South Florida Anglers Win Islamorada’s IFC Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament

ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys — Islamorada’s Captain Robert Collins led team Back in Business to first place in the Islamorada Fishing Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament that ended Jan. 15. 

The Back in Business team released nine sailfish on the contest’s single day of fishing, edging out four other teams that each tallied eight releases, to land the winner-take-all prize of $12,000. 

The winning team’s anglers included John Watson of Parkland, Florida; Matt McLean from Naples, Florida; and Audrey Koocher and Brooks Gregory from Islamorada. 

The nail-biting competition saw the teams on Main One/Main Attraction, Kalex, Skipjac, Killbox and Back in Business tied with eight releases with just 18 minutes of fishing left. Then Collins called in the ninth release for his team, achieved by Gregory, giving Back in Business the win. 

Ending the tournament in second place based on time was Main One/Main Attraction, with eight sailfish releases, helmed by Captain Marty Lewis of Marathon, Florida. The team’s anglers were Mark Busch from West Lake, Ohio; Mike Cangemi from Jupiter, Florida; Ben Zdan from Marathon and Islamorada resident Danny Lombardo. 

Third place was awarded to Captain Alex Adler of Islamorada and his team aboard Kalex, also with eight releases. The team included Indiana anglers Chris and Sam Chastain, Allen Sutkowski and Nathan Burns.

The tournament drew 12 boats and 46 anglers, who released a total of 68 sailfish during the close competition.  

Established in 1950, the Islamorada Fishing Club embraces core values of conservation, recreational fishing and strong family and community bonds among avid fishermen. The IFC Sailfish Tournament is the second leg of the annual three-event Florida Keys Gold Cup Championship series.