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HomeNewsArchivesLiberty Wins 2013 Golden Hook Fishing Club Dolphin Tournament

Liberty Wins 2013 Golden Hook Fishing Club Dolphin Tournament

Top Angler Tim Bartzen (center) The Golden Hook Fishing Club held their 14th Annual Dolphin Tournament on April 13, in St. Croix. Ten boats participated in the tournament, which was sponsored by Poolworks.
Green Cay Marina, a Blue Flag marina, was host for tournament and associated activities. The club’s president, Dennis McCormick, praised Green Cay, saying “They went way above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the tournament was a success!”
Captains and other participants met April 12, for a captain’s meeting to review the tournament rules, sign up and participate in a fun raffle. There was a pig roast along with a nice buffet meal.
Between all participating boats, 34 dolphin were caught for 710.7 total pounds. The average weight per qualifying fish was 20.9 pounds. After the weigh-in, a party was held where fresh fish tacos and other food and drink were served.
A new conservation program called the Dolphin Tagging Research Project was introduced at this tournament. Administered by Cooperative Science Services LLC, the program is intended to gain life history information about dolphin to protect them from overfishing. Participating anglers were encouraged to tag and release juvenile fish and received tournament points for doing so. For more information about this program, visit www.dolphintagging.com.
The awards banquet was held April 14, at Deep End Bar after a family beach party earlier that day. The top 10 anglers who caught the largest dolphin were recognized, and each won gift certificates to local restaurants such as The Galleon, Cheeseburgers in America’s Paradise and Sharkey’s Bait Stand. The top anglers also won flight vouchers donated by Seaborne Airlines. The top three boats that caught the largest weight of qualifying dolphin won cash prizes and trophies purchased from Jan Mitchell. The mate from the Best Boat also won a bracelet from Nelthropp and Low.
The boat Miss Becky caught the second largest dolphin. Angler Christian Rasmussen caught a nice 34.6 pound fish. The crew of the boat included Capt. Erik Rasmussen and mate Niels Rasmussen. The other anglers included Erik Herring, Becky Rasmussen and Brandon Rasmussen.
The boat Trident also caught one of the biggest dolphin. Angler Robert Hunsberger Jr. caught the third largest qualifying fish weighing in at 27.7 pounds. The boat also won third Best Boat overall with a total weight of 167.0 pounds. The crew of the boat included Capt. Robert Hunsberger and other anglers Michael Flood, Rafael Madel, Harry Schlemer and Bruce Houze. After this tournament, Trident is in third place in the Sportfish standings and third place for the overall series.
La Menajera caught four of the top ten largest dolphin in the tournament. Captain and angler Alberto Sanchez caught the fourth and sixth largest fish, weighing in at 27.0 and 25.8 pounds, respectively. Angler Edgar Bengoa caught the fifth and eighth largest fish, weighing in at 25.9 and 25.0 pounds, respectively. Other anglers included Jose Sanchez, Gina Bengoa and Jose Rodriguez. The boat also won second Best Boat overall with 208.5 pounds. After this tournament, La Menajera is in second place in the sportfish standings and second place for the overall series.Best Boat Liberty
The boat Liberty was the big winner. They had three of the largest fish. Angler Danny Sweet caught the 10th largest fish, which weighed in at 23.4 pounds. Angler Greg Lee caught the seventh largest fish, which weighed in at 25.3 pounds. The largest fish of the tournament was caught by angler Tim Bartzen. It was a whopping 49.3 pounder. The crew of the boat included Capt. Matt Doders, mate Ben Mayo and angler Harold Lee. The boat won Best Boat overall with 254.4 pounds. After this tournament, they are also in first place in the sportfish standings and first place for the overall series.
Other participating boats included Irie Feeling captained by Harold Price, Fraidey Cat captained by Roger Charles, Two Fer Sure captained by Tom Sedgwick, Cool Runnings captained by Tony Soloman, Angel Share captained by Stephen Wagner and Living The Dream, which was captained by Caitlin Sterner. Living The Dream remains in first place in the billfish standings.
The Golden Hook Fishing Club was founded to promote and encourage the sport of saltwater game fishing in the Virgin Islands, while at the same time, instilling an awareness of the importance of conservation of marine life, both in its members and in the V.I. community. The next tournament is the Guy / Gal “Reel” Challenge on Oct. 5 -6. Special thanks to Golden Hook Series sponsor Premier Wines & Spirits for donating items from Miller Lite, Cruzan Rum and Presidente.
For more information about the tournament or the club, visit www.fishstx.com, visit our Facebook page, or call 773-4693.

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