Posted by SSAC on Jul 23, 2018
Friday was an amazing night celebrating the winners of the 88th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament. This year’s Awards Banquet was held at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing and the Tarpon Tribe gathered to honor this years winners.
With donations of $17,500 raised and going to local charities, 2018 was a tremendous year for the tournament. Congratulations to our overall winner Chris Speary and all our winners.
This year’s winners, along with Tarpon Queen Lori Colado, proudly display their plaques.
Posted by SSAC on Jun 23, 2018
Congratulations to Chris Speary winner of the 2018 Sarasota Tarpon Tournament. Chris’s 33.5″ catch in Saturday’s fish-off was enough to get his name engraved on the silver trophy.
Chris, pictured here with Event Chairman Mason Tush to his right and this year’s Tarpon Queen Lori Colado had earned his spot in the Fish-Off by placing 1st in Week 2 of the Tournament.
Gabor Torok, who had 4 total catches for the day, finished second with a catch measuring 32″. Third place went to Kayden Peters followed by Jim Lopez in fourth, Joe Peters in fifth and Joe Speary in finished sixth place. The final 4 positions were awarded by default using the Weekly Results.
The Tournament Committee would like to thank all our anglers and sponsors and remind everyone to please mark your calendars for the Awards Banquet to be held Friday night, July 20th, at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing in Sarasota. We’ll be celebrating all our Anglers with cold beers, good food, raffles, and a night that looks to be a lot of fun so don’t miss it.
Joe Speary, Gabor Torok, Chris Speary, Jim Lopez, Joe Peters, and Kayden Peters.Your 88th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament Fish-Off Anglers. These guys competed on Saturday for First Place and bragging rights as winner of the World’s Oldest Tarpon Tournament.
A huge thank you goes out to Gotta Live, Conley Buick GMC, David A. Sugar MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Tom Kane Construction Inc. and to the White Buffalo Saloon.
Final Results for the 88th Sarasota Tarpon Tournament can be VIEWED HERE.
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Posted by SSAC on Jun 6, 2018
Week Three of the 88th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament is in the books. Congratulations to Joe Speary who hit the top of the leaderboard with a first-place finish in Week Three having caught and released a Tarpon with a 36″ girth.
The Week Three Official Results are as follows: 1st Place: Joe Speary with a 36″ recorded girth caught and released on Thursday, May 31st., 2nd Place went to Tom Goshorn, also with a girth measuring 36″ caught and released on Saturday, June 2nd, and Alex Swanson with a Tarpon whose girth measured in at 34″ and earned him a third-place finish, recorded on Saturday, June 2nd.
Remember, the tiebreaker is the time that you report your fish at a report and registration station like CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, Harts Landing or New Pass Grill and Bait in Sarasota, Cannon’s Marina on Longboat Key, or the Crow’s Nest in Venice.
Currently, David Sugar and Jaime Smith are leading most releases with 5 and Yuly Torres is still leading the women’s division with a 35″ fish. Jamie Smith and Rebecca Pellegrini are leading the his-and-hers division with over 70 total inches.
Again, Congratulations to Joe and all the anglers on the leaderboard this week. There are 2 weeks of fishing left and anglers can still register online.
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Posted by SSAC on May 30, 2018
Week Two of the 88th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament did not come without its challenges as the rain continued through much of week two. While fish continue to be seen in numbers, anglers report that if you’re striking out, changing up your bait may change your luck.
Congratulations to Chris Speary who hit the top of the leaderboard in Week Two recording a 39-inch girth on the Tarpon he caught and released on Saturday the 26th. Tom Goshorn ran a close second in week two with a 38-inch Tarpon caught and released on Sunday the 20th off of Longboat Key.
Wyatt Rogers finished third with a 37-inch Tarpon he reeled in on Sunday the 20th, again off of Longboat Key. Just two inches separated the three top finishers on the leaderboard in week two.
Currently David Sugar is leading Most Releases with 5 and Yuly Torres is leading the Women’s Division with a 35” fish.
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Posted by SSAC on May 10, 2018
Wednesday nights Kick-Off event at the White Buffalo ushered in a new era as the Annual Kick-Off Event took on decidedly country and western look and feel.
A big supportive crowd packed the White Buffalo Saloon, with many in attendance first-time attendees.
This year marked the tournament’s 88th consecutive year of competition. kicked into gear around 7 p.m.
Tournament organizers were overwhelmed by the show of support from the community. The committee expressed its sincere gratitude to the White Buffalo Saloon who acted as this year’s Tournament Hosting Sponsor along with Bud Light.
Bryan Kelly, acting as master of ceremonies, reviewed the tournament rules and gave a shout out to all the 2018 Tournament’s many sponsors. Bryan also voiced special thanks to the 2018 Presenting Sponsors, Tom Kane Construction Inc., Sugar Orthopaedics, Conley Buick, GOTTA LIVE, and Columbia Sportswear.
Lori Colado (shown above) was introduced as the 2018 Tarpon Queen. Lori fishes the tournament and is an avid Tarpon angler. Her passion for the fish and this tournament, as well as the overwhelming number of nominations she received made her the perfect Tarpon Queen.
The 2017 Tarpon Queen Aledia Tush, surounded by friends, was there to hand off the crown to Lori Colado.
As usual, there was an incredible selection of fishing related items, too many to mention here, donated for this year’s charity raffle which was conducted throughout the evening by Bryan Kelly to a boisterous crowd.
Monies raised from the evening’s raffles and the Tournament overall will, as usual, be donated to Charity. Included again this year to the list of charities, the Coastal Conservation Association.
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Posted by SSAC on Jan 28, 2018
Based on feedback from our anglers we are changing the venue for this year’s event and creating more of a celebration of the start of Tarpon Season for our kick-off party/captain’s meeting.
The party will be held on Wed., May 9th at White Buffalo Saloon in Sarasota with registration starting at 6:00 p.m. and the party itself starting at 7:00 p.m. Your $125 entry into the tournament gets you food and fun and a cash bar will also be available.
LIVE MUSIC, GOOD TIMES, a LIVE AUCTION with some incredible outdoor EXPERIENCES from CCA as well as AMAZING RAFFLES for gear, tackle, paddle boards, coolers, artwork and much more.
Also, this year’s Awards Banquet will be a scaled down and focus on awarding the prizing, honoring our winners and handing out our prize ladder for those who registered fish.
Tournament SPONSORSHIPS are available. It’s the generosity of our amazing sponsors that have kept this legendary tournament running for 88 years. As you know, we have a fantastic group of anglers and much more watching online and in the community. Please contact us if you would like to talk to a representative about sponsorship.
We couldn’t be more excited about this year’s tournament and can’t wait to see you all at the White Buffalo.
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