1 Million Dollar Sailfish - Catch it!

[ContenderWays]

Catch this sailfish and win 1 million dollars:


The lure of $1 million

Almost anyone can enter one of two events and try to win $1 million by recapturing a sailfish that was caught, tagged and released off Government Cut.

BY SUSAN COCKING

scocking@MiamiHerald.com


PETER ANDREW BOSCH / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
CATCH OF THE DAY: A sailfish that could fetch $1 million if recaptured is tagged and released by Ozzie Gonzalez, above, who is part of tournament organizer Tony Albelo's crew. The fish's captors would have to clip the tag, release the fish unharmed and take a polygraph test.

Somewhere along the coastal waters of South Florida roams a sailfish worth $1 million.

Almost anyone is eligible to collect the cash prize for recapturing the tagged fish, but first they have to register for one of Tony Albelo's two upcoming billfish tournaments -- the Sailfish Kickoff, Dec. 7-10, or the Mayor's Cup, Jan. 25-28 -- both out of Monty's Marina in Coconut Grove.

Whoever might be lucky enough to catch the fish must clip off the numeric tag, release the fish unharmed and present the tag to tournament officials for verification. Everyone on board will be required to submit to a polygraph test.

''We want people to know it's a legitimate shot at $1 million,'' Albelo said.

``Personally, I hope somebody wins it, because, for me, it's just more hype for the tournament.''
Winning all that cash certainly would change someone's life, but not as much as you might think.

Captain Dean Panos will guide three charter customers in the Sailfish Kickoff aboard his 34-foot light-tackle boat, Double D. He said the odds of recapturing the $1 million fish are rather slim. Still, if they were to do it, ''I'd probably buy a bigger boat,''
Panos said. ``And I wouldn't have to work six or seven days a week, but I think I'd still charter.''
Panos and his teammates have agreed to split their winnings, with 33 percent going to the charter customers.

Captain Matt Tambor, who skippers the private boat Owl's Nest for owner Jeffrey Altman, said he, too, probably would maintain his career.

''I'd have to give back to the fishing industry,'' Tambor said. ``And some of it would go into real estate.''

LAST SEEN
For the record, the sailfish that could be worth $1 million was caught, tagged and released Tuesday afternoon by Miami charter boat captain Rick Thomas in about 120 feet of water off Government Cut. It ate the farthest live goggle eye dangling from a kite line aboard a 58-foot Riviera sportfishing yacht skippered by Robert Lizano of Florida Yachts International.
Albelo and the crew of the Riviera recruited Thomas and his brother Jimbo, owner/operators of the Bayside Marina-based charter boat Thomas Flyer, after failing to locate sailfish all morning long. They bought a dozen goggle eyes, or big-eye scad, from captain Jimmy Lewis on the Kite Hunter and added some threadfin herring they caught on Sabiki rigs in Government Cut.

About 15 minutes after putting out two kites with three baits each, plus a flat line, Rick Thomas calmly pointed out ''a boil on the right long'' kite line about 75 yards off the stern.

As yelling erupted in the cockpit, Thomas calmly began reeling tight on the disappearing line -- careful not to try to set the hook because circle hooks were being used.
Within seconds, a sailfish burst up through the surface -- causing even greater consternation on board.
Lizano kept the boat moving slowly forward as Thomas gained line. After a few moments, he brought the fish to the surface, which was tail-wrapped in the fishing line.

''Grab his tail and get the tag where we want it,'' Thomas directed his crewmates.
Jimbo held the fishing line steady while first mate Ozzie Gonzalez inserted the tag in the fatty tissue behind the sail's dorsal. The crew kept the fish moving forward to ensure water would pass through its gills. Then they cut the line close to the hook when the sail was ready to swim away.

How did it feel to catch a $1 million fish, someone asked Rick.
''I'll let you know in a couple of weeks,'' he chuckled.
To keep the contest free from tampering, Albelo had previously taken a close-up digital photograph of the tag. He sealed the camera's memory card in an envelope and gave it to an outside observer who is not registered for the tournament for safekeeping. The prize money, he said, is guaranteed by an insurance policy.

CHANCES ARE SLIM?
Albelo and others believe the chances of recapturing the tagged fish are about equal to hitting the lottery.
Fisheries scientists say tag returns on billfish run around 3 percent -- not a great rate. But captain Ray Rosher, owner of the Miss Britt charter boats and skipper of Kitt Toomey's private tournament yacht, Get Lit, knows from first-hand experience about the chances of catching that proverbial needle in a haystack.

''In the Miami Billfish Tournament last year, I tagged a fish off Haulover on the Get Lit,'' Rosher said. ``That was in April. Six weeks later, I was the captain of the Miss Britt on a charter and I caught my own fish off Triumph [Reef]. That fish only moved 20 miles in six weeks. This is not just a pipe dream; this is something that can actually happen.''
Bolstering Rosher's contention is the memory of a 2005 incident that overcame incredible odds.

Eric Bartos caught a sailfish during a Miami Beach Rod & Reel Club tournament off Miami that bore a wedding ring around its bill -- the same wedding ring Bartos himself had placed there more than two years previously off Fort Lauderdale while going through a difficult divorce. Bartos passed a polygraph administered after the catch.
And sailfish numbers seem to be steadily increasing in South Florida. Last year's Sailfish Kickoff yielded 550 releases among 65 teams in two days -- an average of one release every 1 minute, 10 seconds.

Many of the most accomplished offshore fishing teams in the area are expected to compete next week -- especially with the additional financial incentive.
Said Rosher: ``You are going to have a lot of boats out fishing for it.''

[Shark Tagger]

Thats pretty damn cool, but the chances of catching it are sooo slim, but you never know!!!

[Capt Ted]

Do sailfish generally stay in the same area they were caught this time of year?

[FinalPoint]

CaptTed - is that avatar a picture from a boat deck?? It looks amazing.