25 September 2009 MARYLAND MAN WINS 50TH ANNUAL MARATHON INTERNATIONAL BONEFISH TOURNAMENT
MARATHON, Florida Keys — For Gene Ford of Potomac, Md., triumphing in the Marathon International Bonefish Tournament was as much about overcoming personal physical challenges as it was about the three-day angling test that ended Sept. 20.
Ford, who has fished the tournament nearly a dozen times, spent the previous six weeks recuperating from hip replacement surgery. He used the tournament, which celebrated its golden anniversary in 2009, as a focal point to get back into shape.
“I used a balance board to be able to stand on the front of a boat for seven hours each day,” said Ford.
He credited the win to his guide, Captain Albert Ponzoa of Marathon, and unusually high tides that allowed for more time on the flats seeking out smaller bonefish.
“You want higher numbers,” said Ford, who released 46 bonefish overall. “And on six-pound test, you can’t slow the big ones down.”
The team champions were John and Sheila Eckert of Summerland Key, Fla., who released 32 bonefish without a guide.
Jim McHale of Needham, Mass., earned the Grand Slam Fly Award for accomplishing a grand slam of bonefish, permit and tarpon on fly. McHale fished with Captain Billy Rabito of Marathon and also won Biggest Bonefish award with a 29.875-inch fish.
In the ladies’ division, Gloria Rampfel of Sugarloaf Key, Fla., won with 39 bonefish. She fished with Captain Tim Carlile of Sugarloaf Key.
The wet pants division win, for fish caught while wading near shore, went to Mindy Gaines of Marathon.
The Marathon International Bonefish Tournament attracted 21 anglers who released a total of 183 bonefish. Anglers vying for the grand slam award also released three permit and four tarpon. <back
