Refuge tarpon tournament surpasses $1M in 10th year
The 10th annual “Ding” Darling & Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament on May 13 pushed historical earnings for the decade to more than $1 million. The 10th anniversary tourney netted $260,000 from sponsorships and donations to support conservation at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge organizes the event with Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille as the title sponsor. The captain’s meeting and Silver King Awards ceremony took place the night before at the restaurant’s Fort Myers Beach location.
The tournament paid out $60,000 in prizes to five winning teams out of 58 registered. Anglers photo-recorded 54 tarpon catches, the second highest number since the tourney’s inception. The first-place prize of $27,000 went to Team Blackwater, which included captain Henry Frazer and members Matt Hereld and Scott Hughes. The team caught and released six fish.
“Congratulations to Henry! He 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 Spartan Stix, led by captain Cory McGuire, caught five fish and won $15,000. In third place, captain Cliff Utt’s Team Sun Country caught four and took home $9,000. Fourth-place winners Team Two Lane Lager, with captain Patrick McCafferty, won $6,000 with three fish — the first caught at 7:47 a.m.; and fifth-place winners Team Fischer Kings, with captain Ozzie Fischer, took home $3,000 also for three fish — its first caught slightly later at 7:52 a.m.
The event also handed out awards for: female angler to Stephanie Miller, from Team Tarpon Time; senior angler to Mary Laser, with Team Chasin’ Poon; and amateur team to Team Kollman, with captain Will Kollman and members Kevin Kollman, Tim Byal and Patrick RicVert.
“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 $1,015,000 for refuge water research, wildlife research and education. It has awarded $321,125 total to winning teams. The first-of-its-kind tourney to benefit conservation and award 100 percent of its fees to winners, it began to support local professional fishing guides and connect with anglers to educate and make them part of conservation efforts.
“We can’t thank Doc Ford’s enough for their incredible show of support these past ten years,” DDWS Development Officer April Boehnen, who organized and led the event, said. “They’ve already committed for the 2023 tourney, which will take place in May 2023, the date to be announced soon.”
At the captain’s meeting, the team captains received rules and socialized. They were surprised by a short video from country singer and songwriter Luke Bryan, whose Two Lane Lager beer served as a presenting sponsor. Bryan wished the anglers good luck and recognized the tournament’s mission.
“We are so grateful for this fundraiser, because not only does it add much-needed dollars to the ever-shrinking 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.”
The DDWS also reported that refuge volunteers and donors Bill and Laurie Harkey are matching dollar-for-dollar all new gifts made from now through July 1 in support of the tournament. For every dollar contributed, they will match it 1:1. To make a contribution, call 239-472-1100, ext. 4, or visit https://dingdarlingsociety.org/ and click on “Donate” then indicate “Tourney” in the notes section.
Additional event supporters included: Bill and Laurie Harkey, Raiser’s Edge and the Szymanczyk Family as silver king anniversary sponsors; Cast About Charters as a premiere sponsor; David and Judy Baum and Captiva Divas as presenting sponsors; Diversified Yacht Services, Captain Shawn Kelly Fishing Charters, CustomTeesNow, Law Office of Christopher Hill, Organized Chaos, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, Whitney’s Bait & Tackle and Yeti as platinum sponsors; Anisa Stewart Jewelry, Bay Marine, Dave and Denise Bunning, Congress Jewelers, Fort Myers Brewing Co., Fort Myers Marine, Jeff and Toni Kordell, Mabry Brothers, Milestone Auctions, Capt. Matt Mitchell Fishing Charters, On Island, RS Walsh Landscaping and Trophy Case of Fort Myers as gold sponsors; and Bailey’s General Store, Captiva Cruises, Costa Del Mar, Florida Weekly, Grandstand, Jensen’s Marina & Cottages, Taylor & Betsy Hay, Island Sun, Law Office of Janet Strickland, Over Easy Cafe, and Peter and Barb Rogers as silver sponsors.
For more information, visit dingdarlingtarpontourney.org.