"Wound Up" Takes Mayor's Cup and $93,000!
Jan. 28, 2007 -Miami, FL
In just three short years, The Sea Vee / Mercury Mayor’s Cup has become one of the premier billfish tournaments in the world. A great atmosphere, top-notch competition and generous payouts have all been attributed to the tournament’s success. But this year, there was something else which attracted the teams: the lure of a million dollar sailfish.
A few months before the Mayor’s Cup a team consisting of a few anglers, reporters, photographers and a film crew head out to catch, tag and release a sailfish. What made this sailfish so special was that its tag was unique and contained a special serial number. If anyone fishing the Mayor’s Cup was to catch the same sailfish, that person would win one million dollars.
The tournament started out with its famous Monty’s Captain’s Party. Cool drinks poured from the Dewar’s 12 open bar and fresh stone crabs were passed by a never-ending stream of waiters. The party was a “who’s who” of tournament angling. Behind all the smiles and handshakes, the teams were sizing each other up. Making sure they didn’t speak too freely of their strategy or fishing reports.
The first day of fishing was brisk with the fleet of 78 boats releasing 131 sailfish. Most of the fish were caught right off of Miami in 120 to 130 feet of water. The team aboard “XXX” had the hot hand as they led with 8 releases. They were followed by “Reel Tension” and “L&H” each with 7 releases.
The next day saw similar numbers put up with 108 fish being releases in a shortened day. “XXX” found the fishing to be a little harder and didn’t add a fish on day 2. “L&H” continued to be consistent and released four more fish to end with a total of 11 releases. “Reel Tension” caught three fish and finished third. But the story of the day was the surge put on by “Wound Up” who released six sailfish and took Top Team honors. For the crew
, it was the third tournament won in 10 days; an amazing accomplishment by any means. For their efforts they took home $93,000.00 and the Mayor’s Cup. “L&H” took home $38,000.00 and they were crowned the Dewar’s 12 Billfish Champions by releasing the most sailfish during the 2-tournaemnt series consisting of the FYI Sailfish Kickoff and the Mayor’s Cup. Another notable catch was a 67-pound yellowfin tuna reeled in by the “Uptight” crew. This fish paid out nearly $15,000.
But the Million Dollar Sailfish was still out there. About an hour before the awards ceremony began, “Native Son” called the committee boat and reported catching a tagged fish. In order to eliminate other tags, tournament control asked “Does the tag being with 079?” “Yes,” the captain replied. “Does it end in 5?” he continued…an excited ”Yes,” came over the radio. The team presented the tag for verification and it was not the winning tag, but it was close. The winning tag has a serial number of 079595 and they caught 079005; just 2 digits off of the million dollar pay day.
Even though the million-dollar fish was not caught, over $200,000 in cash prizes were awarded. And next year, the prize pot will continue to grow with another, even better chance at winning the million dollars.