TGFT members compete in 6th Annual Rolex/IGFA ITOC
May 22, 2005
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
March 12, 2005
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!
2005 Tournament Results
March 11, 2005
Top 10 Boats:
| 1st Place Boat | BRAVEHEART | 1228.3 pts. |
| 2nd Place Boat | JESSIE JAMES | 859.1 pts. |
| 3rd Place Boat | GAVILAN | 420.63 pts. |
| 4th Place Boat | MISCHIEF | 401.5 pts. |
| 5th Place Boat | ALPHA LIME | 363.96 pts. |
| 6th Place Boat | BIG BLUE | 350 pts. |
| 7th Place Boat | CHALLENGE II | 277.8 pts. |
| 8th Place Boat | BARRACUDA | 150 pts. |
| 9th Place Boat | TAZ | 111.86 pts. |
| 10th Place Boat | LEGACY | 106.5 pts. |
Largest of Species:
| Largest Yellowfin Tuna | 62.3 lbs. | Shane Johnson | CHALLENGE II |
| Largest Dolphin | 44.6 lbs. | Ronnie Trottman | LEGACY |
| Largest Wahoo | 43.2 lbs. | Stanley Dillon | SUPER COOL |
| (Blue Marlin 337.5 lbs. brought to scale – Did not make minimum weight of 350 lbs.) | |||
Best of Category:
| Best Male Angler | 387.38 pts. | Nevil Tobias | GAVILAN |
| Best Tag & Release Angler | 387.38 pts. | Nevil Tobias | GAVILAN |
| Best Tag & Release Team | 1200 pts. | BRAVEHEART | |
| Best Boat – Day 1 | 378.38 pts. | BRAVEHEART | |
| Best Boat – Day 2 | 850 pts. | BRAVEHEART | |
| Best Boat – Day 3 | 430.4 pts. | JESSIE JAMES |
Updates, updates, updates!!
December 9, 2004
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!
TGFT online store launched
November 29, 2004
Visit our online store for the latest in TGFT logo gear, and be sure to check back often for new designs and products!
2005 Prize list announced!
October 7, 2004
The list of prizes for the 2005 TGFT tournament has been added to the Prizes page and, as last year, the top prize for the winning team is an invitation and paid registration to the 2006 Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas, valued at US$5200.
Also this year, the prize for breaking the Trinidad & Tobago All Tackle Tournament record for Blue Marlin is a brand-new Suzuki Jimmy, sponsored by Lifestyle Motors & Norman Gabriel Insurance Brokers!! This prize is valued at TT$114,000 (US$19,000).
2004 Tournament Results
March 22, 2004
Top 10 Boats:
| 1st Place Boat | HOPSCOTCH | 1724 pts. |
| 2nd Place Boat | DREAM CATCHER | 1566.66 pts. |
| 3rd Place Boat | GRAND SLAM II | 1503.75 pts. |
| 4th Place Boat | HAPPY HUNTER | 1263 pts. |
| 5th Place Boat | HARD PLAY II | 1200 pts. |
| 6th Place Boat | SOUTHERN CROSS | 1038.3 pts. |
| 7th Place Boat | SUPER COOL | 750 pts. |
| 8th Place Boat | HARD PLAY | 727.65 pts. |
| 9th Place Boat | ALPHA LIME | 600.68 pts. |
| 10th Place Boat | CHALLENGE II | 424.5 pts. |
Largest of Species:
| Largest Yellowfin Tuna | 48 lbs. | Steven Mohammed | DREAM CATCHER |
| Largest Dolphin | 39.3 lbs. | Paul Jenkins | GRAND SLAM II |
| Largest Wahoo | 46.3 lbs. | Matthew Armstrong | CHALLENGE II |
| (No Billfish Were Brought To Scale) | |||
Best of Category:
| Best Male Angler | 1200 pts. | David Wong | HOPSCOTCH | |
| Best Female Angler | 750 pts. | Rachael Almandoz | SUPER COOL | |
| Best Junior Angler – Male | 224.5 pts. | Matthew Armstrong | CHALLENGE II | |
| Best Tag & Release Angler | 1200 pts. | David Wong | HOPSCOTCH | |
| Best Tag & Release Team | 1200 pts. | HOPSCOTCH | ||
| Captain of the Boat with Most Species of Fish |
Kester Herbert | GRAND SLAM II | ||
| (This was the boat that caught the most species of fish first. Tuna, Dolphin and Wahoo were all boated by 8:55 AM on the first day.) | ||||
