Reel Lucky Too rallies, Sandman flops in Derby<br><br>

By Willie Howard<br><br>

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer<br><br>

Sunday, January 07, 2007<br><br>

PALM BEACH SHORES — Making a long run to find fish in a sailfish tournament can pay off when the fishing is slow - or it can flop.<br><br>

Both results happened to the fishing team on the Sandman in the 70th annual Silver Sailfish Derby.<br><br>

The Sandman team rose well before dawn Friday, ran their 61-foot Viking 80 miles to Miami, released eight sailfish and took the lead in a tournament plagued by hot weather, southerly winds, slack current and a slow bite.<br><br>

On Saturday, the Sandman ran back to the waters off Miami, but the fish didn't cooperate.<br><br>

Sandman anglers released one sailfish they saw free jumping on the way back to Palm Beach County Saturday, giving them 11 sailfish for the three-day tournament.<br><br>

Farther north, in the waters off Hobe Sound, captain Tore Turney and his crew on Reel Lucky Too were racking up releases Saturday. They called in a triple, a double and single release - a total of six - to boost their score to 11 releases and win top boat in the Derby for the second time in four years.<br><br>

Even though both Sandman and Reel Lucky Too had 11 releases, the Reel Lucky Too won top boat because the team's fish were released earlier in the day. Turney, fishing with Jim Gill of West Palm Beach, also won the Derby in 2003, with 14 releases.<br><br>

The Reel Lucky Too team, including Turney, Gill, Bobby Lorello and Art Frigo, caught all 11 fish they hooked in this year's Derby. Frigo also won top angler, with seven releases.<br><br>

Celebrating with champagne at Sailfish Marina after turning in the winning score card Saturday, Gill said he was proud to bring top-boat Derby honors back to a Palm Beach County team.<br><br>

"It's a hometown win," Gill said. "We had to find our own fish."<br><br>

Notably absent from the list of top boats this year was the Get Lit team led by Ray Rosher of Miami, who won the Derby three years in a row - including last year's record-setting Derby, when Get Lit finished with a tournament record 59 releases and the fleet of 50 boats posted 958 releases.<br><br>

Get Lit posted three releases Thursday and none after running north beyond Fort Pierce in search of fish on Friday.<br><br>

The team released two sails off Miami Saturday, but those fish were disqualified because the team elected to return the boat to its home slip in Miami rather than make the run back to Lake Worth Inlet to turn in the score sheet.<br><br>

Another sailfish caught on Team Murray was disqualified Saturday because the reel broke while the angler was fighting the fish. They managed to pull the fish in by hand and release it, but hand-lining a fish violates International Game Fish Association angling rules.<br><br>

Overall, 148 sailfish were released by 54 boats in three days of fishing. The daily average of 0.91 releases per boat for the tournament is below the long-term Derby average and far below the 6.4-per-boat daily average posted in last year's record-setting Derby.

Tin Knocker wins at Old Port: Tin Knocker won the Old Port Yacht Club Billfish Tournament, with three releases on trolled, dead bait and 600 points.<br><br>

Joanna also scored 600 points with three dead-bait releases, but Tin Knocker won based on time.<br><br>

Overall, the action was slow. Fourteen boats released 14 sailfish in three days of fishing.<br><br>

Floridian takes lead in Fort Pierce: On the Treasure Coast, the fishing team on the Floridian led by captain Glenn Cameron released five sailfish Saturday to take the lead in the second day of the Fort Pierce Billfish Derby. Both the Floridian and Huzzy have seven releases after the second day of fishing, but Floridian is ranked in first place based on time of the releases.<br><br>

Bree is running third, with five releases.<br><br>

So far, the fleet of 17 boats has released 52 sailfish in two days of fishing, all on trolled, dead baits rigged with circle hooks.<br><br>

The Billfish Derby ends today. For details, go online to <a href="www.Fortpiercebillfish.com">www.FortPierceBillfish.com.</a><br><br>

Ocala pro wins on Lake Okeechobee: On Lake Okeechobee, Ocala bass pro Glenn Browne won $28,000 and a boat valued at $40,000 in the Stren Series Southeast Division tournament with a four-day cumulative weight of 60 pounds, 2 ounces.<br><br>

"This is totally awesome," Browne said. "I struggled today."<br><br>

Browne tried to catch bass on spinnerbaits Saturday, but the fish weren't going for it. He started flipping in patches of weeds and wound up catching five bass, including one that weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces.<br><br>

Chad Grigsby of Minnesota won second place among the boaters.<br><br>

His four-day weight of 57-13 won him $15,000. Matthew Parker of Georgia was third, with 55-4, followed by Scott Browning of North Carolina (55-3) and Sam Bass of Alabama (55-2).<br><br>

In the co-angler division, Chuck Webb of Sarasota won $5,000 and a boat valued at $30,000 with a four-day weight of 35-3. Webb was the only co-angler to weigh in five fish Saturday.<br><br>

For detailed results, go online to <a href="www.Flwoutdoors.com">www.Flwoutdoors.com</a>.<br><br>
 
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