Marlin Lady Angler Team

Meet Marlin’s All-Female Tournament Team

A high-profile all-female tournament team hits the water

PelagicViking Yacht Company and Akzo Nobel along with Marlin, are proud to kickoff another season supporting the Marlin Lady Angler Team. This year they’ll be fishing the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series in Palm Beach, Florida (January 18-20, February 23-24 and April 12-13) and a few others in the summer and fall. 

The goal of Marlin’s Lady Angler Team is to help create more awareness of female anglers in various competitive fishing tournaments around the world. This team consists of women all stages of skill levels as they progress through their angling careers, from expert to tournament greenhorn. Each is not only a passionate angler but several are also prominent members of the marine industry as well, ranging from boatbuilding and sales to tournament directors and pro staff members. Each brings a unique quality to the team. 

The number of women entering the sport of offshore fishing has increased dramatically over the last decade. To meet that growing demand for quality products, Pelagic has stepped up with a full line of hardcore fishing gear designed specifically for women anglers. The team is outfitted in the latest gear and will be well protected from the elements, whether rain, wind or sun. 

Viking Yachts is also sponsoring the team. Fishing aboard newly built 80-foot Viking, Surfbum, during the Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series, the team will enjoy a legendary ride while also having the speed and maneuverability to make the best of a hot bite. This Viking sportfish is set up perfectly for live-baiting and kite-fishing, with large cockpits and multiple livewells—it’s all hands on deck from the call for “lines-in” until the end of each hard-fought day of competitive fishing.

Lady Angler Team Recaps

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Meet the 2024 Team

Dusty Adinolfe at the helm of a sport-fishing boat.

Dusty Adinolfe

Tournament Angler, Philanthropist

Adinolfe has always had a deep love and respect for the ocean, a passion for fishing, and a supportive mindset towards strong women. She currently fishes locally and abroad on her impressive 80-foot Viking, Surf Bum, previously a 61-foot Viking. Adinolfe’s love for fishing is not the only thing that drives her. Her compassion for others is equally remarkable. She was instrumental in bringing much needed aid directly to the affected communities of the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc in 2019. Through her non-profit organization, Bahamas Strong, she not only assisted the people in need but also extended her support to their four-legged family members.

Kelly Young at the helm of a sport-fishing boat.

Kelly Young

Angler, Global Adventurer 

Young is a full-time YouTube sensation hailing from the tropical paradise of South Florida. In the last four years, she has embarked on exhilarating journeys all over the globe in all outdoor activities specializing in spearfishing where she speared a women’s world record 37.2lb Mahi Mahi in Costa Rica and now stands poised at the beginning of a thrilling new chapter in her life. She’s primed to dive headfirst into the pulse-pounding world of competitive sailfishing, ready to make her mark as a rising star in the realm of tournament anglers.

Shelby Callison at the helm of a sport-fishing boat.

Shelby Callison

The Billfish Foundation Award Winner, Boat Sales Coordinator 

Callison moved from Georgia to South Florida on a mission to grow as an angler and found her love in billfishing. She is a member of both the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and The Billfish Foundation, where she was awarded titles as 2021 South Florida Top Release Lady Angler and 2022 South Florida Top Tagging Lady Angler. Callison recently earned the 2023 Buccaneer Cup’s Top Female Angler award, and she channels her passion for fishing into her career as a sales coordinator at Valhalla Boat Sales, a subsidiary of the Viking Yacht Company.

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Maddy Hazlett

International Angler, Tournament Director

Raised in Florida, Hazlett was introduced to fishing at an early age, and has traveled the world. After fishing her first tournament, Hazlett knew she wanted to be involved in boating and fishing for the rest of her life. She currently works for MacGregor Yachts, and her passion for helping run tournaments previously with Skip’s Tournaments in the Bahamas led her to start her very own in 2022- the Sailfish Sweethearts Ladies Tournament in Palm Beach. Hazlett recently earned the 2023 Grand Caribe Belize Deep Sea Classic’s Top Female Angler award.

Amber Marchant fishing in a sport-fishing boat.

Amber Marchant 

Professional Angler, Pelagic Pro-Staffer

A native Floridian, Marchant is the South Florida regional sales and event associate for Pelagic Gear. She is a seasoned tournament angler with more than 50 tournaments under her belt. Born in Key West and raised in Marathon, she now calls Palm Beach her home, but the Florida Keys will always have her heart. Most weekends you can find Marchant listed as an angler in any number of local or international events.

Lacey Hagler fishing in a sport-fishing boat.

Lacey Hagler (Team Manager)

International Angler, US Coast Guard Veteran 

A fourth-generation Floridian, U.S. Coast Guard Veteran, and UNF graduate, Hagler‘s love for fishing was sparked early by her dad, affectionately remembered as “Jolly Roger”. Now the Associate Events Director for Marlin Magazine’s international billfishing tournaments, she previously managed social media for various sportfish boat builders, naval architects, yacht brokers and high-profile billfishing tournaments. While home is the South Florida sailfish circuit, she splits time between North Palm Beach and Guatemala to billfish aboard Intensity, and has visited seven countries in the past year alone – the Bahamas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bermuda, BVI, and Nova Scotia. For more information about the Marlin Lady Angler Team, email [email protected].

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Thanks to our Sponsors

Marlin logo in black.
Pelagic High Performance Offshore Gear logo
Viking Yachts logo
AkzoNobel logo