Annual tarpon tournament breaks records
The ninth annual “Ding” Darling & Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament on May 14 netted $180,000 from event sponsorships and donations. Earnings combined sponsor contributions from 2020 with this year’s for a record-breaking contribution to benefit conservation at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge organizes the tourney with Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille as the title sponsor. The Silver King Awards ceremony took place at the Fort Myers Beach restaurant.
The 2021 tournament paid out $56,500 in prizes to five winning teams out of 55 registered teams. When the 2020 tournament was postponed until this year, the purse essentially doubled as teams received the opportunity for a guaranteed coveted spot on this year’s roster by allowing their 2020 entry fee to roll over to 2021. By then paying the 2021 fee, they fed into the largest payout ever.
Anglers photo-recorded 15 tarpon catches. The first place prize of $25,425 went to Team Tarpon Time, including captain Tanner Miller and team members Stephanie Miller, Eric Davis and Ryan Clase. The team caught and released a total of four fish.
“Congratulations to Tanner, who now wears the coveted pink tarpon jacket,” Doc Ford’s co-owner Marty Harrity, who introduced the jacket in 2017 as an added incentive for taking first place, said. “It’s kind of like the green Masters tournament jacket in golf. The winning captain gets the honor of wearing the pink tarpon jacket each year.”
Second place team Fort Myers Marine, led by captain Bryan Waid, caught two fish and won $14,125. In third place, captain Whitney Jones’ Team Whitney’s Bait & Tackle caught the first fish of the day and took home $8,475. Fourth place winner Team Jason & the Tarpon Knots, with captain Jason Smith, won $5,650; fifth place winner Team Chasin Poon, with captain Matt Mitchell, took home $2,825.
The tourney also handed out awards for female angler to Stephanie Miller of Team Tarpon Time, senior angler to Gary Biltgen of Team Chasin Poon, and amateur team to Team Jason & the Tarpon Knots.
“Because all boat registration fees go into the awards purse, sponsorship partners are extremely important to this tournament,” DDWS Executive Director Birgie Miller said. “They make it possible to raise vital financial support for the conservation mission of DDWS and the refuge.”
To date, the tarpon tournament has raised $755,000 for refuge water research, wildlife research and education. It has awarded $261,724 to tournament winning teams during its nine-year history.
“We can’t thank Doc Ford’s enough for their incredible show of support these past nine years,” Miller said. “They’ve already committed for the 2022 tourney, which will take place May 13 to celebrate the tournament’s 10th anniversary.”
“We are so grateful for this fundraiser, because not only does it add much-needed dollars to the refuge budget, it also supports our conservation mission,” Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland said. “Plus, it is an opportunity to remind anglers, both professional and amateur, about the importance of ethical and responsible fishing.”
For more information, visit www.dingdarlingtarpontourney.org.