On the heels of big record-breaking fish and big�cash prize payouts�in 2008, the year 2009 proved to be another amazing year for the T&T Game Fishing Association (TTGFA). In 2008�a young 15-year-old by the name of Sean Mendonca fishing on Indigo put T&T on the world map when he landed a whopping 890 lb Blue Marlin in�the TTGFA�Marlin Madness Tournament in Tobago. That catch made him the new IGFA Male Junior Atlantic Blue Marlin World Record Holder. This made front page news in the local and regional newspapers and the story was featured in several of the leading international fishing journals and magazines. �Local fishermen have always believed that there were some very large fish in our waters�and the�T&T Game Fishing Association wanted to prove�just that�by including 130 lb tackle for the first time in its 29 years of hosting this tournament. So when a year later a 825 lb Atlantic blue marlin was caught by Jovan Jango on board Reel Finatic in the 2009�TTGFA's 29th Annual Marlin Madness Tournament it was no surprise.
As a result of this catch, the Reel Finatic team made up of members Edward Aboud, Stuart Johnson, Linsay Grell�and Jovan Jango won the tournament. The platinum and gold sponsors, The Ministry Of Sport and Youth Affairs, The Tobago House of Assembly and Carib,�loved the limelight�as much as the anglers and team mates that conquered these beasts. Silver sponsors included Roof Systems, Gatorade, Black Bart, Sure Parts, Cargo Consolidators and Bronze sponsors included Laughlin and De Gannes, Real Marketing, Subway and Mount Gay.�But before the Marlin Madness, there was the 2009 TTGFA/Beacon Insurance Wahoo Tournament which was hosted at the T&T Yacht Club (TTYC)�in March. This was won by Captain Adam Conyers with crew members, Andrew Crooks, Gordon Dalgleish and Ryan Farah on Luhr'd Away.�Angler James Harris on board�Houdini took the heaviest wahoo prize with�his 49.2 lb catch. Other sponsors included Copy-Rite copy paper and Casfab Ltd.
In June, the Well Services Group of Companies sponsored the Kingfish tournament which was held at the Lure Restaurant in Sweet Water Marina in Chaguaramas. Mark Villain of Anger Management caught a 27.4 lb kingfish and walked away with the heaviest fish of the tournament. First place, however, went to the late Captain Sid Johnson of Barbie Doll Too thanks to the contributions of anglers, David Hatt and Kirk Agar. Team Anger Management placed second with the Blue Fever team placing third. Then as schools closed in the first week in July, the TTGFA hosted their 11th Annual�Vita Malt Junior Angler Fishing Tournament at the TTYC. As expected,�a large�number of junior anglers participated and their catch was again overwhelming. Over 30 rod and reels and numerous trophies are given away to these young fisherfolk to inspire them to keep fishing. Thanks to the many sponsors including Micon, Welch's, Kit Kat, Ovaltine, Nestle and Casfab Ltd, it looks like the sport will be kept alive for future generations. In August the Tourism Development Company (TDC) sponsored the 2009 Tarpon Thunder tournament which was won by team Mappapie.
One hundred and sixty-two tarpons were caught and released by 109 anglers on 26�boats in this tournament. Michael De Freitas of team Mappapie walked away with the prestigious Best Angler prize. Other�crew members of the winning team included Mark Telfer, Dominic Wallace, Travis Ali and Fernando Navarro. Michael�will represent T&T in the 2010 IGFA Inshore World Championships hosted by the Florida Keys Outfitters. De Jep along with angler, Brett Thompson came second in the best boat and best angler categories respectively.Bobby Breen placed third. This tournament was also hosted at the Lure Restaurant in Sweet Water Marina in Chaguaramas and other sponsors included Well Services Group of Companies, Gatorade, Carib, Evian and Real Marketing. The last quarter saw teams from T&T showing their dominance on the regional and international stages.
First there was team Part-T-Time with Captain�Robert Stauble and crew members Graham Barber, Michael Chin Leung Fatt, Mark De Verteuil, Christian Hadeed, Anthony Flynn and Allison Deveaux who were victorious in the St.Lucia Game Fishing Association's 19th Annual Billfish Tournament in IGY Marina, Rodney Bay in early October. Team Magic Lady�also from T&T placed third. This was followed by Captain Stuart Dalgliesh and his crew Gordon Dalgliesh, Brett Kenny, Alan Sheppard and Mark Lazzari of team PRI on board Finesse placing second in the 2009� Martinique Billfish Tournament. They also won angler with the most releases, boat with the most releases and best southern boat prizes. �However, the year ended with the biggest news of all and again it was the young angler that made the news�a year earlier that would dominate the headlines again. This time it was in the most prestigious of tournaments on the planet, The IGFA World Championship Billfish Release Tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The four-day tournament started with the local team made up of Sean Mendonca, Mark Villain, Clint Quong Sing and Derrick Tardieu tied at�third place after the first day. They were then tied�for second place after the second day and tied for first place after the third day.
On the morning of the fourth and�final day of fishing they took the lead with an early morning stripe marlin catch and release.�However they could not hold on to the lead and had to settle for fourth place in the end. �Speaking of the end, what a coincidence�it was that all of this�action in Mexico that involved some of our young and promising anglers was taking�place�while an arch of rod and reels was being formed by 20 anglers at the back of St Finbars Church�to honour the end of a pioneer in game fishing, Sid Johnson. He�passed under the arch while our boys were releasing their last fish of the tournament. How proud he would have been of their success and knowing that the sport is being represented by a group of young and enthusiastic anglers who are equally concerned about conservation efforts to ensure that future generations enjoy game fishing.