For better details click here!

MARCH 12 – 14, 2010
Registration, Friday, March 12th, 6 to 8 pm
At the DoubleTree Grand Key Resort
3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd., Key West, FL
BOAT ENTRY FEE OF $200.00
Fishing, Saturday & Sunday, March 13 & 14
Lines In at 8:30 am & Out at 3 pm each day
Awards Dinner on Sunday, March 14th, 7 pm
At the DoubleTree Grand Key Resort
Awards Dinner, $25.00 per person
WIN $5,000.00 in Cash Prizes
For 15 Different Species
Win $500.00 cash for:
Heaviest Dolphin,
Most Releases of:
Marlin, Sailfi sh & Tarpon
Win $300.00 cash for:
Heaviest Kingfi sh, Cobia
Blackfi n Tuna, Mackerel,
Mutton Snapper, Wahoo
Most Releases of: Permit,
Bonefi sh & Barracuda
Win $150.00 cash for:
Heaviest Mangrove Snapper & Grunt
Junior Division Heaviest Catch
(Anglers under 15 yrs. old)
KEY WEST FISHING TOURNAMENT
KICKOFF 2010 with
CONCHY JOE’S MARINE & TACKLE
1. I.G.F.A. rules and Key West Fishing Tournament rules
will apply. Rod and reel only.
2. All Marlin or Sailfi sh releases must deploy non-offset
circle hooks when using natural baits or a natural
bait artifi cial/lure combination.
3. All catches must be unassisted. Professional
captains and/or mates are ineligible as anglers.
4. NEW~‘Most Releases’ will be scored by registered
boat.
5. Entries will only be accepted from anglers fi shing on
a boat that is registered in the KICKOFF.
6. A maximum of 6 anglers may fi sh from a registered
boat on each day. This rule does not apply to
registered party boats.
7. Anglers wishing to compete for marlin or sailfi sh
releases must purchase a camera at registration
to photo the release. Cost is $5.00. Anglers do not
have to call in releases to the committee boat.
8. Fishing begins with lines in at 8:30 am each day and
will conclude at lines out at 3:00 pm each day. Lines
in and out will be called by the committee boat over
VHF 78.
9. All fi sh must be weighed in at one of the following
offi cial K.W.F.T. weighstations: King’s Pointe Marina,
Sunset Marina, Murray Marine, Sugarloaf Marina,
Cudjoe Gardens Marina and Dolphin Marina.
10. Anglers MUST complete an offi cial K.W.F.T. entry
form for weighed and released catches and deliver
the entry to a tournament offi cial at King’s Pointe
Marina, or fax entry to 305-292-4995. Entries MUST
be received by an offi cial no later than 5:30 pm each
day. Weighed catches can be transported by vehicle
to a weighstation for entry.
KICKOFF TOURNAMENT GENERAL RULES
FINAL RULES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED AT
REGISTRATION ON MARCH 12, 2010
AT DOUBLETREE GRAND KEY RESORT
KEY WEST FISHING TOURNAMENT
KICKOFF 2010 ENTRY
ANGLER’S FIRST & LAST NAME,
ADDRESS, CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE
Boat Name: ______________________________
Captain: ________________________________
Address: ________________________________
City, ST, Zip: _____________________________
Home Phone: ___________________________
Cell Phone: _____________________________
PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY
To pre-register, complete entry form and mail to the
K. W. F. T., P. O. Box 2154, Key West, FL 33045.
Include registration fee of $200.00 payable to
the Key West Fishing Tournament.
PICK UP THE FINAL TOURNAMENT RULES AND CAMERA
FOR SAILFISH & MARLIN RELEASES AT THE REGISTRATION,
FRIDAY, MARCH 12th AT THE DOUBLETREE GRAND RESORT
1. _______________________________________
___________________________________________
2. _______________________________________
___________________________________________
3. _______________________________________
___________________________________________
4. _______________________________________
___________________________________________
5. _______________________________________
___________________________________________
6. _______________________________________
___________________________________________

Well charter or no charter when the temperature is 78 and the wind is calm and the skies are blue bird clear we can’t just sit at the dock – life is too short. So we took a break and went fishing for a few hours. Randy caught this Dolphin near a palette and a couple of nice Tunas under birds. That all was just a bonus , because the weather was what really made the afternoon in Key West.

Randy's Dolphin Key West

These last few days of September have been blessedly calm with no impending doom on the horizon – yet. However the fish could care less . Bait is thick on the reefs and more Ballyhoo than we have later in the season. This is setting up some great Tuna and Sailfish action  in the coming weeks . Blackfins are being caught deep already and a few Sailfish that got the memo on the Ballyhoo are moving in on the reef already. The Gulfstream despite what NOAA says is in close (10 miles) and is producing Dolphin and Wahoo, especially around debris for the hoo’s.

Although the Key West Marlin Tournament was in July it has taken me this long to boil down my thoughts. I was included in a great team of seasoned anglers and crew on the REEL FAST . This boat takes it’s name seriously and I truly enjoyed being able to change fishing locations at 30+ knots.

The first day we caught a nice Dolphin that put some points on the board against one Marlin caught. The second day we changed locations and landed in the sweet spot.

In the first four minutes Scott Meister caught and brought to the boat a Sailfish , the 80# gear was kinda overkill .

Five minutes later we hooked the ONE we wanted . The Marlin had other ideas and took off and with about four minutes of line clearing , spending the winnings and general mayhem the fish straightened the hook.

What can I say the mood kinda sank , except we had another sailfish bite about ten minutes later , then nothing for the next seven hours. Marlin Fishing !

The third day we went back to our sweeet spot , however the fish did not get the memo and were somewhere else. this became obvious and the boat got to show her speed and we moved South to a secret pair of sea mounts . Quickly we were engaged with THE FISH, it jumped , looked right and was dutifully called in . It was still THE FISH right up to the moment Greg Sage wired the fish and it rolled on its side and transspieced on us into a BLUE SAILFISH.

And so ended our fishing in The Key West Marlin Tournament. It was a let down to not get the fish we wanted , however being in contention to the last minute and actually having the chance to win, plus a good payout in the calcuttas made for a a lot of good discussions over the next few days.

Fishing this July for Dolphin has been a little hit and miss offshore in Key West. At the first of the month a lot of small summer schoolies were everywhere, then by mid-month bigger fish showed up and I guess ran off the small dolphin. Patience was the most important tactic and as you can see these nice fish caught by Ashley, Tracey and Greg made for some fun fishing in Key West.

Key West Dolphin Fun

My friends Darlene and Joe and associates fished with us this last week. Fishing in Key West for them has always been fantastic. Whenever they come down for fishing we catch lots of big fish. This year the pressure was really on and the main theme was ” Yeah it’s Fun to catch them , But it is even more fun to EAT them”.  The big fish were very wary and we were having a time trying to find a trophy for every one , or anyone for that matter. This was when Darlene reminded me about the eating fish part of our theme and we got to work catching a limit of perfect size eating fish. All in all the the charter was perfect, with clam sunny skies , good friends and lots of fish to eat.

Fishing yesterday was a test of patience,  several hours of searching the waters off Key West with a Skip Jack Tuna and a Deep Sea Barracuda to show for our diligence. Then a slow day turned into a great day when we found a piece of debris in otherwise unblemished Bluewater. We threw  a marker and proceeded to make a fine days catch including this nice bull caught by Mark, his personal best so far.

A lot of people come to Key West to party, A lot of people come to Key West to fish, and I guess there are people who come to Key West for some other reason , but I don’t know any of those reasons.

Well these guys came to party and fish . The fishing was great and the party was so good that I am bound by the code of the sea and responsible Key West charter captain ethics to not divulge details. I will say I was impressed .

But I can go on about the Big Dolphin and nice Wahoo we brought in and I can go on and on about fishing and catching all day.

Here is Rusty and some kind of ritual fish blessing.

and then there is the mandatory Key West group fishing shot

and the trophy  shot, thanks guys it was a blast.