December NEFMA

Winter is coming and I would expect to see our usual cold fronts. Football playoffs will be in full swing and there will be plenty of smack talking going on. But most importantly it is officially “Wahoo Time”. The NEFMA Don Combs Wahoo Round Up kicks off 12/8 and runs through 1/27. Following that will be the world famous NE Florida Wahoo Shootout. The Shootout kicks off the beginning of Febuary and is run by NEFMA Board Member Paul Dozier. For details you can visit http://www.wahooshootout.com/.  The first annual Anytime Swordfish Showdown wrapped up at the end of October and you can see the results and highlights on their FB page. Good job Captian Jeff Crabtree on putting on this tournament. Jeff is also a NEFMA Board Member. By the way The Final Approval Fishing team won the NEFMA Swordfish Tournament this year and the Anytime Swordfish Showdown. Good Job !!

At NEFMA we are preparing our 2019 Tournament and Events calendar. We expect to continue our quarterly seminar series bringing in speakers on relevant topics around off-shore fishing. The Bluewater Tournament is scheduled for April 25 through April 28. We will also be hosting other tournaments through out the year. Including a Dolphin, Marlin, Swordfish and Sailfish tournaments. Those dates can be found on our website and FB page. Now is the time to renew or join NEFMA. The club has gone through some transition but is poised to really make a come back. Let me take you back to 2001/2002 fishing results. There were 220 Billfish releases logged. 23 of those were Blue Marlin and 34 were Swordfish !!! Of course things are a little different now with fewer big boats and less captains chasing Billfish. This year we will have less than 30 Billfish logged. However competition is competition. We have categories for Wahoo, Dolphin and Tuna. Everyone is competing for several year end awards including Boat of the Year and our Tournament Series Championship. NEFMA provides a place and a way to compete with and get to know other anglers with similar passions. So if you are interested in joining or have questions please visit our website at Club NEFMA | North East Florida Marlin Association

Scott Stanley

VP NEFMA