TAG & RELEASE

2024 Competition

Official Winners

Overview

The wait is finally over! Listed below are final standings for The Billfish Foundation’s 2023-2024 Tag & Release Competition. From November 1st of 2023 until October 31st, 2024, captains, anglers, and mates from around the globe competed against one another in support of billfish conservation. Listed below are the winners of each category, to be highlighted in person during our upcoming awards ceremony on March 21st, 2025.

 

The anglers and captains mentioned below have contributed crucial information to billfish conservation and our Tag & Release Program. Since its inception in 1990, the program has grown to accrue more than 290,000 tag and release records to become the largest, open-sourced billfish tagging database in the world. In the last year alone, TBF has collected over 7,000 records! This is only possible because of the efforts of all the conservation-minded captains, anglers, and mates across the globe whose data helps to preserve the sport we love and provides us with an increased understanding of the needs for billfish management.

 

Please note, all individual award winners were contacted via email with specific instructions. If you did not receive an email and are listed as a winner below (1st place only), please contact us directly at [email protected] so we can update our contact information and provide you with event details.

Ceremony

Please note, TBF’s Award Ceremony will be held on a new date and new location this year: Friday, March 21st, 2025 at the West Palm Beach Marriott (1001 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401).

 

Please note, if a category is missing, the minimum number of fish for that category was not met. As always, winners are only eligible to receive a TBF award if they are an active member of TBF. To verify your TBF membership, click here. To become a new member of TBF, click here.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected].

If you’d like to attend…

  • Event information: 6:00 pm EST on Friday, March 21st, 2025, at the West Palm Beach Marriott (1001 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401)
  • To RSVP for the event, visit our webpage here for event details and ticket information. 
  • Winners enter for free, but guests are required to purchase tickets. You can purchase tickets here.
  • If you’d like to guarantee you sit with friends, consider purchasing a VIP table and email us at [email protected] by February 28th, 2024

If you cannot make it…

For any and all questions about the ceremony, tickets, award shipping, etc., contact us directly at [email protected].

2024 International Competition Winners

TAGGING

ANGLER

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

CAPTAIN

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida

LADY ANGLER

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

YOUTH ANGLER

  • 1st Ashlyn Eldridge – Capitan, New Mexico

RELEASE

ANGLER

  • 1st Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

CAPTAIN

  • 1st Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina

LADY ANGLER

  • 1st Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

YOUTH ANGLER

  • 1st Wyatt Bailey, Huntingtown, Maryland

Overall Tagging

Angler

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Chris Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Christian Hampl – Doral, Florida
  • 5th Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

Captain

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 2nd Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 4th Jose Garcia Picon
  • 5th Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina

Lady Angler

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 4th Donna Reynolds – Macon, Georgia
  • 5th Martha MacNab Warlaumont – Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California

Youth Angler

  • 1st Ashlyn Eldridge – Capitan, New Mexico
  • 2nd Camille Ondo – Libreville, Gabon
  • 3rd Hudson Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 4th Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 5th Brady Moore – Tomball, Texas

Overall Release

Angler

  • 1st Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Christian Hampl – Doral, Florida
  • 4th Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th Jessica Clapton – Exmouth, Western Australia

Captain

  • 1st Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina
  • 2nd Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 4th Ash Pittard – Cable Beach, Western Australia
  • 5th Giorgio Assolari – Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy

Lady Angler

  • 1st Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Jessica Clapton – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 3rd Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Lisa Everett – Aydan, North Carolina
  • 5th Shelby Callison – West Palm Beach, Florida

Youth Angler

  • 1st Wyatt Bailey, Huntingtown, Maryland
  • 2nd Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 3rd Ashlyn Eldridge – Capitan, New Mexico

Tagging Anglers

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Jack Eudy – Charleston, South Carolina
  • 2nd Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Troy Link – Deerfield Beach, Florida
  • 4th Tyler Robinson – Jasper, Alabama
  • 5th Dana Foster – Pensacola, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Jackie Barnett, Lexington, Kentucky
  • 2nd Luena Amaro – Talatona, Angola
  • 3rd Jamie Nance – Melbourne, Florida
  • 4th Danny Vaughan – Cutler Bay, Florida
  • 5th Austin Musselman – Louisville, Kentucky

SPEARFISH

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

  • 1st Samuel Urbain – Sainte-Maxime, France
  • 2nd Coty Cheramie – Larose, Louisiana
  • 3rd Shay Esbeck – Gallatin, Missouri
  • 4th Christina Thompson – Waller, Texas
  • 5th Thomas Thompson – Waller, Texas

White Marlin

  • 1st Laurent Sahyoun – Mandelieu, France
  • 2nd Radka Ervewlieva
  • 3rd James Turner – Port Saint Lucie, Florida
  • 4th Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 5th Jack Eudy – Charleston, South Carolina

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Bomber Farrell – Alyangula, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Craig Lindner – Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 3rd Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 4th Mike Glimpse – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Sailfish

  • 1st Chris Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 2nd Christian Hampl – Doral, Florida
  • 3rd Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 5th Jerry Reynolds – Macon, Georgia

Spearfish

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd Mike Glimpse – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 4th Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 5th Hudson Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 3rd Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Martha MacNab Warlaumont – Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

No Qualifiers

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Stoo Williamson – Scotland

Sailfish

  • 1st Johnson Kahindi – Kenya
  • 2nd Jo-Ann Riley – Bulgarra, Western Australia
  • 3rd Jonathan Webster – United Kingdom

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Simon Venn – Kenya

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Tagging Captains

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Mark Pagano – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Nicholas Bovell – Deerfield Beach, Florida
  • 3rd Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina
  • 4th Daniel Kubiak – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Christopher Mowad – Pensacola, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Cam Nicolson – Wood Green, United Kingdom
  • 3rd Patrick Humphrey – Palm City, Florida
  • 4th Douglas Covin – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Thomas Hinterschied – Pompano Beach, Florida

SPEARFISH

  • 1st Vicenc Riera – Alcudia, Balearic Islands

Swordfish

  • 1st Rudy Urbain – Sainte-Maxime, France
  • 2nd Jeffrey Wilson – Galveston, Texas
  • 3rd Wes Haizlip – Bayou Vista, Texas
  • 4th Nick Froelich – Parrish, Florida
  • 5th Anthony Lopez – Surfside Beach, Texas

White Marlin

  • 1st Marco Canu – Genova, Italy
  • 2nd Ricky Wheeler – Pleasantville, New Jersey
  • 3rd Rich Barrett – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Watson Caviness – Fayetteville, North Carolina
  • 5th Kyle Smith – Clermont, Florida

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Taro Tominaga – Brighton, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Nick Durham – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Tracy Epstein – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd Teddy Hoogs – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 4th Mike Dakil – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th KJ Robinson – Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Sailfish

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 2nd Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Jose Garcia Picon
  • 4th Will Ochse – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • 5th Lance Hightower – Macon, Georgia

Spearfish

  • 1st Nick Durham – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Tracy Epstein – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd KJ Robinson – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 4th Teddy Hoogs – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th Sam Choy – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 2nd Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina
  • 3rd Tony Araiza – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
  • 4th Rick Carney – Delmar, Maryland
  • 5th Casey Carter – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Swordfish

  • 1st Yuki Takahashi – Miyagi, Japan

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Tom Kneale – Middle Swan, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Peter Darnborough – Watamu, Kenya
  • 2nd Mark Allen – Watamu, Kenya
  • 3rd Philip Du Plessis – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • 4th Clare Carter King – Hawana Salalah, Oman
  • 5th Mtawali Zia

Sailfish

  • 1st Mark Allen – Watamu, Kenya
  • 2nd Ash Pittard – Cable Beach, Western Australia
  • 3rd Saeed Almaktoum – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • 4th Mtawali Zia
  • 5th Scott MacGowan – Bulgarra, Western Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Peter Darnborough – Watamu, Kenya
  • 2nd Chris Venn
  • 3rd Mark Allen – Watamu, Kenya

Swordfish

  • 1st Peter Darnborough – Watamu, Kenya

Release Anglers

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Alex Krake – Metairie, Louisiana
  • 2nd Mark Milner – Tregaron, Wales
  • 3rd Craig Rogers – United Kingdom
  • 4th Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Ron Kawaja – Quepos, Costa Rica

Sailfish

  • 1st Danny Vaughan – Cutler Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Eric Hull – Wellington, Florida
  • 3rd Carl Linder – Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 4th Larry Lottenberg – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • 5th Lukas Folk – Kapfenberg, Australia

SPEARFISH

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

White Marlin

  • 1st Luca Montanelli – Milano, Italy & Laurent Sahyoun – Mandelieu, France – TIE
  • 2nd Johan Jean Millez – Domaine des chasses, France
  • 3rd Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 4th Matteo Fratelli – Modena, Italy

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Mark Davis – Malibu, California
  • 2nd Chad Beaudry – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Mike Glimpse – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Sailfish

  • 1st Christian Hampl – Doral, Florida
  • 2nd Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Wyatt Bailey – Huntingtown, Maryland
  • 5th Lisa Everett – Ayden, North Carolina

Spearfish

  • 1st Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Chad Beaudry – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd Mike Glimpse – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Kimberly Willer – Bakersfield, California
  • 4th Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 5th Kyle O’Connor – North Palm Beach, Florida

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Jessica Clapton – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Deb Foster – Exmouth, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Jessica Clapton – Exmouth, Western Australia

Sailfish

  • 1st Jessica Clapton – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Ben Knaggs – Exmouth, Western Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Release Captains

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Stuart Simpson – La Lucia Ridge, South Africa
  • 2nd Chase Lake – Gulf Breeze, Florida
  • 3rd Newt Cagle – Sullivans Island, South Carolina
  • 4th Kevin Deerman – Galveston, Texas
  • 5th Douglas Covin – Jupiter, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Dean Panos – Pembroke Pines, Florida
  • 3rd Doug Covin – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Edwin Twyford – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 5th Michael Samuels – North Palm Beach, Florida

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

White Marlin

  • 1st Giorgio Assolari – Santa Maria, Cape Verde
  • 2nd Anthony Matarese – Pennsville, New Jersey
  • 3rd John Galvin – Falmouth, Massachusetts

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Tim Richardson – Bangalow, Australia
  • 2nd Randall Hodgekiss – Orange Beach, Alabama

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd K.J. Robinson – Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Sailfish

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 2nd Jose Garcia Picon
  • 3rd John Galvin – Falmouth, Massachusetts
  • 4th John Bayliss – Wanchese, North Carolina
  • 5th Terry Brennan – Miami, Florida

Spearfish

  • 1st Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Tracy Epstein – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Newt Cagle – Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
  • 2nd Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Flores – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
  • 4th Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th Antonio Bojorquez Avila – Newport Beach, California

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Paul Bourne – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Neville Kent – Exmouth, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Paul Bourne – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Clare Carter King – Hawana Salalah, Oman

Sailfish

  • 1st Ash Pittard – Cable Beach, Western Australia
  • 2nd Paul Bourne – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 3rd Brendon Hawker – Exmouth, Western Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Clare Carter King – Hawana Salalah, Oman

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Youth Anglers

Tag

8 and Under

No Qualifiers

9-10

  • 1st Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco

11-12

  • 1st Ashlyn Eldridge – Capitan, New Mexico
  • 2nd Hudson Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 3rd Brady Moore – Tomball, Texas

13-15

  • 1st Camille Ondo – Gabon

16-17

No Qualifiers

Release

8 and Under

No Qualifiers

9-10

  • 1st Juliana Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco

11-12

  • 1st Ashlyn Eldridge – Capitan, New Mexico

13-15

  • 1st Wyatt Bailey – Huntingtown, Maryland

16-17

No Qualifiers

Regional Competitions

Gulf of Mexico Marlin Tagging Competition

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Tyler Robinson – Jasper, Alabama
  • 2nd Dana Foster – Pensacola, Florida

Tagging Captain

  • 1st Christopher Mowad – Pensacola, Florida
  • 2nd Tyler Maxwell – Pensacola, Florida

Tagging Lady Angler

No Qualifiers

Tagging Angler - Blue Marlin

  • 1st Tyler Robinson – Jasper, Alabama
  • 2nd Dana Foster – Pensacola, Florida

Tagging Captain - Blue Marlin

  • 1st Christopher Mowad – Pensacola, Florida & Tyler Maxwell – Pensacola, Florida – TIE

Tagging Captain - White Marlin

  • 1st Christopher Mowad – Pensacola, Florida & Kyle Smith – Clermont, Florida – TIE

South Florida Sailfish Circuit

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Danny Vaughan – Cutler Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Jackie Barnett – Lexington, Kentucky

Tagging Lady Angler

  • 1st Dawn Samuels – North Palm Beach, Florida

Tagging Captain - Private

  • 1st Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Doug Covin – Jupiter, Florida

Tagging Captain - Charter

  • 1st Thomas Hinterschied – Pompano Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Patrick Humphrey – Palm City, Florida

Release Angler

  • 1st Danny Vaughan – Cutler Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Eric Hull – Wellington, Florida

Release Lady Angler

  • 1st Dawn Samuels – North Palm Beach, Florida

Release Captain - Private

  • 1st Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Doug Covin – Jupiter, Florida

Release Captain - Charter

  • 1st Dean Panos – Pembroke Pines, Florida

Hawaii Regional Competition

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Jeff Stafford – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Tagging Captain

  • 1st Nick Durham – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Tracy Epstein – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Tagging Lady Angler

  • 1st Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas

A special thanks to our ceremony sponsors

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Interested in Learning MOre?

With more than 280,000 reports, The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release Program is the largest private billfish tagging database and the cornerstone of TBF’s conservation and advocacy efforts.
Our annual competition allows us to highlight anglers, captains, and mates who tag and release the most fish. This international competition encourages data collection and responsible billfishing.
TBF’s Tag & Release Database is the world’s largest private and open source billfish database in the world. Individuals can use our database on their own, uploading their tag and release entries through a browser or mobile device.

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Important Deadlines

FEB
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2025 Tag & Release Ceremony Room Block
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2025 Tag & Release Ceremony Tickets

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