Date: January 16 & 17, 2024

Trophy Hunter wins Islamorada Fishing Club’s Captains Cup Sailfish Tournament

The Islamorada Fishing Club welcomed 68 anglers fishing on 19 boats for the Islamorada Fishing Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament on January 17th. Islamorada Fishing Club Member Captain Brian Cone led team Trophy Hunter to first place, also achieving the team’s second win in the three-leg Florida Keys Gold Cup Sailfish Championship.

The Trophy Hunter team released five sailfish between 8:45 and 11:13 a.m. on the contest’s single day of fishing to take and maintain the lead, landing the winner-take-all prize of $19,000. Trophy Hunter angler 13-year-old Andy Cone of Tavernier, FL, released two of the teams’ fish, Club member Mark Mitchell and Kenneth Padgett, both from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Club Member Travis Bennett of Tavernier, Florida, each released one sail, to round out the team’s winning five fish total.

Returning to the dock in second place with three sailfish was Captain Marty Lewis of Marathon, Florida, at the helm of Main One/Main Attraction. The team’s anglers were Mark Busch of Key Colony Beach, Florida; Ben Zdan, Ariel Medero, and Alex Lewis from Marathon; and Danny Lombardo of Islamorada.

In third was Captain Alex Adler of Islamorada and his crew aboard Kalex. The team, including Indiana anglers Chris Chastain, Allen Sutkowski, and Nathan Burns, along with Colby Mason of Islamorada, released two sailfish. 26 sailfish were released in the IFC Sailfish Tournament, which is the second leg of the annual three-event Florida Keys Gold Cup Championship series.

Festivities were held in the club’s temporary location while their gorgeous new building was being built. The Islamorada Fishing Clubs Captains Cup Dolphin tournament will be held on June 27th, 2024.