Tournament Insider: Summer Pompano, Dolphin

It’s no wonder Florida surf fishing tournaments have gained traction in recent years. Boats aren’t necessary, making events accessible and affordable to more anglers. Plus, a day on the sand entices participants of all skill levels—from the beach chair dreamers to those strategic pompano die-hards.

The Panhandle Salt Pompano Showdown, created in 2021, serves as a gathering point for beach fishermen while also channeling revenue towards substance use disorder initiatives—a cause close to tournament director Blane Robert’s heart since such programs saved his life in 2015.

“We hold the tournaments every six months, transforming the Gulf Coast into a 200-mile stretch of fishing fervor during the pompano runs,” said Roberts. “Each tournament is held over three days and anglers can fish from St. George Island, Florida to Fort Morgan, Alabama.”

The largest pompano of the tournament (April 12-14) was a fat 4-pounder caught by Lucas Galman of Pensacola. Second place went to Bradley Bouchey with a 3.32-pound pomp. Colby Fletcher came in third with his 3.24-pounder.

L.J. Lee of Pensacola took first place junior angler with his 2.4-pounder. Treysen Merritt took second with a 2-pounder and Conner Ramero came in a close third with a 1.96-pounder.

The fall Showdown event will be held November 8-10. Find them on Facebook or visit www.panhandlesalt.com for more information.

Not only does it boast a funky name, but the Tarponian Tournament (April 27-May 1) format is unlike any other.

Each team of anglers is mandated to rotate between three different captains to fish each of the three major bridge channels in the middle Keys — the Seven Mile, Long Key and Bahia Honda bridges — so any potential “hot spots” are shared among all anglers.

Anglers fish three evenings, with lines in at 4 p.m. and lines out by 8 p.m.

In 2023, Bill Broderick of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania fished the Tarponian. He described last year’s tournament as “one of the best times in my life.” His team landed 9 tarpon in the final hours of the last night.

This year, Bill brought his two sons along to fish the 50-angler, 16-boat tournament. The apples didn’t fall far from the tree. The duo--Joe Broderick and Mike McGrath—captured first place with a total of eight tarpon landed.

Bill himself fished with friends Dan Powell of Sea Isle City, New Jersey and Joe Gentile of Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The three anglers took second place with 8 tarpon releases.

The tie was broken by their catch reporting times.

The Brodericks and their friends took home prize monies of $4,500 and $3,300 respectively.

The top anglers from the 2023 Tarponian, brothers Rusty and Ray Martz, made their way to the leaderboard again this year. The brothers came in third place with 7 fish, earning them $2,100.

The unique format challenges each angler’s skill while also challenging local captains’ abilities to consistently and successfully put their clients crews on the fish of their dreams.

Captain John Callion of Callion Fishing Charters in Marathon, put his rotating clients on a total of 13 tarpon over the three days, earning him Top Captain in the tournament.

Captain Jared Dieguez of Marathon came in second place with 10 tarpon and Captain Charlie Turner of Marathon took third with 9 tarpon for his anglers. Most of the 82 tarpon and countless jack crevalle caught during the three-day tournament came from the Long Key and Bahia Honda bridges.

Growing up in the Florida Keys, Nick Sheahan enjoyed fishing, diving and life. Tragically, Nick died in 2004 at the age of 16 from shallow water blackout while freediving in the Bahamas. To remember Nick and promote awareness of the dangers of shallow water blackout, the Nick Sheahan Dolphin Rodeo was created in 2008. The largest dolphin of this year’s tournament (May 3-5), a 25-pounder, was caught by Brad Hyre. In the junior division, Cayden McKimm took first with a 16-pounder. Colsten McKimm took second place with a 10-pounder and Jack Brown took third with his 15-pound dolphin.

All tournament proceeds and donations benefit the Nick Sheahan Scholarship Fund which provides college tuition assistance for graduating seniors at Coral Shores High School, where Nick would have graduated in 2006.

The Nick Sheahan Foundation offers these warnings to avoid shallow water blackout:

• Always dive with a buddy.
• Do not hyperventilate to excess.
• Treat your weight belt as a disposable item: if in doubt, drop it. Bring a spare to decrease your hesitancy.
• Adjust your weight belt so that you will float at 15 feet.
• Avoid endurance dives. If you must make a long or deep dive, make sure you have a buddy standing by on the surface.
• Consider a swimming pool a dangerous place to practice endurance breath-holding. Always have an observer standing by to assist.
• Learn the basics of CPR and think about adapting them to your diving arena, whether diving from shore, board or boat.

Over 60 boats and 500 anglers joined the 2024 Marathon Offshore Bull & Cow Tournament, a two-day challenge held May 4-5.

Anglerette Hailly Dally and her crew on the Two Conchs took top lady angler and the largest cow dolphin with a 25.2-pounder. Combined with another two dolphin they scored second in the aggregate of 3 dolphin division with a 57-pound total.

The largest bull dolphin of the tournament was a 36.7-pounder caught by team Salt Shaker. They peppered the leaderboard with wins, including the largest two dolphin combo at 52.4 pounds and the largest three dolphin with a total of 69.3 pounds.

Team Hurricane Fever showed off their skills with a bull-cow combo weighing 47.7 pounds, the third place largest bull at 33.9 pounds, the third-largest cow at 21 pounds, and third place in the aggregate division.

In the wahoo division, team Kraken pulled in a 36-pounder for first place.

Jacey Rogers aboard the Sea Ya brought in a 19.2-pound dolphin for first place junior angler.

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• This article was featured in the July 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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