By: Jonathan Bennett

The Miami Billfish Release Tournament was recently held in Miami and event goers of all ages were able to take in the festivities while finding out who caught and released the most and biggest Billfish. The two-day tournament began with a Cannon Downrigger Kick-Off Party with plenty of food, dancing and good times all around. After a night of partying, the real excitement began. Fishing hopefuls gathered their gear and got their boats ready, and set off at 8:00 a.m. in hopes of reeling in the most Billfish the tournament has ever seen. Boats were back at dock by 6:00 p.m. at which time each boat reported how many Billfish they had caught and released that day. From these numbers the leader board was created. The same routine followed the next morning with the count taking place again at 6:00 p.m. This time, the leader board showcased the winners in various categories. During the two-day event, 33 boats participated with 164 anglers. A total of 206 Billfish were caught and released.

The Billfish Awards boasted prize money, recognition awards and the reward of a hard day's work. The Grand Champion Boat was the Yamaha/Contender whose crew walked away with $15,000, an SPI bronze trophy and four Crystal Bowl awards customized by FineAwards.com. In the Outboard Billfish Division, the boat Voodoo Child took home third place, while the boat Get Lit got third place in the Inboard Billfish Division. In the Junior Billfish Division, the second place junior angler went to Andre Nido aboard the JV. The second heaviest funfish by a junior went to Tyler Sherwood aboard No Vacansea, while the third heaviest by a junior was awarded to Andre Nino from JV with the top captain being Jim Multahy, captain of the boat Bar South. Bar South was also honored with the top mate prize which went to Greg Sage.

All of the awards given out during the Miami Billfish Tournament came from FineAwards.com. The crystal awards brought both elegance and pride to the competition and anglers were able to bring home the award to proudly display them in their houses or on their boats for years to come. FineAwards.com specializes in making unique and personalized awards that can be perfect for any competition, tournament or awards ceremony – big or small.