Posted by SSAC on Jun 21, 2014
The 84th annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament finished with a fierce Fish-Off competition Saturday, June 21st, where angler finalists reeled in a total of nine Tarpon, despite less than desirable fishing conditions.
Seven anglers competed in the Sarasota Tarpon Tournament Fish-Off. Anglers qualified for the Fish-Off by either winning a Special Division, (i.e. Fly, or Most Releases) or by catching the largest Tarpon, measured by girth, during one of the five weeks of the regular tournament.
Of those seven anglers competing, six caught a fish in the Fish-Off. Competitor Dave Robinson was the first to catch shortly before 8 a.m. in the morning.
In the end, one angler ruled supreme, by a matter of less than one inch. David Sugar claimed the title of 2014 Sarasota Tarpon Tournament Champion by catching and releasing a Tarpon with a girth of 38¾” inches. Clark Nash came in second, with a fish measuring 38 inches in girth.
The finalists will be recognized at an awards banquet July 19, at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. For more information on the Awards Banquet click on the Events button at the top of this page.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 17, 2014
The final results for this years Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament are in and the line up is set for this Saturday’s Fish-Off.
The five weekly first place finishers, Clark Nash 37.5″, week one, Miles Skeens 40″, week two, Dave Robinson 38″, week three, David Sugar 40″, week four, and Mike McDonald 45.5″, week five.
They will be joined by Brent Wilson 32″, winner of the Fly Division, and Jamie Smith who had a total of 11 Releases during the tournament. These seven anglers comprise the field set to compete for the coveted trophy.
An alternate date of June 28th has been set should the weather on the primary Fish-Off date of Saturday, June 21st not cooperate.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 8, 2014
The 84th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament enters its final week today and the Tarpon seem to be running stronger than they have the entire tournament.
A quick recap of the tournament results so far reveals Clark Nash was the Week One 1st place finisher registering a 37.5″ catch on Sunday, May 11th.
Miles Skeens took 1st place in Week Two breaking the 40″ barrier for the first time. Miles registered his 40″ catch on Monday, the 19th in the waters off of Longport.
Week Three again saw a different first place finisher, this time it was Dave Robinson. Dave registered a 38″ catch on Saturday, May 31st in the waters just off of Anna Marie Island.
David Sugar registered the second 40″ plus catch of the tournament on Wednesday, June 4th off of Casey Key to take 1st place in Week Four.
All four weekly first place finishers are now eligible for the Fish-Off which is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st, with an alternate date of Saturday, June 28th should the weather not cooperate.
Moving into the final week Brent Wilson leads in the Fly Division with a 32″ catch registered on Tuesday, May 20th. Landon Forde (that’s Landon shown in the photo above) is the overall Youth Leader with a 31″ catch he registered on Friday, June 6th just off of Turtle Beach.
Noelle Leverentz leads the Women’s Division with a 33″ catch registered on Saturday, May 31st in Big Pass, while Jerrould Smith & Noelle Leverentz lead the His & Her’s Division with a combined Total 68″.
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Posted by SSAC on May 18, 2014
The Sarasota Tarpon Tournament Kick-Off Event was held Wednesday, May 7th at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota and fishing officially began Saturday, May 10th.
The tournament is embarking on it’s second week today and tournament competitors are reporting some nice fights from some big tarpon. Summer weather has arrived, the boats are out on the water, and lines have been cast.
The years tournament Kicked off as usual at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Wednesday night, May 7th with more than 150 competitors and guests in appearance. One-hundred and fourteen anglers signed up for the tournament at the Kick-Off, and a few more have trickled in throughout the week. Of the registered anglers, notable numbers include: 28 new anglers, 18 female angles, and 19 registered in the His & Her’s Division Teams.
The Event featured great food, new tournament rules, to view those rules click here, and of course, the crowning of the new Tarpon Queen, Danielle DeSilvestro (that’s Danielle shown above on the right).
To check out photos from the kick-off on our Facebook page click here. Our friends at Suncoast Charities for Children also attended the evening and gave us a great reminder of the impact of this tournament for the community and how much our partner charity helps the area by serving children with special needs. We are so happy to be supporting their cause!
After a rules update and a message from our partner, big raffle prizes took center stage at the kick-off. Prizes included expensive rods and reels, high-quality sunglasses, a go-pro camera and much more. Plenty of raffle tickets were sold and several guests walked-away with some great fishing gear to get a head-start on the tournament.
Fishing officially began May 10. After the first week of fishing, competitors have reported some nice fights and big tarpon. To send us your information via email click here, reach out to us on our Facebook page and we’ll share your photos!
Good luck!
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Posted by SSAC on Mar 17, 2014
The Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament is here once again. This historic event, the oldest, continuously running, open-to-the-public tarpon tournament in Florida, is about to embark on its 84th consecutive year of operation.
Running for five weeks, May 10th through June 15th, 2014. The goal of this historical venue is not only to celebrate the tremendous tarpon fishing our region offers its anglers, but also to support deserving local charities.
Last year, this tournament donated over $10,000 to the Suncoast Charities for Children, and we’re proud to support this great charity once again in 2014.
Weekly winners and the winners of the two additional categories (the winner of the fly division, and the angler with the most registered DNA samples) will also be invited to compete in a 2-day Fish-Off weekend to determine the overall winner whose name is inscribed on the historic trophy.
If you’re looking to make new friends, have some fun, and test your angling skills, come fish with us and yours could be the next name on that trophy.
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