FIFTH ANNUAL STU APTE FLY FISHING SAILFISH TOURNAMENT
18 to 24 JAN 2010
Pre-fishing days - 19 & 20 January:
* The Pelagian (37 ft Rybovich) with Capt. Chico Alvarenga and the Eshelman
brothers (Tim & Pete – Roanoke, IN) on board. Chico and the Eshelman's won last
year and are hoping to repeat. Out of the frozen Indiana prairies (Joseph Decuis
Restaurant) come the two brothers on their jet right to the local airport in Pto. San
Jose armed to the teeth to win again this year! Two days of pre-fishing yielded fair
results 29-14-5 releases.
*
The Intensity (37 ft Gamefisherman) with Capt. Mike Sheeder and the Team of Stu
The Intensity (37 ft Gamefisherman) with Capt. Mike Sheeder and the Team of StuApte & Dale DePriest (Aleknagnik Mission Lodge) hoping to win one, spent the two
days working out the kinks with 25 raised, 12 bites and 3 releases. You guys have to
do better than that.
Pre-fishing day, 20 January:
* The A-Fin-Ity (38 ft Billy Knowles Express )with Capt. Gilfredo Lopez and the team
of Tim Wade (North Fork Anglers, Cody) and Kenny Gaskell (HD Supply, Gillette) on
board in 1m seas. Out of the frozen Wyoming plains into the sunshine, high humidity
and 10 kt breezes my intrepid friends ventured. Gilfredo says they got a real
Guatemalan workout with 16 raised, 7 bites and 4 released sails!
* The Release (37 ft Merritt) with Capt. Nico Melendrez and the team of Drs. Jon Dee
(Hollywood FL vet) and Steve Updegraff (St. Pete Lasix specialist) did better than the
other boats with 18-10-7. I expect good numbers from them.
* The Allure (39 ft Bertram) with Capt. Chris “Kiwi” Van Leeuwen and the team of
Drs. Scott Smith (Painless Dentist from MI) and Eugene Kolassa (Econ prof – MS)
had a lot of free time on their hands as they couldn’t get the routine down pat. Plus
the jitters when they had a blue free jumping! But that’s why they have pre-fishing
days. Raised 7, released 2 sails
* The Finest Kind (40 ft Whiticar) with Capt. Ron Hamlin and the team of Wynn
Cowan (Supply Chain Mgmt) and Dr. Jay Howington (Savannah Neuro) had 4 bites
and released 2 sails.
* The Cañaso (37 ft Daytona) with Capt. Benji and the Swisstack team (Richard &
Nancy) just couldn’t get it together. Whether it was mis-communication with the
mates and the bridge – we don’t know. They were unhappy and we moved them to
the Circle Hook (43 ft Willis) with Capt. Eddie Bairez for the actual tournament.
First Day Stu Apte Tournament Report
Today, Casa Vieja Lodge kicked off the Fifth Annual Stu Apte Fly Fishing Sailfish
Tournament. Seven teams from across the country competing for the coveted Golden
Sailfish Award. The morning bite was on fire!!! Doubles, triples and quads of sailfish
were covering up every game boat. The radio was ablaze with the captains chatter of
what promised to be a typical Guatemalan fishing day. Unfortunately, releases were
hard to come by as the pressure of the sailfish coming into the spread mounted. By
mid morning the releases started coming in to tournament headquarters. Rum Line,
Pelagían, Release and Finest Kind were all in a head to head battle for first place.
When the spray finally settled it was the Release as the official days’ victor.
Official Tournament Standings – Day 1:
Release 440 – Drs. Updegraff & Dee each had two releases
Finest Kind 330 – Cowan with two releases and Howington with one release
Pelagian 220 - Tim Eshelman with one release, brother Pete scoreless
Rum Line 220 – Drs. Smith & Kolassa one release each
Intensity 110 – Stu Apte one release and partner DePriest scoreless
Afinity 110 - Gaskell one release and partner Wade scoreless
Circle Hook 0 - The Swisstacks scoreless
More fish were seen yesterday than in all previous tournaments held in Costa Rica!
2nd day tournament report:
The morning bite was strong with all the tournament game boats reporting sails in
the doubles and triples menacing all the fly anglers. The sails were eager to bite the
teasers, but getting them take a fly proved more difficult. It required a slow and
patient retrieve. The baitfish schools had arrived overnight and the sails were
gorged. Seas were calm, not a cloud in sight, and the air temp was well in the high
80’s. The afternoon bite stayed pretty consistent throughout the day with plenty of
doubles being sighted. All the tournament gameboats raised over 20 sails today!!!
The highlights of the day were the A-Fin-Ity team of Wade and Gaskell with 5
releases (by noon) in 2nd place with 650 points. And the Release team with Dee &
Updegraff with a last minute double header which ended with 6 releases and 1150
points and the leader.
Tied with A-Fin-Ity team in third place with 650 points is the Rum Line team of Smith
& Kolassa
Fourth place is the Intensity team of Apte & DePriest with 550 points;
Fifth place is the Finest Kind team of Cowan & Howington with 450 points;
Sixth place is the Pelagian team of the Eshelman brothers with 220 points;
Last place is the Circle Hook team of the Swisstacks with 110 points - yay they
scored one today - no longer virgins!
Defintely Guatemala is a fly fishers paradise.
Stay tuned for the final day report and the award winners. Lots of great prizes and
trophies!
WOW!!! What an exciting tournament
When last I reported – Release was in the lead and they won!
Release lead the fleet and cruised to an easy victory. The team of Drs. Dee and
Updegraff, who previously had not participated in this event added three more
releases and won with 1430 points and received top team prize of: 2 14kt Gold
Sailfish Pendants, 2 Sage 1390 - 4 Xi3 Fly Rods, 2 Shilton SL 7 reels and 2 King
Release Plaques. Captain Nico Melendrez won a 60lb Boga Grip and a King Release
Plaque.
The Rum Line team of Drs. Kolassa and Smith (also bluewater virgins) who
previously had been in a tie for third added six more releases to end up in second
place with 1310 points with Capt. Jason Brice. The anglers won: 2 Sage 1390 - 4 Xi3
Fly Rods, 2 Shilton SL 7 reels and 2 King Release Plaques.
Third Place team of Stu Apte & Dale DePriest (previously in fourth place) on the
Intensity added five more fish to end in third place with 1100 points with Capt. Mike
Sheeder won: 2 Shilton SL 7 reels and 2 King Release Plaques.
Top Lady Angler: Nancy Swisstack won a King Release Plaque
First Place Individual Angler: Dr. Smith with 880 points won a BT&T fly reel
Second Place Individual Angler: Dr. Updegraff with 770 points won a BT&T fly reel
Third Place Individual Angler: Dr. Dee with 660 points won an Avet reel
First Fish of Tournament: Dr. Updegraff - a 30lb Boga Grip
Last Fish of Tournament: Dr. Smith - a 30lb Boga Grip
Rounding out the remaining boats:
Fourth Place team of Wade and Gaskell on the A-Fin-Ity with Capt. Gilfredo Lopez
added three more releases for a total of 980 points
Fifth Place team of Cowan & Howington on the Finest Kind with Capt. Ron Hamlin
added three more releases for a total of 770 points;
Sixth Place team of the Eshelman brothers (who won the last two years) on the
Pelagian with Capt. Chico Alvarenga added four more releases to tie with Finest Kind
with 770 points;
Last Place team of the Swisstacks on the Circle Hook with Capt. Eddy Bairez added
one more release for 220 point total.
The entire event was filmed by John Doolan and Martin Cortez from Careco TV. The
programs will broadcast on Versus and Fox Sports. Our thanks to Charles Goodloe,
Karen Felix and Shelley Giesecke at Careco TV.
The Tournament Committee would like to thank the following sponsors:
Platinum Sponsors
Sage Fly Rods http://www.sageflyfish.com/
Shilton Fly Reels www.shiltonflyreels.com
Simms http://www.simmsfishing.com/
Costa Del Mar www.costadelmar.com
Enrico Puglisi www.epflies.com
Fins Super Lines http://www.buyfins.com/
King Sailfish Mounts http://www.kingsailfishmounts.com/
Guy Harvey by AFTCO Bluewater http://www.aftco.com/
Gold Sponsors
Cortland Line Co http://www.cortlandline.com/
Boga Grip http://eastabogatackle.com/
X-Cap http://www.xcaphat.com/
Ocean Potion http://www.opotion.com/
Hook & Tackle http://www.hookandtackle.com/home.asp
Mason Tackle Co. – Mason Hard Nylon 20lb tippet materials
Stu Apte, Chairman
Jeannine Apte Assistant Tournament Director
Stu Apte Productions www.stuapte.net
Apte Web Designer – Mike Hobbs
And very special thanks to our host – Casa Vieja Lodge and staffs in Miami and
Guatemala for assisting in putting this tournament together:
Casa Vieja Lodge Owner – James Turner
Managers – Antonio Valdez & Edgar Peralta
Tournament Director – Herb Rosell
Event Coordinator – Al Schaefer
www.casaviejalodge.com
Miami Web Designer – Tony Espinoza
Careco TV - Charles Goodloe
Capt. Ron Hamlin
Capt. Mike Sheeder
