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CHIP'S AHOY CHARTERS - BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
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SAILFISH - DOLPHIN - WAHOO - KINGFISH - TUNA - SNOOK - TARPON - SNAPPER - SWORDFISH
72 ANNUAL SILVER
SAILFISH DERBY
Written by Steve Dougherty

To claim that the West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s Silver Sailfish Derby has a
rich and deep legacy full of history is a vast understatement.

In fact, the Derby’s presence on South Florida sailfishing is so well fortified
that it’s responsible for developing the red release pennant! Established in
1935, this prestigious event is the longest running billfish tournament in the
entire world, and during its 72-year history the only time the Silver Sailfish
Derby wasn’t held were three years during the 1940s when recreational
angling took a backseat to World War II.

As a World Billfish Series sanctioned event, the Silver Sailfish Derby routinely
draws the areas most competitive sailfish crews. One of the first tournaments
credited with promoting catch and release, as well as incorporating tagging
into a competitive tournament format, the Silver Sailfish Derby has been at
the forefront of conservation and continues to be the leader in protecting
Florida’s greatest game fish.

Big game angling is not a novel concept in Palm Beach County. In fact, during
the early 1900s, anglers made the first successful ventures offshore in small
wooden boats rowed from the sunny shores of Palm Beach. As the fishing
scene grew, Palm Beach boat builders designed the first sportfishing boats
for offshore angling. Fast-forward 100-years and Palm Beach is now the
epicenter for anglers interested in partaking in South Florida’s red-hot sailfish
bite. The well-being of South Florida’s most reliable game fish is so important
that all participants are required to fish tournament approved zero-degree
offset Eagle Claw L2004EL circle-hooks. Circle-hooks are scientifically
proven to increase release survivability when compared to traditional J-
hooks. To keep the playing field even, crews are allowed to fish a maximum of
four lines at once and angling boundaries are set at Fort Pierce Inlet to the
north and Port Everglades to the south.

Fishing with Captain Chip Sheehan and Team Scales aboard Chips Ahoy, I
was excited to take place in this prestigious event. While I had high hopes, I
knew that with an approaching cold front and veering winds from the
northwest the conditions were ideal for success.

Let The Games Begin!
On Thursday morning the excitement on the docks at Sailfish Marina was
electric. All of the crews were anxious and excited to strut their stuff in this
prestigious bragging rights only event. On the Derby’s first morning, light
northwest winds and brisk 50-degree temperatures welcomed the fleet of 35
superbly equipped fishing machines. With ideal conditions, the competitors
were anxious to partake in what they hoped would be a full-on sailfish blitz. As
the fleet checked out of Palm Beach Inlet, the success of many crews was to
be determined at this very crucial moment. After clearing the last buoy a
handful of boats headed north, while most of the fleet turned south and
aimed for the always-fishy waters between the Boynton Inlet and Lake Worth
Pier. As the crews to the south reached their target destination, they setup
their spreads only to be greeted by a slow moving current. Did the boats that
ventured north make the right decision?




















Within minutes of setting up our spread we watched free-jumpers heading
east in 400-feet of water. Witnessing this unusual behavior, we knew it was
going to be a tough day. Consistently getting on the fish under these
conditions is really just blind luck. With the first release called in only 16-
minutes after lines in, Bac In Five was already on the leaderboard. This early
indicator was only a tease, as the action was going to be slow the entire day.
With the trollers to the north faring better than the anglers fishing kites and
live bait to the south, Barefoot ended the day on top with four releases, while
Kemosabe, Anita L and Bac In Five all posted three releases. The fishing was
so slow that 27 out of 35 boats posted one release or less for Day One. With
the winds expected to turn to the northeast the fleet was hopeful the bite
would turn on for Day Two.

On Day Two, Captain Chip pulled the trigger and ventured north as we
headed out of Palm Beach Inlet. We were greeted with a stiff northeast
breeze and crisp three-footers, and while we didn’t know what the days
fishing would entail, one thing was for sure, we wouldn’t have any issues
flying our kites! Captain Chip located a beautiful edge in 140-feet just north
of Jupiter Inlet, and we knew that we finally found what we were looking for.
Only minutes after lines in we were hooked up and released the tournaments
first fish of the day at 8:11 a.m. We continued to work the well-defined edge
but to our amazement, the fish just weren’t aggressively feeding. Throughout
the course of the day we had several fish swim through our spread, only to
lazily check out our perfect offerings before slowly swimming off in the
opposite direction.




















While we were working the well-defined edge, we could hear the VHF
crackling release after release for the anglers that were posted up in the
vicinity of the Lake Worth Pier. What a difference a day makes. We were now
forced with a tough decision. Do we pickup and run to the south to fish with
two-dozen other boats, or do we continue to work the well-defined edge by
ourselves in hopes that the bite would turn on? After culling through several
sharpnose sharks, bonito, a short cobia and a few dolphin, we finally hooked
and released another sail before heading south to get in on the action. As
luck would have it, by the time we arrived the bite had tapered off. At the end
of the day Lady Lane was the daily leader with seven releases, while
Certifiable and Double Take both managed six releases. Miss Britt and
Permitted both released four fish.

On the tournaments last day, the winds were blowing light out of the east and
with the previous day’s success coming from the south, we knew where we
had to be. With only two releases to show for our efforts we knew we needed
to step up our game. Another element we had to overcome was the Inaugural
Palm Beach Shootout (second leg of the Sailfish Pro Series), which was also
hosted out of Palm Beach Inlet. With a large majority of both fleets posted
near the Lake Worth Pier, we decided to increase our odds by hanging out
by ourselves, setting up just a bit north of the mass congregation of million
dollar sportfishers. We managed two releases early in the morning, but as the
day progressed our hopes slipped from underneath us. On the final day lines
out was at 2:00 and after the tournament’s last fish was released, we
deployed three kites and four flat lines to see what damage we could do
without the tournaments four line regulation. As luck would have it, we hooked
into a double header within minutes – if only it had been a few hours earlier.

While the tournament’s overall number of releases was the lowest it had been
since 1996, the fleet of 35 boats managed 145 sailfish. Fishing aboard Miss
Britt, David Dickerson won the coveted Mrs. Henry R. Rea Trophy, the
Derby's top angler award, by posting seven individual sailfish releases. Using
Billfish Foundation nylon tags, participants tagged 15 fish, and Castings
tagged four of their eight fish to win the Top Tag Team Award. When the final
numbers were tallied, Certifiable came out on top with 12 releases, while Lady
Lane and Bac In Five both posted 10 releases.