Recently, there has been a lot of talk about our good friend Brice Barr’s 2nd year sailfish tournament in Key West. The Key West Sailfish Tournament is a two-day tournament held this year on Friday, March 28th, and Saturday, March 29th. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts kept our teams from participating in the inaugural event in 2024. However, Captain Marty Lewis was determined that this year would be different, and they officially joined the lineup for the second annual tournament.

As is customary, the week before any tournament, the team geared up with all the essentials. Captain Marty ensured the boat was in excellent condition, with reels spooled and leaders ready, while his wife Katie took charge of the provisions, guaranteeing the team would stay hydrated and well-fed.

Despite a busy day of regular charter trips on Thursday, March 27th, the moment the last fish was filleted, the boats were cleaned, and our customers departed, the focus immediately shifted to the final tournament preparations.

Captain Marty fueled the Main One, while Katie went to get dinner for the crew because they had a long night ahead of them. They loaded the boat with all the food and beverages and carefully dipped baits from their cages into their live wells for hours.

The team departed from Marathon Sailfish Marina on Friday at 4:30AM. The wind was blowing 20-30 mph out of the East, and the conditions were rough and windy.

It was rough on the morning of Day one.

About 10 miles into their Journey to Key West, there was a loud banging noise, and the boat halted as Captain Marty immediately pulled back on the throttles. That, along with the flurry of colorful language unleashed by Captain Marty, made it clear to the team that something was wrong. 

One of the 49′ foot vessel’s shafts had snapped, and Captain Marty had to turn the Main One around. With a shaft issue crippling the steering, Marty carefully brought the Main One into the Coco Plum Channel on just one engine and arranged to meet our mechanic there. Next, he called Captain James, who had the day off, asking him to head to the Main Attraction and begin preparing it for the boat swap.

When Katie woke up that Friday morning, she had three missed calls from her husband and one text saying “Don’t freak out”. Immediately, she knew something was wrong, so she flipped on the marina cameras and could see both boats, side by side, transferring everything from Main One to Main Attraction. 

By some act of a miracle, the boat switch only took 30 minutes, and off they went on the Main Attraction, leaving the Main One at the marina for our mechanic and Katie to deal with. They hustled to get down to the fishing boundaries; however, it was blowing and rough, so they had to be smart about it.

Experienced angler Mark Busch surveils the horizon for any signs of Sailfish.

The morning’s boat malfunction caused them to miss the official start time. However, as soon as they reached the fishing grounds, Captain Marty’s sharp eyes spotted a remarkable sight: a pack of four sailfish tailing on the surface! The crew wasted no time getting baits in the water, and their quick and coordinated effort led to three of the four sailfish being hooked!

Unfortunately for the crew, the sailfish had other plans. The instant they felt the hooks set, the powerful fish erupted into a frenzy, with the three hooked sailfish instantly bolting off in separate directions, unleashing pandemonium on deck!

Adding to the already intense situation, the wind was still blowing, and the seas remained rough. When it was said and done, the crew converted one of the three fish to a successful release while the other two escaped. It was another frustrating turn of events after a tough start, but Captain Marty, no stranger to tournament fishing, understood the need to shake it off and get back to looking for more opportunities.

Mike “Reggie” Cangemi working the lines on Day One.

Soon after, Captain Marty found a single sailfish tailing that wouldn’t bite. This is highly frustrating in any scenario, but especially in a tournament when every bite is critical!

Later in the day, Captain Marty found a quad pack tailing again, but the fish remained picky. Only one fish out of that quad took a bite, which they successfully caught and released, but it wasn’t going to be enough to win the day. As day one ended, they held their heads high, as they had a long day and overcame many obstacles. 

Danny Lombardo searches the horizon for fish after a long morning.

While the team had a rough start, our mechanic got Main One over to the boatyard, hauled it out, and assessed the situation. The shaft had broken in two parts and slid back against the rudder, which was preventing the boat’s steering. To avoid wasting any time, Katie and Jeff called the prop shop, Frank and Jimmies in Ft Lauderdale, and ordered a new shaft.

The second day began with an early start, though the conditions unfortunately presented an even greater hurdle. While the Main Attraction team successfully landed the first sailfish of the day, it sadly proved to be their last for the entire day. The weather was horrible; it was rough, windy, blowing, and raining all day. Sight fishing was out of the question, and kite fishing even presented challenges.

Angler Steve Anderson catching the first Sailfish of Day Two gave the team some hope for a comeback.

The team ended up in 11th place overall, which was in the middle of the pack. But considering the time they lost due to the breakdown of their vessel and the nasty weather, the team felt like they tried their best, and that is all anyone could ask of them.

At the tournament conclusion, everyone went to Dante’s to celebrate the winners and congratulate our fishing friends. When the celebration was over it was back to reality and fixing the Main One! A massive thank you to our incredible mechanic, Jeff, and the fantastic team at Frank & Jimmie’s for their rapid response and hard work in getting the Main One completely repaired and back on the water just a week later!

Stay tuned; next week, we will publish an article covering the recently fished 2025 Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament, where team Main One had better weather and a much better result!

In the meantime, if you want to fish on any of our great boats with our excellent Captains, ring us at (305) 289-0071  or visit our contact page for more information.