Tournament Insider: The Emerald Coast Is Marlin Country

Fifteen-year-old Leah Pratt put her angling skills to the test during the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic. She took Top Junior Angler for billfish in the three-day tournament in June 18-22.

“The first day was slow, we missed a couple, but the second day was great,” said Pratt, who lives in Orange Beach, Alabama. Her family brought their 80-foot Viking, It Just Takes Time, from Alabama to Destin to fish the tournament. “I caught a blue and a white marlin and my brother, George, caught a blue. They were nice fish, about 400- to 500-pounds.”

Pratt says she’s lucky to have grown up fishing tournaments with her brother and father, Nick. She added that she was lucky to win, but their crew leaves nothing to chance when preparing for these billfish tournaments.

“Most people don’t realize the amount of time that goes into getting ready for this,” said Pratt. “We’re working non-stop for a week before tournament day. Rigging baits, preparing the boat, everything.”

They typically fish 100-200 miles off the coast in search of marlin, and their captain, Capt. Myles Colley, determines where they’ll fish based on water conditions. Pratt said they troll lures or, when available, live baits such as blackfin tuna. They’ll often stay out at sea during the multiple tournament days, essentially camping on the ocean which Pratt loves to do.

“I love the excitement of marlin fishing. Sure, you’ll catch more fish inshore, but seeing those marlin jump is so cool, the excitement is there. I’m so very lucky to do this regularly.”

Pratt’s family lives by a major golden rule of tournament fishing: Stay positive no matter what.

“You’ve got to work to keep spirits high no matter what,” she said. “We encourage each other regardless of what’s going on. If someone misses a fish or whatever, we just stay positive and it helps the whole team out in the long run.”

And like their boat’s namesake can teach us, patience is key.

“Timing is everything, not every fish is going to bite,” Pratt said. “But when they do, we help and support each other to make that bite count.”

The tournament’s Top Lady Angler was Helen DeLaney aboard Yellow Steel with two blue marlin releases. A total of 86 billfish were caught during the Classic, including 74 blue marlin, 13 whites, and four sailfish. The tournament also featured a gamefish category, and anglers caught 25 yellowfin tuna, 134 wahoo, and 12 dolphin.

ANCIENT CITY KINGFISH

When Clayton Crabtree and his two buddies brought their girlfriends on board for the Ancient City Gamefish Association Kingfish Challenge, they didn’t realize how much good luck they’d bring.

“It was just meant to be a fun day on the water, introducing the ladies to our world of tournament fishing,” said Crabtree, who runs the 36-foot Yellowfin, Plumb Crazy, out of Jacksonville. “I didn’t think we’d win the thing.”

His crew trolled ribbonfish and live baits around a pack of 30 to 40 boats on a well-known big kingfish spot off Jacksonville.

“We watched a couple of boats gaff nice fish, but I decided to run offshore and get away from the crowd,” he said. “As soon as we put baits out, we landed a massive 73-pound wahoo.”

It wasn’t the giant king they were hoping for, but a good sign nonetheless.

“Wherever the wahoo are, the big kings are, too,” said Crabtree, who owns Crabtree Plumbing in Jacksonville. “It wasn’t long before we started catching them.”

Lady angler Peyton Banks caught their largest king, a 43-pounder, earning top lady angler and the largest two-fish aggregate at nearly 82 pounds.

“All of our big fish ate ribbonfish on the downrigger in 80 to 120 feet of water,” Crabtree said. “We have to make long runs of fifty or more miles to reach those depths, but I prefer it because it relieves the pressure on the fish compared to southern Florida’s ports.”

Crabtree’s strategy for finding kings is to mark bait below, then troll baits on downriggers just above the bait. He says you don’t want to troll too deep because red snapper are so prolific they’ll eat up valuable baits meant for the kings.

“Don’t be scared to get away from the pack and try other spots,” he added. “Go all in. Enter all the calcuttas, otherwise you’re leaving money on the table. And bring your girlfriend.”

ISLAMORADA DOLPHIN CUP

Jill Paglia has been fishing her whole life, but after winning top lady angler in a dolphin tournament in 2017, she’s been truly hooked on offshore tournaments. As a result, she fished the Islamorada Fishing Club’s Captains Cup Dolphin Tournament on June 26.

“As a child, our parents raised us fishing in Crystal River or on lakes, and as my siblings got older, we started fishing offshore for grouper as a family,” said Paglia, who lives in Ocala. “Now, I absolutely love dolphin fishing.”

Fishing from their 56-foot HCB center console, her crew aboard the Executive Decision was able to plow through stormy weather to find birds and sight-fish dolphin.

“We can really run-and-gun for dolphin in this boat, spotting them from the tower,” said Paglia, whose family runs a waste and recycling business. “We start out trolling ballyhoo by birds or fish, then switch to live baits as needed.”

Led by Capt. Chris Ware of Alva, Florida, their team was able to land the largest trio of fish in the tournament with a combined weight of 26.7 pounds. Also on board were Jill’s husband, John, and teammate Mike Kasten of St. Petersburg.

“Prior to 2018 you could go out and always catch a 30-pound plus fish, or at least come across one, but now those big fish just aren’t there,” said Paglia, who pays attention to dolphin research and science. “I’m glad they’re raising the size limit to 24 inches fork length.”

Besides her love of chasing dolphin and billfish off South Florida, Paglia is passionate about getting more women involved in the sport.

“I think there should be a top lady angler in every tournament and it would be great to see more summer camps for kids that revolve around fishing,” she said.

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• This article was featured in the October issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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