This year’s 53rd Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Release Tournament, out of Jupiter Beach on Jan. 22-23, was a test of nerves. A field of 20 boats battled it out in severe weather, which include rough seas, rain and high west winds.
Boats Battle Severe Weather in 53rd Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tourney
Trollers dominated the awards following two days of brutal fishing. On day one, the lead changed with almost every release called in to the radio room on top of the Jupiter Beach Spa and Resort. De-Bait-Able started the day off with the first sailfish trolling, which was quickly followed by Daryl Deka’s 39′ Contender, Doin’ It All/Hard Way, calling in a double on live bait. The bite was slow, but consistent. By afternoon the lead was changing hands between three boats. The day ended with Tuna Tango, Della Ann and Intents in a three-way tie for first place release points.
Day two started off at 8:32 a.m. with a release by the 70′ Bertram, Kathy Jo, owned by Lewis Lakin and captained by John Millroy, a boat that didn’t have a single release on day one. The team was trolling rough seas 9 miles off the beach well north of tournament headquarters at Sailfish Marina. Tuna Tango and Miss Annie called in fish shortly thereafter, but Kathy Jo had found a pod of fish. They called in a single seven releases between 9:22 a.m. and 1 p.m., which was enough to seal the deal.
At the awards dinner at the Sailfish Club of Florida, the Buccaneer Cup awards were presented along with $171,000 in Calcutta money. The Kathy Jo team took the trophies for First Place Boat, most points overall, most points on dead bait and won the charity Calcutta for a free entry into next year’s Buccaneer Cup along with a pile of Calcutta money. Skipper John Millroy was presented with the InTheBite Top Captain trophy.
The Second Place Boat award went to Tuna Tango with Della Ann placing third. Top Angler honors went to David Cash of the Della Ann, second place was Tony Huerta of the Tuna Tango and third was Chris Manetta on the Old No. 7, who also received beautiful Buccaneer loving cups. Tournament Top Lady Angler was Tamara Slayton on the Reel Candy, who also took home the Biggest Fish award for a 31.5-pound blackfin tuna.
Kite flyers also caught fish. Old No. 7 took the $5,000 tournament cash and cup for the most points on live bait and a tidy check for several live bait categories.
“The big story this year was the weather surrounding the tournament,” said Gary Caputi, tournament director. “Fishing had been slow the weeks prior to the tournament, but the days leading up to it saw the first significant cold fronts of the year red hot fishing. Interest in the tournament was high, but the evening of the captains meeting at the Buccaneer Marina Restaurant the weather forecast for the two fishing days was deteriorating rapidly, which kept participation down. The boats that fished had their hands full and really tested their boats, equipment and crews.”