The 2nd Annual Scrub Island Blue Marlin Invitational was held at the beautifully scenic Scrub Island Resort and Marina in the British Virgin Islands on September 1-3, 2017. Eleven boats participated in the tournament despite a threatening Hurricane Irma heading in that direction. The tournament was moved up a day and then shortened to just two days of fishing due to the approaching storm, which did considerable damage in the Caribbean islands as well as South Florida and the Florida Keys.
On Day One, Capt. Randy Jendersee led Chad Damon’s Sodium team, fishing aboard Damron’s 75-foot Weaver, to three blue marlin releases and the tournament lead. Marlin Darlin and Never Say Never each released two blues each to stay in contention while A1A, My Pearl and Venator each let go one blue each. In all there were 10 blue marlin caught by 11 boats on Day One.
Capt. Jerome Emanuel and the Ruckus team found the bite on Day Two in the corner of the North Drop, releasing four blue marlin. However, an earlier release by Sodium put Damron’s team in first place; Ruckus would settle for second. Never Say Never caught two more blues to place third overall. Business Stinks, My Pearl and Bree each released two blue marlin each; for the two days, the 11 boats released a total of 24 blue marlin.
At the awards, the Sodium team of Damron, Jendersee and teammates Travis Butters, Tyler Valles and Richard Gibson were presented with a custom Kent Ullberg bronze sculpture and a check for $48,300 in prize money. Ruckus earned $18,900 for second place and Never Say Never won $8,640. Business Stinks cashed in with a couple daily awards that were good for $27,000; in all, over $114,800 in cash was presented at the awards. Damron was the event’s top angler, while the Top Junior Angler trophy went to Jose Garcia III.
