Bartenders and Restaurant employees ganged up to fish the
31st Annual Islamorada Bartenders Sailfish Open

The 31st Annual Islamorada Bartenders Sailfish Open kicked off with great food and fun at the Island Grill. 42 Anglers who are bartenders or restaurant employees, representing 12 different bars, registered for fishing on January 9th. Tournament Director Dianne Harbaugh thanked the “friends of Trapper John” for the $1000.00 in prize money that would go to the winners. “We lost a great friend last year,” she stated, “Trapper John won the very first Islamorada Bartenders Sailfish Tournament. It is an awesome tribute to have the friends of Trapper put this money together for the Bartender’s Tournament.”

Winds were perky, from the E at 15 to 20 in the morning and the bite started early with the Esperanza calling in a hookup. Amanda Blamowski from the Green Turtle Inn would release the first fish of the tournament, the first Sailfish she had ever caught. Captain Roy Lindback of the Tiki would find a pack of fish, calling in 7 hook ups between 10:06 and 10:14. The team fishing for the Lorelei would only get two of the seven to the boat for releases. Tiki would add a third release to their total before noon. The Sweetwater, fishing anglers Kristin Peterson, Jennifer Nelson , Tiffany DiPiltro, and India May from Buzzards Roost would put the pressure on catching three fish just after 12:00.

When the committee boat gave the final rundown Tiki anglers Keith Walsh, Sean Pearce, Chris Barnhill, and Butch Comeforo would have a total of 6 releases.
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The Tiki would not only take home the Grand Champion Trophy to the Lorelei , but they would also take home the check for $1000.00. Second Place would go to Captain Geoffery Campbell’s Sweetwater and the team from Buzzards Roost with a total of 4 releases. This was the first tournament for the boat as well as the first sailfish for the anglers. The Reel Sharp captained by Danny Lombardo would take home the 3rd place trophy.
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Anglers Kevin Bullock, Nick Boudreau, Joe Salamore and Stephanie Rohrbaugh, representing the Outback released a total of 3 Sailfish.
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1st Place Angler Chris Barnhill released her first, second and third sailfish all on the same day. Keeping with sailfishing tradition she was gently tossed in the water upon arrival back at the dock. She took home a great Sailfish bronze trophy and a $100.00 gift certificate to the Island Grill.
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Trophies were also given to second place angler Kristin Peterson of Buzzards Roost,
third place angler Skyler McGarry from Dillon’s Pub and Grill and fourth place angler Amanda Blamowski of the Green Turtle Inn who all released two sailfish. The Most Outstanding Catch award went to Kim Weatherly of Bayside Grill for a 12.8 pound blackfin tuna caught aboard the Fantastic II.

Island Grill hosted another fabulous awards ceremony on the beach. “My favorite part of this tournament is that we had so many anglers who caught and released their first sailfish. By opening up the tournament to actively employed bartenders and restaurant employees we had a lot of people who would have never gone sailfishing if it wasn’t for this tournament. It is great to see them having such a great time.” stated tournament Director Dianne Harbaugh. In total 24 Sailfish were released out of 43 called in hook ups.