TDC Tarpon Thunder Winner to go to IGFA Inshore World Championships in 2010

This year’s Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) Tarpon Thunder Tournament which was held on August 14th,15th and 16th at the Lure Restaurant and Bar, Sweet Water Marina in Chaguaramas was for the first time a qualifying tournament for the IGFA Inshore World Championships (Fly and light weight tackle Tournament), hosted by the Florida Keys Outfitters.

The very successful tournament which was competed by 109 anglers on 26 boats and had 162 Tarpons released was won by angler Michael De Freitas on board the winning boat,”Mappapie”. Michael was presented with his airline tickets and prize money from Chris Mouttet, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association (TTGFA) and Richard deVerteuil, Chairman of the tournament and TTGFA Committee member at the Trinidad and Tobago Yacht Club (TTYC) on September 22nd 2009.

Richard De Verteuil said he could think of no one more qualified to represent our country than Michael and that locals can follow the action as daily coverage for the prestigious international tournament will appear on ESPNOutdoors.com and on IGFA.org among others and also for the first time the IGFA Inshore World Championships (Fly and light weight tackle Tournament) will be partnering with ESPN Outdoors and its televised Saltwater Series and will be presented on other ESPN Outdoors multimedia platforms.

TDC can look forward to having the Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association assist in marketing this country as a key destination for Tarpon fishing in the years to come as a video presentation is currently being prepared for use in the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) Headquarters in Florida,USA. This video will expose our fishing grounds to thousands of patrons that visit their headquarters monthly.

For more information on the FKO/IGFA Inshore World Championship and qualifying tournaments visit www.inshoreworldchampionships.com

“Mappapie” wins 2009 TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament

A total of 109 anglers fishing on 26 boats took part in the Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association (TTGFA) 2009 TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament off Trinidad’s North/West coast on August 14th,15th and 16th .

The first session began with Brett Thompson on “D ‘Rog” catching the first fish of the tournament. He went on to catch 4 tarpons on the first day putting his team in contention for a place in winner’s row. However the tournament was made up of five fishing sessions over three days and Brett could not hold on to win the tournament as it was Michael De Freitas fishing on “Mappapie” that proved to have what it takes to walk away with the prestigious “Best Angler”prize. Brett came in second with Jonathan de La Rosa on board “Bobby Breen” taking third place honours.Michael De Freitas will now represent Trinidad and Tobago in next year’s IGFA Inshore World Championships hosted by Floriday Keys Outfitters.

Michael’s performance assisted in giving his team, “Mappapie” victory in the best boat category. “De Jep” came in second. “Bobby Breen” took third place with “D ‘Rog” in fourth place and “Dream Catcher” coming in fifth. Suzette Aboud and Jimmy Aboud, both on board “Outcast” won best female and best junior anglers respectively.

The best foreign angler category was won by Mike Myatt of team “Barbie Doll Too”. Mike is the Chief Operations Officer of the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) and was invited by the TTGFA to experience the TDC Tarpon Thunder Tournament in order to expose the international fishing community to our waters. It may have proven to be a big success as Mike complemented the organizers and sponsors (TDC,Well Services Group of Companies,Gatorade,Carib,Evian,Real Marketing Ltd) for the sportsmanlike manner in which the tournament was conducted. He went on to say that he has fished in all parts of the world and has never seen the type of kinship that existed between the competitors in this tournament. He insisted that in no other tournament has he seen fishermen giving away their bait to competing teams that were in need. Mike said that the spirit in which the competition was held will be one that will help in making this destination one in which anglers the world over will want to come and enjoy.

(via Steven Valdez)

Tobago team takes second in Barbados tournament

A month after the strong Bajan showing at our tournament in Charlotteville, some of the fellas from Tobago headed up to Barbados to participate in the Barbados International Game Fishing Tournament to see if they could even things up. TGFT staff members Gerard “Frothy” De Silva, Andrew Llanos, David Maharaj and Shammon Walker, along with perennial TGFT angler Terry Hamlyn, took two teams up to Barbados and wound up just shy of their goal. Hard Play II, captained by “Frothy”, came in second place overall, with Terry taking the prize for landing the heaviest marlin at 382 lbs.

Congrats to those guys, and don’t worry, we’ll get ‘em next year!

St. Lucia tournament becomes Rolex/IGFA qualifier

The 2005 St. Lucia International Billfish Tournament, scheduled for 29 Sept. – 1 Oct. in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, has been named an IGFA qualifying event for the 2006 Rolex/IGFA International Tournament of Champions to be held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Congratulations to our friends and fellow anglers in St. Lucia!!