79.6 F
Cruz Bay
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsLocal sports‘Sodium’ Is Top Boat, Damron Is Top Angler of 54th July Open...

‘Sodium’ Is Top Boat, Damron Is Top Angler of 54th July Open Billfish Tournament

Chad Damron on ‘Sodium’ (second from left) win’s Top Angler and the Captain Johnny Harms ‘Give Him Line’ Trophy. (L to R) Capt. Spike Herbert, VIGFC board member; Damron; Dr. Brian Biscoe, VIGFC board member; Capt. Red Bailey, past president and VIGFC board member. (Photo credit: Dean Barnes)

Two boats nearly swapped places on the leaderboard during the third and final day of fishing in the 54th July Open Billfish Tournament (JOBT). In the end, it was Sodium that earned Top Boat and the 75-foot Weaver’s owner and angler, Chad Damron, who won Top Angler with six blue-marlin releases. Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club (VIGFC) hosted the event.

“We hooked up quickly this morning and were one of the first of the day to catch a blue marlin,” said Damron of Crystal River, Fla. “Never Say Never hooked up while we were fighting our fish, so that put us both one ahead.”

By midday, the release tally was five blue-marlin for Sodium and four for Never Say Never, a 72-foot Merritt owned by Jim Carr of Coral Gables, Fla. (Last year, Never Say Never won Top Boat and one of its anglers, 15-year-old Zachary ‘Zac’ Murck, of Davie, Fla., Top Angler).

Then, Sodium hooked up. But the marlin broke off the hook. Never Say Never used the opportunity to tease up a blue and connected with a release. This tied both boats with five releases apiece, with Sodium still in the lead based on time.

“We caught another marlin around 2 p.m. That meant Never Say Never had to catch two more to beat us, so I was feeling pretty confident. The closer it got to line’s out, the better I felt,” said Sodium’s Damron, who credited his crew — Capt. Randy Jendersee and mates Travis Butters and Tyler Valles — for the win. “It’s so special here. The fish are meaner, and if you miss one on the first pass it usually comes back around. The Virgin Islands are such a great place to fish. Big fish and lots of fish.”

For his Top Angler win, Damron will have his name engraved on the prestigious Captain Johnny Harms ‘Give Him Line’ Trophy. Past winners of this trophy read like a Who’s Who of blue marlin sport fishing. Angler Elliot Fishman’s winning 845-pound catch in 1968 set an all-tackle world record. Only two anglers have reeled in this honor two times – the late Howard Crouse in 1965 and 1988, and Puerto Rico’s late legendary angler Ralph Christiansen in 1973 and 1984.

Damron’s six blue marlin releases were nine fish short of earning this year’s new prize: $25,000 cash for catching and releasing 15 blue marlin during the three-day tournament.

Never Say Never, helmed by Captain Eddie Herbert, finished second in the Top Boat standings with five blue marlin releases.

“I just hoped we could have seen a couple more marlin to win,” said Never Say Never’s Murck, who won the Top Junior Angler award. “Still, it was pretty exciting.”

Local charter boat, Mixed Bag, a 40-foot Luhrs based out of The Westin, St. John, with Capt. Rob Richards at the helm, finished third in the boat standings with the release of three blue marlin total.

In total, the six-boat tournament fleet caught and released 19 blue marlin and one white marlin in three-days of fishing. Teams in this longest annually held angling contest in the V.I. represented the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and U.S. mainland.

Profits from the VIGFC tournaments, which received 501 C (3) status this year, will benefit the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Marine Vocation Program and local veterans. Tournament sponsorship and donations are tax deductible.

Sponsors included IGY’s American Yacht Harbor; Fish Tails Bar & Grill; Southern Glazer’s Wines & Spirits, distributor of Mount Gay Rum; and Yeti. and Yeti.

For more information or to register, visit: www.vigfc.com or call (340) 775-9144. Or visit VIGCF on Facebook.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.