northeast florida boats

August 1999 Table of Contents

NORTHEAST FLORIDA BOATS SWEEP 16th ANNUAL TREASURE CAY INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT

Henry "Buck" Autrey and his team from Jacksonville, fishing on the Bet-A-Buc, a 60' Ocean, caught three consecutive blue marlin to win the 16th Annual Treasure Cay International Billfish Tournament in June. Bet-A-Buc tagged and released four blue marlin, including two within 11 minutes on the last day of fishing, for a total of 1,200 points. The victory earned them a spot in the IGFA International Tournament of Champions to be held in Hawaii next March.

Bet-A-Buc was chased by Hank Ford on the 40' Viking Doodlebug. Ford, also of Jacksonville, also came from behind with a doubleheader in the last hour of the tournament that capped off a wild final day of fishing. The Doodlebug took home second place, tagging and releasing three blue marlin and one sailfish for a total of 975 points. Finishing third and fourth places were Fred Yocum Sr on his 60' Hatteras Bear's Den from St Augustine and Roger Combs' 35' Bertram War Eagle from Ponte Vedra Beach. Both released three blue marlin for 900 points with the time tiebreaker going to Bear's Den. . All four boat owners are members of the Northeast Florida Marlin Association.

Stephanie Carroll, fishing on the Doodlebug, took the top angler, top release angler and top lady angler awards. With 43 minutes remaining in the tournament the Ponte Vedra Beach resident caught a blue marlin to bring hertotal to two tagged and released blue marlin and one sailfish. In addition, Stephanie caught a 74.4 lb wahoo to earn the largest wahoo trophy. Fred Yocum Jr from Paducah KY aboard the Bear's Den won second place angler, followed by Joe Mason from St Augustine on the Let's Do It II.

The largest billfish for the week, a 416 lb blue marlin, was caught by George Tom on board his 48' Ocean The Recovery Room. 34 billfish (30 blue, 1 white, 3 sail) were caught on 21 boats during the four day tournament and all but two were released. The biggest dolphin for the week was a 32 pounder caught by George Kinney on the Moon Dog. Top Junior Angler (16 and under) was Ross Turlington on the Doodlebug.

The 16th TCIBT utilises photos taken by participants on tournament-provided cameras for verifying releases. The competition is a modified release tournament with a 99 inch minimum for blue marlin.

The six-day event also featured several dinners and cocktail parties, a Bahamian arts and crafts fair and a golf tournamnet on the lay day, a dessert contest, an anglers' cookout and a raffle which raised funds for the IGFA Junior Angler Program and several local organisations. Major sponsors supporting the tournament are Abaco Markets Ltd, Texaco Bahamas, Solomon's Mines, Caterpillar, Gulfsteam International Airlines and Burns House.

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