RFA Posts Results from 51st Annual Buccaneer Cup
OutdoorHub 02.06.14
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! The team of the Miss Annie, a 55′ Viking lead by Captain Randy Yates, made the most of two slick calm days of fishing during which the sailfish were not hard to find, but pretty reluctant to eat.
Fishing live bait the team racked up 1,200 hard-earned points on Day One while dead bait trollers were on top of the leader board. The Apava under the skilled hands of Capt. Scott Fawcett, the Champagne Lady with Josh Chaney at the helm and Fa La Me with last year’s IGFA Captain of the Year Rob Moore doing the honors, all put 1500 points on the leader board.
Petunia, with Capt. Mike Morano in charge fished live bait to put up 1400 points, which left the Miss Annie in 5th place at the end of the day, but Day Two dawned with a totally different outcome.
A total number of releases on Day One was a meager 60 for 24 boats and the weather forecast for Day Two was a mild breeze from the west and another slick calm day-not the kind of weather conducive to generating a killer bite even after two successive cold fronts had passed through just days before the tournament.
Capt. Paulie Petruska, a.k.a. Penthouse Paulie, was hard pressed to stay awake in the radio room on Day Two as the fishing slowed to a crawl, but one boat, observer on board, kept calling in releases starting within minutes of lines in the water-the Miss Annie. Seems Yates had found himself a hotspot where he was able to coax fish to hit the live baits suspended from the two kites he was permitted to fly by tournament rules.
“As I was running north from Lake Worth Inlet I saw a couple of free-jumpers, pulled back on the throttles and told the guys to get the kites out,” Randy said at the awards dinner at the Jupiter Beach Resort Sunday evening. “The baits hit the water and we hooked a triple, but lost one of the three. The action settled into a steady pick of fish.”
Steady, indeed. Day Two saw only 24 releases total, an average of one per boat, but Miss Annie gobbled up a total of eight, a remarkable performance under really tough conditions. No other boat released more than two and most didn’t score even one!
When all was said and done Miss Annie, owned by Barry Weshnak, took first place overall and first place live bait and the lion’s share of the Calcutta and tournament prize money for a total of $53,462. The FA LA ME, owned by Frank Rodriquez, took second place boat, first place dead bait and Calcutta and tournament prize money totaling $34,410.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the trophy and prize winners.
1st Place Boat: Miss Annie
2nd Place Boat: FA LA ME
3rd Place Boat: Petunia
1st Place Angler: Warren Landy (Apava)
2nd Place Angler: Paul Sudell (Judge)
3rd Place Angler: Tyler Beckwith – FA LA ME
Top Lady Angler: Dawn Samuels (Princess Lily)
Most Points Live Bait: Miss Annie
Most Point Dead Bait: FA LA ME
Largest Fish (Tie): Miss Annie and Dream On with 22 lb. Kingfish
While the fishing was tough, the competition was up to the challenge and comments at the Awards Dinner were positive about the tournament and how well it was run.
Keep in mind that ALL THE PROCCEEDS from the Buccaneer Cup are donated to the Florida Fish for Life Cancer Charity and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.
We hope to see everyone back next year and more.
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