01-21-2013, 05:10 PM
West Palm Beach - What a difference a year makes. Unseasonably warm weather and blustery winds tested the 44 boat fleet fishing in the West Palm Beach Fishing Club's 76th annual Silver Sailfish Derby held January 10th through the 12th. The tournament fleet, headquartered out of the Sailfish Marina on Singer Island, released a total of 185 sailfish during three days of fishing. It was a stark contrast to the world record setting 1,174 sailfish releases posted by a 46 boat fleet during the 2012 Derby. "We can't set records every year," commented WPBFC Chairman and Derby radioman Pete Schulz. "The sailfish are still north of us. There is a body of fish just south of Cape Canaveral, but without any strong cold fronts they really have no reason to push further south."
The slow bite made this year's Derby more competitive in terms of the number of teams that were in a position to win. "A double or triple header can shuffle the leader board in an instant," said tournament director Tom Twyford. Derby leaders changed frequently on the first day. A strong east-southeast wind whipped sea conditions up to eight feet at one point in the day challenging even the biggest of boats. Locally based 'Absolut Joy', captained by Matt Rabenstine, earned top daily honors based on time on day one with 5 sailfish releases. Team 'Castings', one of the smallest boats in the Derby fleet at 27', also finished the day with five releases and registered a few impressive weight fish including a 31.8 lb. kingfish and a 28.7 lb. dolphin. "We had a great day. Fortunately, we caught every fish we saw today. That doesn't always happen," said team captain James Knox of West Palm Beach. Top daily angler the first day was Peter Adrian of Miami aboard the '4 Aces', with 4 sailfish releases. The heavy weight fish on the first day was a 37.9 lb. cobia caught by Eric Hall aboard the 'Good Call'. A total of 69 sails were released on the Derby's first day. By comparison, the fleet was registering about that many per hour the previous year.
Rough conditions persisted on the Derby's second day. Team 'Hard Way' and a handful of other boats endured the choppy seas and traveled north to the waters off Stuart Inlet where they were rewarded with decent fishing. "Our plan was to keep moving from wreck to wreck off Stuart. It was a lot of work, but it paid off. Our shallowest bite came in 88 feet of water," commented team captain Mark Lamb of West Palm Beach. 'Hard Way' earned top daily boat honors on day two of the Derby with a total of 7 sailfish releases. High angler on day two was Janeen Davis of Riviera Beach, with 5 individual releases aboard the 'Mako'. The Derby fleet released a total of 71 sailfish on the second day. Heavy weight fish honors went to Luis Isaias of Coconut Grove, who landed a 39.7 lb. wahoo aboard the Jichi. The fish would end up being the Grand Champion weight fish of the tournament.
The weather gods mercifully gave the Derby fleet a respite on the final day. Sea conditions were much calmer. Over a dozen boats were within just four fish of the lead. A real horse race developed with just a few hours remaining in the tournament when four boats were tied for the lead and several others were just one or two fish off the mark. The Derby fleet released a total of 45 sails on the final day. Team 'Hit'n Run', captained by Cory Gillespie, tallied 4 sailfish releases to win top daily boat honors on day three and 'Absolut Joy' angler Susan McCart of Sarasota was the top daily angler. In the end, 'Absolut Joy' emerged as Derby champions with a total of 12 sailfish releases overall. Team '4 Aces', led by Captain John Dudas, finished second overall with 11 releases. Team 'Hard Way', a 33' Contender, finished third overall with 10 releases and claimed the Top Small Boat award, a new award featured in the Derby this year. Team 'Sandbob' from Ft. Lauderdale finished fourth overall on time with 9 sailfish releases. The prestigious Mrs. Henry R. Rea trophy for the top individual angler, the oldest trophy in competitive sailfishing, went to '4 Aces' angler Peter Adrian with 9 individual sailfish releases on time. Angler Janeen Davis placed second overall individually with 9 releases and also earned the Top Lady Angler trophy. Susan McCart on 'Absolut Joy' placed third overall and Mike Bondurandt, of Ft. Lauderdale, fishing aboard the 'Sandbob' was the fourth place angler overall. Bondurandt also landed a 25.5 lb. cobia on the final day to earn a daily weight fish award. Team 'Reel Lucky', led by Captain Tore Turney, took home the Top Tag Team award for tagging a total of three sailfish with Billfish Foundation tags.
"The historic catch per boat day average in the Derby has been between 1.3 to 1.5 sails. The catch rate this year averages out to be 1.4 sails per boat day. So even though it seems like it was woefully slow fishing this year, it really falls within our historic average. We have been spoiled by ideal weather conditions and tremendous fishing the past several years," commented Twyford. Next year's Silver Sailfish Derby is set for January 8th - 11th, 2014. For more information this year's Derby and a complete list of final standings by boat visit www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org.
The slow bite made this year's Derby more competitive in terms of the number of teams that were in a position to win. "A double or triple header can shuffle the leader board in an instant," said tournament director Tom Twyford. Derby leaders changed frequently on the first day. A strong east-southeast wind whipped sea conditions up to eight feet at one point in the day challenging even the biggest of boats. Locally based 'Absolut Joy', captained by Matt Rabenstine, earned top daily honors based on time on day one with 5 sailfish releases. Team 'Castings', one of the smallest boats in the Derby fleet at 27', also finished the day with five releases and registered a few impressive weight fish including a 31.8 lb. kingfish and a 28.7 lb. dolphin. "We had a great day. Fortunately, we caught every fish we saw today. That doesn't always happen," said team captain James Knox of West Palm Beach. Top daily angler the first day was Peter Adrian of Miami aboard the '4 Aces', with 4 sailfish releases. The heavy weight fish on the first day was a 37.9 lb. cobia caught by Eric Hall aboard the 'Good Call'. A total of 69 sails were released on the Derby's first day. By comparison, the fleet was registering about that many per hour the previous year.
Rough conditions persisted on the Derby's second day. Team 'Hard Way' and a handful of other boats endured the choppy seas and traveled north to the waters off Stuart Inlet where they were rewarded with decent fishing. "Our plan was to keep moving from wreck to wreck off Stuart. It was a lot of work, but it paid off. Our shallowest bite came in 88 feet of water," commented team captain Mark Lamb of West Palm Beach. 'Hard Way' earned top daily boat honors on day two of the Derby with a total of 7 sailfish releases. High angler on day two was Janeen Davis of Riviera Beach, with 5 individual releases aboard the 'Mako'. The Derby fleet released a total of 71 sailfish on the second day. Heavy weight fish honors went to Luis Isaias of Coconut Grove, who landed a 39.7 lb. wahoo aboard the Jichi. The fish would end up being the Grand Champion weight fish of the tournament.
The weather gods mercifully gave the Derby fleet a respite on the final day. Sea conditions were much calmer. Over a dozen boats were within just four fish of the lead. A real horse race developed with just a few hours remaining in the tournament when four boats were tied for the lead and several others were just one or two fish off the mark. The Derby fleet released a total of 45 sails on the final day. Team 'Hit'n Run', captained by Cory Gillespie, tallied 4 sailfish releases to win top daily boat honors on day three and 'Absolut Joy' angler Susan McCart of Sarasota was the top daily angler. In the end, 'Absolut Joy' emerged as Derby champions with a total of 12 sailfish releases overall. Team '4 Aces', led by Captain John Dudas, finished second overall with 11 releases. Team 'Hard Way', a 33' Contender, finished third overall with 10 releases and claimed the Top Small Boat award, a new award featured in the Derby this year. Team 'Sandbob' from Ft. Lauderdale finished fourth overall on time with 9 sailfish releases. The prestigious Mrs. Henry R. Rea trophy for the top individual angler, the oldest trophy in competitive sailfishing, went to '4 Aces' angler Peter Adrian with 9 individual sailfish releases on time. Angler Janeen Davis placed second overall individually with 9 releases and also earned the Top Lady Angler trophy. Susan McCart on 'Absolut Joy' placed third overall and Mike Bondurandt, of Ft. Lauderdale, fishing aboard the 'Sandbob' was the fourth place angler overall. Bondurandt also landed a 25.5 lb. cobia on the final day to earn a daily weight fish award. Team 'Reel Lucky', led by Captain Tore Turney, took home the Top Tag Team award for tagging a total of three sailfish with Billfish Foundation tags.
"The historic catch per boat day average in the Derby has been between 1.3 to 1.5 sails. The catch rate this year averages out to be 1.4 sails per boat day. So even though it seems like it was woefully slow fishing this year, it really falls within our historic average. We have been spoiled by ideal weather conditions and tremendous fishing the past several years," commented Twyford. Next year's Silver Sailfish Derby is set for January 8th - 11th, 2014. For more information this year's Derby and a complete list of final standings by boat visit www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org.