Team Cool Runnings secured the overall win and a $25,000 first-place cash prize at Marathon’s 12th annual Bull and Cow Dolphin Tournament that ended May 6 in the middle Florida Keys.
Islamorada, Fla. residents Jack Redberg, Max Dixson, Paul Ross, KC Spaulding and Will Kaufman, each aged between 18 and 21—and whose fathers are second- and third-generation Keys fishing captains—tallied a 65-pound combined weight of a bull and cow dolphin fish for the win.
The team earned an additional prize for the largest bull overall, a fish that weighed 58.6 pounds, and a prize for the largest combined weight of three fish, 78.8 pounds.
Team Executive Decision’s 53-pound bull and cow total earned them the tournament’s overall second place and a cash prize of $3,000.
In third place was team All In, with anglers from Ocala, Fla.: Sam Milazzo, Chris Wear, John Paglia Jr., Anthony Paglia, Jill Paglia and John Paglia III. Their 45-pound bull and cow total earned them a $1,000 cash payout.
Cash prizes of $1,000 each also were awarded to team Reel Big Dog II for the tournament’s largest wahoo (21 pounds), team Discovery for the largest blackfin tuna (19 pounds) and team Up Grade for a 9.4-pound tripletail.
According to organizers, a field of 129 boats with nearly 650 anglers—the tournament’s largest attendance to date—participated in the popular Middle Keys challenge that raises money for local charities and athletic scholarships.
The event was headquartered at the Faro Blanco Resort in Marathon.