Contender One owner Joe Neber along with Captain Bill Cordes and Mate Wayne Savage released 27 of the 411 Sailfish released in the 2006 Islamorada Sailfish Tournament. Bill Cordes released 5 of the 9 fish aboard the Contender One on the first day. 3 fish were released by Mate Wayne Savage and Contender Boats owner Joe Neber released one. Of the record setting 141 releases on the first day Capt Scott Stanczyk on the Catch 22 out of Bud N Mary’s Marina was high hook with 12 releases. On Day 2 Contender One again released 9 fish putting them in the lead of the pack. But they did not stop there. The Contender One came back on day three to releases 9 more fish to secure a first place victory. Captain Bill Cordes released 12 of the Contender Ones’ 27 fish to beat John Anderson aboard the Off the Wall on time and take home the high point angler award.

Bill Danko from Cincinnati Ohio and Alex Castellanos from Miami Florida released 7 fish on the first day fishing aboard the Miss Britt. 5 releases on day two placed the Miss Britt in 5 th place behind the Contender One, Get Lit, Catch 22 and Main Attraction. Captain Brett Wilson and Mate Robert Ramirez did not falter. Another 5 releases on the final day boosted them to a third place finish with a total of 17 releases.

Captain Paul Ross of the Relentless with local anglers Becky Hester and Armando Horta did their best to catch up and took the forth place spot with 16 releases.

Tournament records started with the kick off on Thursday night. A record 136 anglers aboard 46 boats registered for the tournament. The sailfish decided to set records too. The tournament boasted 510 called in hookups, 411 released fish and 32 tagged. VMC hooks sponsored 5 sizes of non offset circle hooks for each of our boats. Caribee Boat Sales, Contender Boats, Yamaha Outboards and Lorelei joined this year’s event as majors to make it the best ever. As always Whale Harbor Inn and Marina hosted the event with mouth watering stone crabs added to the all you can eat seafood buffet on the kick off night. Whale Harbors newest addition Braza Lena, put on an awesome feast for our anglers the last evening. The Islamorada Sailfish Tournament is the primary fund raiser for the Islamorada Charter Boat Association. A group of fisherman and businesses dedicated to preserving and protecting the fabulous fishing in the Florida Keys.