Capt. Travis Dickens led Indigenous to victory in the Cheeca Lodge and Spa’s 27th Annual Presidential Sailfish Tournament, held January 19 to 21, 2017, in Islamorada, Florida. Anglers Wade Stafford, Annie Corbeel and Mike Walter took home the first-place trophy, releasing eight sailfish over two days of fishing. Corbeel took the Grand Champion Angler award and the Top Lady Angler award, which is dedicated to the memory of Jay Anna Cohan, a beloved member of the Islamorada community. Corbeel won despite having to break off a fish that was hooked up within minutes of lines out on Saturday in order to make it back to port in time to turn in their scorecards.
Second place went to Relentless, led by Capt. Paul Ross, fishing with anglers Fenton Langston, Jim Hendrix, Jim David and Debbie David. They released seven sailfish. Silent Hunter earned third-place honors. Captain James Platt and anglers John Callion, Kevin McKeon, Cody Darby and Jon Henry released six sailfish.
The team fishing aboard Challenger 2 won the Most Tagged Fish division. The Presidential Champion Junior Angler trophy went to 16-year-old James David, who released three sailfish aboard Relentless. For the tournament, there were 47 sailfish released on the first day of fishing and 32 on the second day, for a total of 79 sailfish releases by 78 anglers on 22 boats.
