DERBY DEJA VU

By Tom Twyford

Thu, Jan 26, 2006

Sailfish Marina, Palm Beach Shores, FL – Those who participated in the West Palm Beach Fishing Club's 69th annual Silver Sailfish Derby have one heck of fish story to tell…again. The Derby, recognized as the world's oldest billfish tournament, has achieved yet another noteworthy milestone in the world of competitive fishing. On January 5th, 6th and 7th, 2006, a total of fifty (50) boats caught and released 958 sailfish. The astounding catch is believed to be a world record for the most Atlantic sailfish released during three consecutive days of tournament fishing and surpasses the Derby's record in 2004 when 59 boats released 636. What's more, all were caught and released on tournament approved zero-degree offset circle hooks (Eagle Claw L2004EL and Penn International Billfish Hook P170). Circle hooks have been proven to cause less damage to sailfish compared to more traditional j-hooks and have also been shown to reduce post-release mortality.

Team Get Lit, a 53' Viking from Miami, skippered by Capt. Ray Rosher with anglers Peter Miller, Christopher 'Kitt' Toomey and Carlos Garcia finished in first place, establishing a new tournament record of 59 sailfish releases for their three day total. Get Lit has been the top Derby boat three years in row. They released an unprecedented 35 sailfish during the Derby's second day, another tournament record. 'Kitt' Toomey also earned the coveted Mrs. Henry R. Rea Trophy, the Derby's top angler award, by posting 26 individual sailfish releases, also a tournament record. Ironically, Toomey's fellow teammate, Peter Miller, shares the record with his 26 releases posted during the 2004 Silver Sailfish Derby. "I'd say that's as good as it gets anywhere in the world. I wish I had a camera strapped to my head the past three days so people could see the things I saw on the water. It was incredible to witness," said an exhausted Capt. Ray Rosher during the tournament awards ceremony.

Prior to the start of this year's Derby summer-like weather conditions had slowed the sailfish bite to a trickle; a weather pattern similar to the memorable 2004 Derby. The evening of the Derby Captain's meeting a mild cold front moved through the area producing light west-northwest winds. The timing of this wind change, cooler air temperatures and a rising barometer could not have been more perfect. Early morning fog on the Derby's first day soon gave way to a crisp clear sky and the stage was set for ideal winter sailfishing. No one was disappointed. A total of 258 sailfish were released by the Derby fleet making it the best first day of fishing in tournament history. It was one of many tournament records that would eventually fall over the course of the three-day event.

When the initial day of fishing concluded Team Catch One of Singer Island held the lead with 18 releases. Former World Billfish Series Grand Champion Mark Wodlinger was the Top Daily Angler with 11 sailfish releases. Wodlinger also earned the Louis Boski Memorial Trophy for the Derby's most outstanding catch. The unorthodox sailfish battle underscores his competitive nature. Wodlinger's fish was part of a hot double header that had dumped almost all of the line off his reel. In a panic, Team Catch One called Derby headquarters to see if tournament rules allowed anglers to jump overboard to fight a fish. With very little time to debate the issue and Wodlinger down to just a few wraps of line on his reel, the Derby committee gave the okay, and Mark promptly jumped out of the boat with a life vest on and rod in hand. Wodlinger's teammates sped off to chase down the other fish while he was being towed by his quarry. In a matter of minutes the boat returned to pick up the drifting angler. Unassisted, Wodlinger climbed back into the boat and in short order was able to release his fish. "We never imagined that we would have to address the issue of staying in the boat to fight a fish in our tournament rules. I think you'll see the tournament committee address it in the future, but it sure makes for a good fish story," laughed West Palm Beach Fishing Club president John Jolley.

The Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce couldn't have arranged better conditions on the Derby's first day. However, the second day was a far different story when the Derby fleet was greeted by a second and much stronger cold front. By mid-morning the sea conditions began to deteriorate with wind gusts out of the northwest in excess of 25 knots. But nobody seemed to care. That's because the weather change only intensified what was already a fantastic sailfish bite. The best fishing continued to be close to home right off Singer Island and Palm Beach. Within the first hour of fishing it was evident that something very special was unfolding. The tournament's radio committee was under siege. "It was pretty chaotic, but everybody kept their cool," said Pete Schulz of Fishing Headquarters in Jupiter where the Derby's radio base station is located. Derby rules require that every sailfish caught be reported to the radio committee. At the conclusion of the second day, the Derby fleet had set yet another tournament record by releasing 397 sails. News of the incredible sailfish bite spread like wildfire at local tackle shops, marinas and on Internet chat rooms. To emphasize just how non-stop the action was, the radio committee averaged a sailfish release every 1 minute and 40 seconds for eight consecutive hours. Some tournament boats had so many bites they ran out of bait. At 3:34 p.m. Team Strictly Business radioed in sailfish number 637 caught by angler Dan Farkas to eclipse the Derby's previous all-time sailfish release record of 636. One tournament angler who had fished the record setting 2004 Derby commented, "Haven't we been here before? It's Derby déjà vu!"

When boats returned to the dock many of them didn't have enough sailfish release pennants in their personal inventory to display. Numerous boats and individuals reported their personal best days ever. One of those anglers was past Rea Trophy winner Jim Gill of West Palm Beach, who released 18 sails to earn the Top Daily Angler Award on the second day. Gill was fishing with Capt. Tore Turney and mate Bob Lorello on his 31' Contender, Reel Lucky, Too. Team Get Lit was the Top Boat on the second day. They posted an amazing 35 releases surpassing the one-day tournament record for a boat. The previous record was held by Team Cookie, with the 30 sailfish releases they tallied during the second day of the 2004 Derby. "The radio committee did an outstanding job today managing everybody on the radio under very intense circumstances. Most people wouldn't have the patience or concentration to handle such a stressful situation," said Jolley.

As the Derby fleet returned to the dock it looked as if they were in some sort of a parade. One tournament spectator at The Sailfish Marina exclaimed, "That's a lot of laundry!" referring to the scores of red release pennants and sailfish flags flying from tournament boats. Over half the fleet was already into double digits with one day left to fish.

The numbers being tallied on the Derby scoreboard looked more like halftime scores in a college basketball tournament rather than a sailfishing event. The tournament's catch per boat on the second day was an average of 7.94 sails, the best average ever in Derby history and the two-day total stood at 655.

On the Derby's final day the wind backed off, but maintained its north-northwest direction. Within the first minute of fishing Team Murray reported the first fish of the day. Like a broken record that keeps playing the same tune, the Derby fleet immediately picked up where they left off on the previous day. In fact, throughout the first hour of the final day, a sailfish release was logged every forty seconds! At 2:03 p.m. Saturday afternoon (the final day of the Derby is two hours shorter than the other days), the VHF crackled for the last time with the request for a time and a fish number. Sailfish number 958 was released by angler Mark Wodlinger aboard Team Catch One, concluding the most successful three day sailfish release event in U.S. history. Top boat honors the final day went to No Problem lead by Captain Nik Paleologos for their 16 releases. Coco Paleologos was Top Daily Angler with 9 individual releases, edging out angler 'Kitt' Toomey on time. Angler Jeff Roberts of Boca Raton, fishing aboard Royal Fortune, put together a great last day effort with 6 releases to earn the Second Place Angler award. Roberts released 25 sails overall, including 13 sails on the Derby's second day. Jim Gill aboard the Reel Lucky, Too finished in third place overall with 21 releases on time beating Peter Miller on Get Lit, Hunter Beall on No Problem, and Mark Wodlinger on Catch One who all posted 21 releases as well.

The atmosphere was electric back at Sailfish Marina as tournament boats returned to the dock to turn in their daily score sheets. Jubilant crew members aboard the Chips Ahoy tossed their team captain, Chip Sheehan, in the water in celebration of their second place finish overall, with 44 total releases. The Chips Ahoy team didn't have enough red release pennants to display their tournament total so the assigned observer, Ron Heglund, acted quickly by cutting up one of the teams red t-shirts to fashion the remaining pennants needed. At Fishing Headquarters in Jupiter where the Derby radio committee was based, an exhausted group of volunteers gave each other high fives and basked in the glory of the moment.

Derby anglers tagged 81 sailfish this year with Billfish Foundation nylon dart tags. Team Get Lit tagged 17 of their 59 sails to win the Top Tag Team Award. Wellington angler Tim McClure on the Ale & Rye landed the heaviest eligible weight fish during the three day Derby. His 53 lb. wahoo was just shy of a new tournament weight fish record. "We thought we had a foul hooked sail. We never imagined it was a wahoo because we were using a mono leader and circle hook," said an ecstatic McClure.

Through the years, there have been several south Florida tournaments that have posted significant catches. In 1987, 110 boats fishing the North-South tournament, now defunct, released 536 sailfish in four days; and in 1996, 73 boats fishing 3 of 4 days released 608 sailfish during the annual Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament. Additionally, in 1997 the 44th annual Stuart Light Tackle Tournament had a 538 fish total (45 boats fished 4 out of 5 days) on dead baits. The first day, 38 boats released a staggering 382 sailfish. On December 3rd, 2005 another incredible tournament sailfish catch occurred. Sixty-five boats fishing the two-day Sailfish Kick Off in Miami released a record setting 403 sails on the first day of fishing, and tallied an impressive tournament total of 550 releases.

This year's Silver Sailfish Derby record 958 releases begs the question, how does such an incredible fishing phenomenon occur? WPBFC president John Jolley, a former sailfish biologist summed it up by saying, " The combination of an abundance of bait, perfect timing on the weather change, and a fleet of 50 boats made up of very experienced captains, mates and anglers, is certainly a recipe for success. I think we are also seeing the results of several strong year classes of sailfish." Jolley's comments are backed up by observations made by tournament anglers like Sandra Kaupe aboard the Sandra T. "I couldn't believe how much bait was out there. Plus we caught sailfish of all sizes. We had some really big fish, but we caught small ones too. I've been tournament sailfishing around here since the early 60's and this is as good as I've seen it in a long, long time," commented Kaupe.

Additional information on the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and the Silver Sailfish Derby is available on the worldwide web at www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org or www.fishwbs.com. Photos from this year's Silver Sailfish Derby can be viewed at leonardbryant.lifepics.com (password: ssd06).