EDITOR’S LETTER
Although they make up half of the human population, the percentage of ladies involved in offshore sport fishing has always been in virtually the single digits. These days though, there are more women than ever joining in the fun. A report from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, in partnership with the Outdoor Foundation, stated that 49.1 million Americans went fishing in 2017—an increase of nearly 2 million from the previous year. Of the new participants who went fishing in 2017, 35.8 percent were women—the fastest-growing demographic. As a bonus, these ladies are also teaching their kids how to fish.
On the offshore side, there have always been a handful of female boat owners, although most prefer to fly below the radar, just like many of their male counterparts. They just want to go fishing, and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. New ladiesonly tournaments such as Samantha Mumford’s Pescadora Billfish Championship and the Los Sueños Ladies-Only event in Costa Rica have become quite popular in the past few seasons, but remember that the Alice Kelly Memorial tournament, held prior to the start of the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament in North Carolina, celebrates its 31st anniversary this year. The Keli Wagner Ladies Tournament turns 22 this summer, and kicks off the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. And who can forget the Bluewater Babes Fish for a Cure event in Florida? Without a doubt, it’s one of the most fun events of the entire tournament circuit—it’s been going strong for more than a decade. All three serve as fundraisers for a variety of charities, and they’ve been around for a while.
And although they make up a small percentage of the overall angling population, lady anglers sure are punching above their weight class these days. Jill Yates, fishing aboard Eight Eights with Capt. Mark Pagano, won the top angler award in the 2020 Buccaneer Cup Sailfish Tournament, the first time a woman has won top overall angler in the event’s 57-year history. In that event, Sandra MacMillan’s Sandman team won first place, and Kerri Burrus’ Wicked Wahine placed second overall. Earlier in the season, Michelle “Shellfish” Keeney won top angler honors in the Pelican Yacht Club sailfish tournament, fishing aboard Intents with Capt. Rhett Bailey—the first time in that event’s 40-year history a female had won as top overall angler. And in the 2019 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown, Laura Jessen’s Fish Tank team put on a dominating performance, with first-, second- and sixth-place finishes in the three-tournament series to walk away with the title of overall champion team (Jessen and Keeney also teamed up to win the Ladies-Only shootout held prior to Leg 1 that year as well). These are some very impressive tournament performances by some highly talented anglers, male or female.
In this issue, we highlight the accomplishments of the ladies in the Kona, Hawaii, charter-boat fleet. Marlin’s senior editor, Capt. Jen Copeland, spent two weeks fishing and hanging out with Deneen Wargo, Tara Thompson-Disnard and Molly Palmer, where she learned that Kona captains will embrace you (or not) based on your abilities rather than your gender. That’s a trait shared by nearly everyone in the offshore community: If
you’re fishy, you’ll do just fine.