The Redbone @ Large 37th Annual Capt. Al Flutie's Over the Hill Rip-Off Sailfish Tournament kicked off at the Ocean View Inn and Sports Pub on Tuesday the 10th of February in Islamorada, Florida. The tournament which honors local fishing legends and celebrities hosted 47 anglers, all 50 years old or older. As the teams headed out on Wednesday the seas were perfect for sail fishing. Less than thirty minutes into the day, Angela Wolf fishing with her husband Winn Wolf released the first fish of the tournament aboard their boat Win-n-Angel, securing them the Al McLeod Memorial First Fish award.
The bite was steady in the morning, and 22 sailfish were released by noon. Kimbuktu would be in the lead with five, followed by Main One with four releases. Just after lunch the Main One released two fish propelling them into the lead with six releases. Silent Hunter would put pressure on the front runners by releasing five sails. A double header at 12:39 would put Kimbuktu back in the lead with seven and they did not look back. Kimbuktu's anglers Robbie Buckley and Jack Falcucci fishing with Robert Champagne from Stonington, CT who released the teams twelfth sailfish at 2:33, took home the Michelle Snyder Memorial Grand Champion award. Kimbuktu's captain Dean Panos received the Captain Al Flutie Memorial High Point Captain award, and the Ron Harrison Memorial High Point Mate award went to Casey Yaworski. Jack released 5 of the teams twelve fish winning the Capt. Dirrk Reich Memorial High Point Angler award.
Captain BJ Meyer's Silent Hunter led his anglers Bill Blum, Barry Mayers, and Jack Callion all from Marathon FL into second place with eight releases, winning the Rip Tosen Memorial Second Place award. Third place honors went to Mark Bush from West Lake OH, and Dave Whalon from The Villages, FL. The duo released seven sailfish, fishing with Marty Lewis aboard his charter boat Main One. The JayAnna Cohan Memorial High Point Female Angler award went to Angela Wolf with two releases. A forty-five-pound Wahoo caught by Robert Collins on the Back in Business won the Joey Naples Memorial Most Outstanding Catch Award. Donny Lange won the Junior Division Trophy, being the youngest angler in the tournament to release a sail. The Captain Socko Gorenflo Memorial Senior Division, (Certified old fart) award went to angler Cecil White being the oldest angler to release a fish.
Nicole Ellis presented the Captain Dick Sheppard Memorial Sportsmanship Trophy to Time Out's captain Mike Mason who relayed hook ups and releases for boats that could not reach the committee boat. "Nicole is the reason we are all here," said Tournament Director Dianne Harbaugh, "Nicole was born with Cystic Fibrosis, and her parents Gary and Susan started the Redbone tournaments. Nicole was not supposed to live to be a teenager and because of our great community and people like our anglers and sponsors who supported years of research, she is now married and in her early forties." Nicole is Captain Dick Sheppard's granddaughter.
2nd Place Team
Silent Hunter
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All the awards were donated by local artist Pasta Pantaleo, a community supporter and event promoter. "This tournament is so rich in history," said tournament director Dianne Harbaugh. "It is great to keep the memories alive of our friends who helped to make Islamorada the Sportfishing Capital of the World. We could not do this without the help of our local businesses and great people that made this event amazing. We are all working together to raise money for the Redbone in their effort to catch the cure for cystic fibrosis."
