TAG & RELEASE

2021 Competition

Official Winners

Overview

With 2021 officially complete, it’s now time for The Billfish Foundation to recognize the best within our community during the past year! The anglers and captains mentioned below have contributed absolutely crucial information related to billfish conservation and have been vital to our Tag & Release Program. Since its inception in 1990, the program has grown to accrue nearly 270,000 tag and release records to become the largest private billfish tagging database in the world. In the last year alone, TBF has collected over 7,500 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.

2021 International Competition Winners

TAGGING

ANGLER

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

CAPTAIN

  • 1st Mike Sheeder – North Palm Beach, Florida

LADY ANGLER

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

YOUTH ANGLER

  • 1st Lula Segrave – North Carolina

RELEASE

ANGLER

  • 1st Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida

CAPTAIN

  • 1st Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida

LADY ANGLER

  • 1st Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida

YOUTH ANGLER

  • 1st George Straub – Jupiter, Florida

Overall Tagging

Angler

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

Captain

  • 1st Mike Sheeder – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 3rd David Cooper – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 5th Newt Cagle – Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina

Lady Angler

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Donna Reynolds – Macon, Georgia
  • 5th Lula Segrave – North Carolina

Youth Angler

  • 1st Lula Segrave – North Carolina
  • 2nd Mark Blackbird – Austin, Texas
  • 3rd Carlota Varela – Luanda, Angola
  • 4th Rafael Abohbot – Luanda, Angola
  • 5th Johan Millez – Mandelieu, France

Overall Release

Angler

  • 1st Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 2nd Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Chris Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 5th Ibrahim Elouafi – Casablanca, Morocco

Captain

  • 1st Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 2nd Newt Cagle – Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
  • 3rd Jason Brice – Miami, Florida
  • 4th Stuart Simpson – La Lucia Ridge, Durban, South Africa
  • 5th Zak Conde – São Vicente, Cape Verde

Lady Angler

  • 1st Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 2nd Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Luena Amaro – Luanda, Angola
  • 4th Elisa Badillo – Santa Barbara, Guatemala
  • 5th Lacey Hagler – North Palm Beach, Florida

Youth Angler

  • 1st George Straub – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Wyatt Bailey – Huntingtown, Maryland
  • 3rd Emilee Edwards – Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  • 4th Nicolas Ortiz – Pamplona, Spain
  • 5th Reese Hatcher – Albany, Georgia

Tagging Anglers

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Casey Roohan – Cape May Court House, New Jersey
  • 2nd James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • 3rd Kanmair Kleinmoedig – Curacao
  • 4th Page Robertson – Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 5th Watson Caviness – Wilmington – North Carolina

Sailfish

  • 1st Carl Lindner – Peebles, Ohio
  • 2nd Shelby Callison – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Danny Vaughan – Florida, United States
  • 4th Lucas Waddell – South Florida, United States
  • 5th Nicolas Pariset – Paris, France

SPEARFISH

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

  • 1st Samuel Urbain – Sainte-Maxime, France
  • 2nd Thomas Thompson – Waller, Texas
  • 3rd Tyler Cruitt – Gulf Shores, Alabama
  • 4th Blake Rogers – Port Aransas, Texas

White Marlin

  • 1st Laurent Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 2nd Casey Roohan – Cape May Court House, New Jersey
  • 3rd James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • 4th George Robinson – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 5th Page Robertson – Wilmington, North Carolina

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado
  • 2nd Jerry Reynolds – Macon, Georgia
  • 3rd Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 5th Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Fin Gaddy – Manteo, North Carolina
  • 2nd Tom Paul – West Palm Beach, Florida
  • 3rd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 4th Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 5th Donna Reynolds – Macon, Georgia

Spearfish

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Guy Littlefair – Stanley Point, New Zealand

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Mike Mason – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 2nd James Stamatis – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 3rd Christine Jumeau – Seychelles, Seychelles
  • 4th Malan Horak – Victoria, Seychelles

Sailfish

  • 1st Bomber Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 2nd Kelly Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 3rd Christine Jumeau – Seychelles, Seychelles
  • 4th Jeremy Barnett – Alyangula, Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Tagging Captains

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Watson Caviness – Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 2nd James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • 3rd Gordo Heldewier – Willemestad, Curacao
  • 4th Sean Dooley – Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
  • 5th Chris Mowad – Pensacola, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Richard Peeples – Palmetto Bay, Florida
  • 2nd Rogerio Matos – Luanda, Angola
  • 3rd Iain Nicolson – Merseyside, Angola
  • 4th Tom Hinterschied – Pompano Beach, Florida
  • 5th Shawn Albury – Tavernier, Florida

SPEARFISH

  • 1st Vince Riera – Alcudia, Balearic Islands

Swordfish

  • 1st Nick Stanczyk – Islamorada, Florida
  • 2nd Rudy Urbain – Sainte-Maxime, France
  • 3rd Adam Peeples – Fort Walton Beach, Florida
  • 4th Wes Haizlip – Galveston, Texas
  • 5th Blake Rogers – Jonesboro, Arizona

White Marlin

  • 1st Christian Benazeth – Auch, France
  • 2nd Watson Caviness – Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 3rd Bill Davis – West Palm Beach, Florida
  • 4th Sean Dooley – Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
  • 5th James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida

Pacific

Black Marlin

No Qualifiers

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Tracy Epstein – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 2nd Lance Hightower – Macon, Georgia
  • 3rd Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 4th KJ Robinson – Kailua Kona, Hawaii
  • 5th Takahiko Hagiya – Ibaraki, Japan

Sailfish

  • 1st Mike Sheeder – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Lance Hightower – Macon, Georgia
  • 3rd David Cooper – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 5th Spencer Johnson – Corpus Christi, Texas

Spearfish

  • 1st Tracy Epstein – Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Sean Gallagher – Stuart, Florida
  • 2nd Newt Cagle – Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
  • 3rd David Cooper – Jupiter, Florida
  • 4th Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 5th Rick Carney – Palm City, Florida

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Wes Jones – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Bomber Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 3rd Darryn du Plessis – Victoria, Seychelles

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Darryn du Plessis – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 2nd Batian Craig – Nairobi, Kenya
  • 3rd Clare Carter King – Salalah, Oman
  • 4th Wes Jones – Exmouth, Western Australia

Sailfish

  • 1st Bomber Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 2nd Wes Jones – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 3rd Darryn du Plessis – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 4th Perry Rosalie – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 5th Ryan Kleinschmidt – Alyangula, Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Release Anglers

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Casey Roohan – Cape May Court House, New Jersey
  • 2nd James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • 3rd Kanmair Kleinmoedig – Curacao
  • 4th Page Robertson – Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 5th Watson Caviness – Wilmington – North Carolina

Sailfish

  • 1st Carl Lindner – Peebles, Ohio
  • 2nd Shelby Callison – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Danny Vaughan – Florida, United States
  • 4th Lucas Waddell – South Florida, United States
  • 5th Nicolas Pariset – Paris, France

SPEARFISH

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

  • 1st Samuel Urbain – Sainte-Maxime, France
  • 2nd Thomas Thompson – Waller, Texas
  • 3rd Tyler Cruitt – Gulf Shores, Alabama
  • 4th Blake Rogers – Port Aransas, Texas

White Marlin

  • 1st Laurent Sahyoun – Casablanca, Morocco
  • 2nd Casey Roohan – Cape May Court House, New Jersey
  • 3rd James Turner – Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • 4th George Robinson – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 5th Page Robertson – Wilmington, North Carolina

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado
  • 2nd Jerry Reynolds – Macon, Georgia
  • 3rd Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas
  • 5th Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida

Sailfish

  • 1st Fin Gaddy – Manteo, North Carolina
  • 2nd Tom Paul – West Palm Beach, Florida
  • 3rd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 4th Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 5th Donna Reynolds – Macon, Georgia

Spearfish

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Jill Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 2nd Laura Jessen – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Scott Yates – Riviera Beach, Florida
  • 4th Gray Ingram – Jupiter, Florida
  • 5th Camila Ingram – Jupiter, Florida

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Guy Littlefair – Stanley Point, New Zealand

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Mike Mason – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 2nd James Stamatis – Victoria, Seychelles
  • 3rd Christine Jumeau – Seychelles, Seychelles
  • 4th Malan Horak – Victoria, Seychelles

Sailfish

  • 1st Bomber Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 2nd Kelly Farrell – Alyangula, Australia
  • 3rd Christine Jumeau – Seychelles, Seychelles
  • 4th Jeremy Barnett – Alyangula, Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Release Captains

ATLANTIC

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Zak Conde – São Vicente, Cape Verde
  • 2nd Stuart Simpson – La Lucia Ridge, Durban South Africa
  • 3rd John Logan – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • 4th Brent Gaskill – Harker’s Island, North Carolina
  • 5th Kevin Deerman – Galveston, Texas

Sailfish

  • 1st Dean Panos – Pembroke Pines, Florida
  • 2nd Doug Covin – Jupiter, Florida
  • 3rd Mike Hunter – Hobe Sound, Florida
  • 4th Gordo Heldewier – Willemstad, Curacao
  • 5th Cody Rubner – Stuart, Florida

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

White Marlin

  • 1st Stuart Simpson – La Lucia Ridge, Durban, South Africa
  • 2nd Jeffrey Heyer – Natucket, Massachusetts
  • 3rd Brent Gaskill – Harker’s Island, North Carolina
  • 4th Gordo Heldewier – Willemstad, Curacao

Pacific

Black Marlin

  • 1st Jesse Hill – Burleigh Heads, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 2nd Tracy Epstein – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
  • 3rd J. Robinson – Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Sailfish

  • 1st Jason Brice – Miami, Florida
  • 2nd Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Mike Sheeder – North Palm Beach, Florida
  • 4th Tony Carrizosa – Florida, United States
  • 5th David Cooper – Jupiter, Florida

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

  • 1st Newt Cagle – Sullivan’s Island – South Carolina
  • 2nd Ben Horning – Sarasota, Florida
  • 3rd Robert Reed – Stuart, Florida
  • 4th David Cooper – Jupiter, Florida

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Indian

Black Marlin

  • 1st Jesse Hill – Burleigh Heads, Australia

Blue Marlin

  • 1st Darryn du Plessis – Victoria, Seychelles – Tie
  • 2nd Randy Bradley – Cudjoe Key, Florida – Tie
  • 3rd Eddy Lawler – Exmouth, Western Australia

Sailfish

  • 1st Wes Jones – Exmouth, Western Australia
  • 2nd Calvin du Plessis – Malindi, Kenya
  • 3rd Neville Kent – Exmouth, Western Australia

Spearfish

No Qualifiers

Striped Marlin

No Qualifiers

Swordfish

No Qualifiers

Youth Anglers

Tag

8 and Under

No Qualifiers

9-10

No Qualifiers

11-12

No Qualifiers

13-15

  • 1st Lula Segrave – North Carolina

16-17

  • 1st Carlota Varela – Luanda, Angola
  • 2nd Rafael Abohbot – Luanda, Angola
  • 3rd Johan Millez – Mandelieu, France

Release

8 and Under

No Qualifiers

9-10

No Qualifiers

11-12

  • 1st Wyatt Bailey – Huntingtown, Maryland

13-15

  • 1st Reese Hatcher – Albany, Georgia

16-17

  • 1st George Straub – Jupiter, Florida
  • 2nd Emilee Edwards – Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  • 3rd Nicolas Ortiz – Pamplona, Spain

Regional Competitions

Gulf of Mexico Marlin Tagging Competition

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Tim Peterson – Palacios, Texas (tied for 1st)
  • 2nd Zac Taylor – Gulf Breeze, Florida (tied for 1st)

Tagging Captain

  • 1st Scooter Porto – Gulf Breeze, Florida
  • 2nd Kevin Deerman – Galveston, Texas

Tagging Lady Angler

  • 1st Kennedy Heule – Friendswood, Texas

Tagging Angler - Blue Marlin

  • 1st Tim Peterson – Palacios, Texas

Tagging Captain - Blue Marlin

  • 1st Scooter Porto – Gulf Breeze, Florida
  • 2nd Kevin Deerman – Galveston, Texas

Tagging Captain - White Marlin

  • 1st Scooter Porto – Gulf Breeze, Florida
  • 2nd Paul Bonin – Lake Charles, Louisiana

South Florida Sailfish Circuit

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Dawn Samuels – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Tagging Lady Angler

  • 1st Dawn Samuels – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Tagging Captain - Private

  • 1st Mike Hunter – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Tagging Captain - Charter

No Qualifiers

Release Angler

  • 1st Jacob Lepera – Boynton Beach, Florida

Release Lady Angler

  • 1st Dawn Samuels – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Release Captain - Private

  • 1st Patrick Price – Jensen Beach, Florida

Release Captain - Charter

  • 1st Travis Ralph – Tequesta, Florida

Hawaii Regional Competition

Tagging Angler

  • 1st Chad Beaudry – Telluride, Colorado

Tagging Captain

  • 1st Tracy Epstein – Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Tagging Lady Angler

  • 1st Kathleen Wyatt – New Braunfels, Texas

Ceremony

Congratulations to all of our 2021 Tag & Release Award Winners!

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

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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