The Billfish Foundation expanded its Tag & Release Competition in 2015 by establishing another regional competition, the SoFlo Sailfish Circuit. This regional competition follows on the heels of TBF’s first regional competition in the Gulf of Mexico, which debuted in 2014. The SoFlo Sailfish Circuit not only provides crews in the region a chance to compete with other locations in the Atlantic, it allows TBF to engage with some of the best local crews right in their backyard of South Florida.
The lady anglers gave a strong performance during the 2015 competition: Dawn Samuels won Top Tagging Lady Angler, and CeCe Imbrie took top honors for Top Release Pro Lady Angler. Some familiar names showed up in the competition, including Capt. Bouncer Smith, who won for Top Pro Captain; the MacMullin family, who won multiple awards for Top Tagging and Release angler and captain; and Capt. Dean Panos, who won for Top Release Pro Captain.
In the Gulf of Mexico region, Capt. Myles Colley won Top Overall Tagging Captain honors aboard the 63-foot Hatteras Born2Run, also claiming the Top Overall Tagging Boat. Capt. Max Morris won Top Blue Marlin Tagging Captain on the 58-foot Jarrett Bay Whoo Dat, and his angler, Kaleb Richardson, claimed several awards. Kaleb represents the future of the sport in the Gulf region, and his great season led him to Top Overall Tagging Angler Blue Marlin, Top Youth Angler Ages 13-15, and Top Overall Tagging Angler. Rounding out the Gulf awards, Lisa Foster won Top Tagging Lady Angler, Charles Cooke won Top White Marlin Tagging Angler, and Adam Ladner won Top White Marlin Tagging Captain
