| 2010 Palm Beach Double Shot- 585 Sailfish
By Ron Teke
The Palm Beach Double Shot was held January 20-23, 2010. Tournament Headquarters was at the famous Sailfish Marina on Singer Island, Florida. As observers, we are fortunate enough to have this tournament as the last remaining Florida event that uses trained observers.
The Double Shot is a combination of two tournaments, The annual Buccaneer Cup and the Fish for Life events. The Buccaneer is one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in the country. It celebrated its 47th year. It was interesting to note that all proceeds from the Buccaneer were donated to the Recreational Fishing Alliance or RFA as it is widely known.
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The RFA is our strong voice in representing recreational anglers in its quest for conservation and fair governing rules. The Fish For Life “Caterpillar Cup” was in its 7th year and had proceeds donated to Colon Cancer research and programs.
Observer coordinators included our faithful leaders Bob Malerba and Terry O’Neill. The tournament was well run and flowed smoothly throughout the three days of fishing. Most boats fished to the north off of the Stuart area requiring a long run from Singer Island. Boats also left each day from their home ports to the north requiring tournament officials to use two “committee boat” locations with both VHF and cell phone coverage. Despite difficult communications, the recording of catches went smoothly and a total of 585 sailfish were recorded.
Both live bait fishing and dead bait trolling were used. Higher points were given for dead bait at a value of 300 and only 200 for live baits. Kite fishing was the general mode for the live baiters. Interestingly enough, it was the dead bait boats that won the tournaments.
Buccaneer results were Boneshaker with 38 fish on dead bait took first, Fa-La-Me with 36 in second and Krazy Salts in third with 32 sails and both boats using dead bait. Fish For Life was only on the first two days with Fa-La-Me first, Sea Hag second And Krazy Salts third.
Can you imagine a boat catching 21 sailfish on live bait in a single day and not placing in the money, well that’s what happened? I really learned how effective the big mullet dredges were at bringing the sails in. Waters were rough for most of the tournament and I put my foul weather gear to good use most days in the cockpit. Always being ready next to the angler, as the boat backed down aggressively. I stood in 12” of water in the cockpit many times.
A festive awards banquet was held on Saturday night but I was unable to attend. I understand it is always a grand event with “to die for” appetizers.
[ editors note - This appears to be a record catch (release) for the Buccaneer Cup in its 47 year history, although this could not be confirmed at press time.]
Ron has been an active observer since 2006 having served in Venezuela, Costa Rica, South Florida and the Virgin Islands. He has been an offshore fisherman for over 30 years and has fished extensively in Baja and mainland Mexico, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and Hawaii. Past fishing involvement included operating TekeTours, a wholesale fishing travel agency in partnership with Mexicana Airlines and Mexician resorts and fleets. He operated his own remote Alaskan fishing camp in the late 1980's on the Talachulitna River. Currently, Ron is a semi-retired building contractor from Colorado and operates Keys Magic Charters at his second home in the Florida Keys.
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