This past November 8, 2025, marked the inaugural Marathon Fire Rescue Benevolent Wahoo Tournament. We were thrilled to welcome a new wahoo tournament to Marathon, so naturally, Captain Marty Lewis and the Main Attraction team had to get in on the action!
It wasn’t just about the bite, though; it was about the community. Captain Marty’s wife and Co-Owner, Katie Lewis, stepped up to help the Association raise money for a new pump for our local rescue heroes’ fireboat. Many of you know Katie as the founder of the Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament; she applied that expertise here to help organize the event, run the scales, and present the awards.
This year, the Main Attraction team entered two boats: the 43′ Main Attraction, run by Captain Alex Lewis, and Captain Marty’s private client boat, Headin’ South. That 66′ Viking might look familiar since we featured it recently in a fishing report. It’s a beautiful vessel that Captain Marty loves to run, so you will likely see more of her in future articles! Both teams got their boats prepped for an early morning departure. The boundaries ranged from Key Largo to Key West, with a depth limit of 600 feet. With lines in at 7 AM and out at 3 PM, each vessel would have to hustle to make the weigh-in by 5:30 PM.
The Headin’ South made a long jog West to troll back East, following reports of wahoo being caught in that area. Unfortunately, the wahoo fishing wasn’t great that day. It was hard not to be discouraged after a morning without any real action to speak of on either boat.
While waiting for a strike, the crew aboard the Headin’ South certainly didn’t go hungry! Angler Mark Busch played chef, cooking up a full breakfast spread. His efforts ensured the team enjoyed their time on the water, keeping spirits high and morale positively fueled.
Both of our crews saw zero action until nearly 1:00 PM, when the Headin’ South team suddenly hooked up to a quad! Yep, that’s right—four fish on at once; when it rains, it pours. Managing a quad of wahoo is no small task, but the team landed two. Anglers Ben Zdan and JW Drott each put a nice-sized wahoo in the box. Without a scale on board, Captain Marty eyeballed them at around 30+ pounds each.
The crew scrambled to get the spread back out, and their efforts paid off quickly. Multiple rods went off again, putting them onto a double header! They put two more wahoo in the boat, one of which was landed by junior angler Savannah Drott. They also picked up a blackfin tuna along the way. Since the tournament included categories for kingfish and blackfin tuna, in addition to the wahoo category, this was a welcome bonus.
Throughout the day, radio chatter among the thirty boats was filled with speculation, but confirmed catches were scarce. The fishing proved tough across the board; in fact, we didn’t know it at the time, but less than half the registered teams would end up weighing a qualifying fish. However, that slow bite actually ramped up the excitement. Since the action wasn’t red hot, there were no clear runaways, meaning any boat with a fish in the box felt they had a shot at winning as they headed to the scales!
Once the Headin’ South was at the dock, the crew offloaded their haul into the truck and made the anticipation-filled drive over to the official weigh-in station. In total, the team presented four wahoo to Weighmaster Chris Still.
First up on the leaderboard for Headin’ South was Angler JW Drott. He brought a nice wahoo to the scale that immediately drew attention. When the digital readout finally settled, the fish officially weighed in at 34.6 pounds. That weight held strong against the rest of the boats, ultimately securing JW the award for 3rd Place Overall Wahoo.
The celebration was a family affair, as JW’s daughter, Savannah Drott, proved she could hang right alongside the pros. She weighed in a beautiful 24.2-pound wahoo of her own. It was a fantastic catch for the angler, earning her the coveted Top Junior Angler trophy for the tournament.
The Marathon Fire Rescue Benevolent Association’s event was a resounding success, and we are committed to supporting them in the years to come. It was also an incredible debut for the newly formed Headin’ South / Main Attraction team, securing a third-place finish in the vessel’s first official event. We are just getting warmed up, so keep an eye out—the 2026 tournament season is fast approaching!
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