8.10.05 - St. Lucia tournament becomes Rolex/IGFA qualifier

The 2005 St. Lucia International Billfish Tournament, scheduled for 29 Sept. - 1 Oct. in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, has been named an IGFA qualifying event for the 2006 Rolex/IGFA International Tournament of Champions to be held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Congratulations to our friends and fellow anglers in St. Lucia!!

5.22.05 - TGFT members compete in 6th Annual Rolex/IGFA ITOC

Two teams containing members of the TGFT tournament committee, one representing the TGFT 2004 winners and the other representing the Sagicor/Mount Gay Rum Tournament in Barbados, competed in the 6th Annual Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas this past week. Fishing for the TGFT team were Treasurer David Wong and Webmaster Edgar Dapremont, as well as winning boat captain and crew, Peter "Panic" De Silva and Johnny Ming Hon. For Sagicor were President Gerard "Frothy" De Silva and Secretary Andrew Llanos, as well as friends and fellow anglers David Maharaj and Frits Faber. The TGFT team came out strong on the first day, landing seven Striped Marlin and a Sailfish to take an early first place lead with 2200 points. Unfortuantely, their luck slipped away as they landed only two more Striped Marlin for the remaining three days for a total of 2800 points, finishing 16th among the 68 international teams present, a respectable showing nonetheless.

The Sagicor/Mount Gay team produced steady results for the four days of fishing, landing 10 Striped Marlin and a single 31.6 lb Dolphin for a final tally of 3031.6 pts and a 13th place finish. Congratulations to all the anglers, and a HUGE thank you to all of the folks at the IGFA and the tournament sponsors for putting together such a great tournament. We hope to see you again next year!

3.27.05 - Tournament results are up!!

The 2005 tournament was a fantastic success, despite the early season start and less-than-ideal water conditions resulting from prior heavy rains in the region. A total of 26 boats participated in this year's contest, a new record for the TGFT. Braveheart, out of Trinidad, took an early lead on day one with 378.3 points after tagging and releasing a Blue Marlin, and landing a 28.3 lb Dolphin. Angler Dip Singh of Trinidad was responsible for the marlin, his very first in 25 years of fishing the waters off Trinidad and Tobago. The boat Mischief finished day one a close second with 350 points, and Alpha Lime in third place with 137.63 points.
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Day two saw Braveheart tag and release two more Blue Marlin, by anglers Kirk Agard and Steven Valdez, adding another 850 points to their total and keeping them in the lead. Jessie James emerged from the pack with 428.7 points to take second with four Yellowfin Tuna and a single Blue Marlin tag and release. Mischief dropped back to third with 401.5 points after landing a single Yellowfin Tuna for the day.

It was a quiet trip for Braveheart on day three but, despite a Dolphin and another Blue Marlin tag and release by Jessie James, the anglers of Braveheart held the lead and took first place as Best Boat with 1228.3 points. Jessie James remained in second with 859.1 points, and Gavilan released their second Sailfish of the tournament to edge out Mischief for third place.

Overall, we had 43 fish come to scale, including one Blue Marlin that just missed the minimum qualifying weight, and 11 tag and release catches: seven Blue Marlin, three Sailfish, and one White Marlin, the first to be seen in many years in the waters off Tobago. Also, the water conditions in the nearby fishing grounds had many boats heading 30 or more miles offshore in search of game, and this resulted in more than half-a-dozen hookups with Blue Marlin estimated in the 500+ lb. range. Unfortunately, none of these resulted in a successful catch, so they'll remain "the ones that got away" until next time.

Congratulations and thanks to all everyone who participated in this year's tournament, we hope to see you all again next year, 30 March - 2 April, 2006!

12.9.04 - Updates, updates, updates!!

Loads of new information added to the site today: updated prizes and two NEW prize categories, new charters and accommodations, and new items added to the online store!! Check it all out!

11.29.04 - TGFT online store launched

Visit our online store for the latest in TGFT logo gear, and be sure to check back often for new designs and products!

10.7.04 - 2005 Prize list announced!

The list of prizes for the 2005 TGFT tournament has been added to the Prizes page and, as last year, the top prize for the winning team is an invitation and paid registration to the 2006 Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas, valued at US$5200.

Also this year, the prize for breaking the Trinidad & Tobago All Tackle Tournament record for Blue Marlin (currently 649lbs.) is a brand-new Suzuki Jimmy, sponsored by Lifestyle Motors & Norman Gabriel Insurance Brokers!! This prize is valued at TT$114,000 (US$19,000).