TGFT Sponsor News

The Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament committee proudly announces that Black Bart International and Penn Reels will be supporting us again as our rod & reel and lure suppliers for the 2008 tournament! We’d like to thank them for their support of our competition and look forward to working with these two exceptional companies again next year.

2007 Tournament Recap

The 2007 tournament broke another couple of records for us, in the number of boats and anglers participating AND the record number of tournament billfish caught for Trinidad & Tobago. Thirty-eight boats participated for a total of 184 anglers, 174 male and 14 female (another new record).  Day One saw Zingo, out of Trinidad & Tobago, jump to the front of the pack with 1000 pts. from two blue marlin and a sailfish. Anglers Roger Frost and Christopher Ellis combined for the catches.  The boats Charge Up and Palawan followed closely behind with 800 pts. each. Also, David Brash of Papa San brought to scale a blue marlin that weighed in at 569.8 lbs!

On Day Two, Why Worry reversed their slow start and took Best Boat for  Day Two with 1200 points and moved into third place overall behind Mischief, in second with 1230.63 pts., and Charge Up, who moved into first on a blue marlin released by Edgar Dapremont.

Day Three saw Viking IV take Best Boat with two Blue Marlin releases for 950 points, and they also moved up to take first place overall with 1802.70 points. Charge Up came up blank and Mischief and Gone Again both added a blue marlin each to move up into second and third place overall. Larry Coehlo of Gone Again secured Best Male Angler and Best Tag & Release Angler with his last day catch of a blue marlin, also earning Gone Again Best Tag & Release Team honors!

Over the course of the tournament, we had 44  Blue Marlin released, 2 brought to scale, and 14 Sailfish, breaking the record set last year for most billfish caught in a tournament for Trinidad & Tobago!!

We appreciate all those boats that made the trip to Charlotteville from Grenada and Barbados and we hope that you’ll bring even more boats with you next year!

Congratulations and thanks to all who participated in this year’s tournament, we hope to see you all again next year.

Here’s a comment sent to us from James Pierce of Barbados:

“Dear Frothy, Dave, Teija, Della, Ramona, TGFT Committee Members and the People of Charlotteville,

Everyone made it home safely around midday yesterday after a pretty rough trip, and I would now like to personally thank everyone for the warm welcome and hospitality extended by you in what I can only describe as the most enjoyable tournament I have ever been in. Note that I do not make this statement lightly as I have fished in the IGFA Offshore Championships in Cabo, as well as many tournaments in Florida, the Bahamas, and the rest of the Caribbean, and the camaraderie is truly what sets you apart from all others. The way you have involved the entire community and are starting to move the whole fishing community to a new sustainable use of the ocean’s resources, much in the way it was done in Cabo San Lucas, is wonderful to watch and be a part of. I am not sure if we could achieve the same thing in Barbados.”

TGFT lands a new sponsor!

The Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament would like to proudly welcome Black Bart Lures to our family of sponsors and thank them for their support in our continuing quest to host a world-class game fishing tournament year after year. Capt. Bart Miller and his team have been creating first class fishing gear for the past four decades, and the experience of fishing with that gear never fails to impress.

TGFT becomes qualifying event for the Junior Angler World Championship!

The Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament has been approved by the IGFA to become a qualifying event for the 6th Annual Mercury/IGFA Junior Angler World Championship scheduled for 2008! The 1st place winner in the Junior Angler division of the TGFT will be invited to participate in the JAWC in 2008. We are very proud to be a part of passing on the fishing tradition to future generations!

2006 Tournament recap

The 2006 tournament was another milestone success, with a record number of boats and anglers participating AND a record number of tournament billfish releases for Trinidad & Tobago. Thirty-three boats registered for this year’s contest but, after a few mechanical problems, 31 boats actually participated, still a new record for us. This year, our friends from Barbados came up big, capturing top prizes in five different categories! Happy Hunter, out of Barbados, established dominance early on day one with five Blue Marlin releases and one 23.4 lb. dolphin, giving them a one day total of 2279.25 points and huge lead over the rest of the pack. Angler Andrew Rapson was responsible for three of the marlin, as well as the dolphin. The boat Hopscotch finished day one 1000 points back with 1200 points, with Hard Play II in third place with 781.25 points.

Day two saw the boat Mischief tag and release three Blue Marlin, two for angler Nick Nothnagel and one for Stephen Dalla Costa, taking Best Boat for Day Two with 1407.38 points and moving into second place overall with 1819.08 points. Hook released two Blue Marlin, brining their two day total to four, and moved into third place overall with a score of 1700 points. Happy Hunter, while having a quiet day with only a single 30.4 lb. Wahoo, held on to first place with 2317.25 points.

On Day Three, Hard Play II won Best Boat with two Blue Marlin releases for 950 points, and they also moved up to take third place overall with 1731.25 points, just edging out Hook who ended up fourth. Happy Hunter came up blank and Mischief landed only a 41.3 lb. Wahoo, but managed to maintain their hold on first and second place overall, respectively.

Over the course of the tournament, we had 44 fish come to scale, and 59 tag and release catches: 58 Blue Marlin, and one Sailfish, breaking the record for most billfish releases in a tournament for Trinidad & Tobago!!

We hope that those boats from St. Lucia, Grenada and elsewhere in the region that were unable to participate this year will be able to join us in 2007, and we, of course, look forward to seeing the Bajans back again in Charlotteville!

Congratulations and thanks to all who participated in this year’s tournament, we hope to see you all again next year. Check back to the site for next year’s dates, as well as some big changes to the site overall!

Here’s a comment sent to us from Michael Lee Yuen from the boat Mischief:

“We had and super wonderful time in Charlotteville, the water taxis ran on time, your fueling facility was unquestionable, fresh water supply was excellent, breakfast and dinner was superb, bait was in super condition, and your entire hard working committee was always there to assist us when in need. This is my second consecutive year fishing in your tournament and words can never be enough in expressing how great, how wonderful, how little Tobago can deliver a game fishing tournament with such excellence. We continue to promote your tournament here in Trinidad and thank you for the super wonderful time. God’s richest blessings and great health, and wait with anticipation, for the 12th Annual Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament.”

The Billfishing Times interviews TGFT Treasurer David Wong

Be sure to check out the interview over at The Billfishing Times, with David Wong, TGFT Committee Treasurer, answering questions about current and future plans for the Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament, the tremendous fishing in the region, and all the things about Charlotteville and Tobago that make our tournament such a success every year! Big thanks to John at The Billfishing Times for allowing us the opportunity to talk about Tobago and our tournament!

2006 T-Shirt Design and Tournament Updates!!

The new prize list for 2006 has been announced, and it includes lots of outstanding equipment from Penn, Aftco and more, as well as beautiful sculptures from world-renowned wildlife sculptor, Bodo Muche, and artwork from The Billfish Foundation!

Buzz is big for this year’s tournament and the projected participation of anglers continues to grow! We expect to host many of our old friends and make many, many new ones with entries expected from Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and Grenada, as well as our local boats from Trinidad and Tobago. Anglers from Europe, North and South America, and all over the Caribbean will be joining us for four days of fishing, food and fun.

Last, but not least, the design for the 2006 tournament shirts has been finalized and it’s a real “knockout”!! (pardon the pun) This year we feature the “fighting” marlin in fine form, ready to “duke it out” with all comers. Sorry, enough with the boxing jokes, head on over to the TGFT store where you’ll find a variety of shirts featuring this year’s design, plus TGFT logo and other merchandise!

TGFT members compete in 6th Annual Rolex/IGFA ITOC

Two teams containing members of the TGFT tournament committee, one representing the TGFT 2004 winners and the other representing the Sagicor/Mount Gay Rum Tournament in Barbados, competed in the 6th Annual Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas this past week.  Fishing for the TGFT team were Treasurer David Wong and Webmaster Edgar Dapremont, as well as winning boat captain and crew, Peter “Panic” De Silva and Johnny Ming Hon. For Sagicor were President Gerard “Frothy” De Silva and Secretary Andrew Llanos, as well as friends and fellow anglers  David Maharaj and Frits Faber. The TGFT team came out strong on the first day, landing seven Striped Marlin and a Sailfish to take an early first place lead with 2200 points. Unfortuantely, their luck slipped away as they landed only two more Striped Marlin for the remaining three days for a total of 2800 points, finishing 16th among the 68 international teams present, a respectable showing nonetheless.

The Sagicor/Mount Gay team produced steady results for the four days of fishing, landing 10 Striped Marlin and a single 31.6 lb Dolphin for a final tally of 3031.6 pts and a 13th place finish. Congratulations to all the anglers, and a HUGE thank you to all of the folks at the IGFA and the tournament sponsors for putting together such a great tournament. We hope to see you again next year!

2005 Tournament recap

The 2005 tournament was a fantastic success, despite the early season start and less-than-ideal water conditions resulting from prior heavy rains in the region. A total of 26 boats participated in this year’s contest, a new record for the TGFT. Braveheart, out of Trinidad, took an early lead on day one with 378.3 points after tagging and releasing a Blue Marlin, and landing a 28.3 lb Dolphin. Angler Dip Singh of Trinidad was responsible for the marlin, his very first in 25 years of fishing the waters off Trinidad and Tobago. The boat Mischief finished day one a close second with 350 points, and Alpha Lime in third place with 137.63 points.

Day two saw Braveheart tag and release two more Blue Marlin, by anglers Kirk Agard and Steven Valdez, adding another 850 points to their total and keeping them in the lead. Jessie James emerged from the pack with 428.7 points to take second with four Yellowfin Tuna and a single Blue Marlin tag and release. Mischief dropped back to third with 401.5 points after landing a single Yellowfin Tuna for the day.

It was a quiet trip for Braveheart on day three but, despite a Dolphin and another Blue Marlin tag and release by Jessie James, the anglers of Braveheart held the lead and took first place as Best Boat with 1228.3 points. Jessie James remained in second with 859.1 points, and Gavilan released their second Sailfish of the tournament to edge out Mischief for third place.

Overall, we had 43 fish come to scale, including one Blue Marlin that just missed the minimum qualifying weight, and 11 tag and release catches: seven Blue Marlin, three Sailfish, and one White Marlin, the first to be seen in many years in the waters off Tobago. Also, the water conditions in the nearby fishing grounds had many boats heading 30 or more miles offshore in search of game, and this resulted in more than half-a-dozen hookups with Blue Marlin estimated in the 500+ lb. range. Unfortunately, none of these resulted in a successful catch, so they’ll remain “the ones that got away” until next time.

Congratulations and thanks to all everyone who participated in this year’s tournament, we hope to see you all again next year, 30 March – 2 April, 2006!

Updates, updates, updates!!

Loads of new information added to the site today: updated prizes and two NEW prize categories, new charters and accommodations, and new items added to the online store!! Check it all out!

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