blue Marlin 569.8 lbs. David Brash PAPA SAN
Largest Yellow Fin Tuna 26.70 lbs. Andrew Llanos CHARGE UP
Largest Dolphin 32.90 lbs. Samantha Antoine WORKSHOP SEA TOURS
Largest Wahoo 35.70 lbs. Tove Winkenes VIKING IV
Best of Category:
Best Male Angler 1300 pts. Larry Coehlo GONE AGAIN
Best Female Angler 852.70 pts. Tove Winkenes VIKING IV
Best Junior Angler – Male 188.10 pts. Adrian DeSilva HARD PLAY LITE
Best Junior Angler – Female 391.13 pts. Samantha Antoine WORKSHOP SEA TOURS
Best Junior Angler – Overall 391.13 pts. Samantha Antoine WORKSHOP SEA TOURS
Best Tag & Release Angler4 Tag & Release Larry Coehlo GONE AGAIN
Best Tag & Release Team 5 Tag & Release GONE AGAIN
Best Boat – Day 1 1000 pts. ZINGO
Best Boat – Day 2 1200 pts. WHY WORRY
Best Boat – Day 3 1008.08 pts. VIKING IV
