How local anglers raced against Hurricane Debby to win Manatee County fishing tournament

As what became Hurricane Debby started to spin up over Cuba on Aug. 2, a group of offshore anglers readied themselves for the Inaugural Sarasota Offshore Shootout.

It was a one-night tournament requiring anglers to weigh in a variety of six fish to get the best point value based on their catch. At that time, most did not know exactly how it would be when they ventured hundreds of miles into the Gulf of Mexico, directly into the storm’s path.

“I don’t like to fish in rough weather!” said Mike Warren, captain of Team Big Game. “Based on the reports and buoys it looked like it was going to be a nice tournament so we went out on that.”

“When the Friday morning shotgun start sounded Warren and his team went further north than they normally would, hoping that would give them more time before the storm approached. Many anglers will talk about how good fishing is before big storms approach, so teams had their sights set high with this potential. But weather predictions were wrong as the storm strengthened quickly Friday night and teams like Big Game found it difficult to execute their original plans.

“I had a good idea of what we needed to target. After the start we got our six-pound mahi, a 27-pound wahoo, 30-pound kitty mitchell grouper and 23- and 17-pound tuna. We tried to catch a Warsaw grouper but it was so rough by that point we couldn’t get one,” Warren explained.

“After the first day, we kind of figured we had a good catch but just had a feeling the pelagic fishing was good, so (we) didn’t think we would win. When we woke up Saturday morning, it was rougher than we expected, probably five- to six-foot seas, so we decided it was time to head home. We couldn’t make speed, so (we) decided to troll and picked up another 34-pound wahoo.”

All teams made it back to Saturday afternoon’s weigh-in at Sara Bay Marina before the outer bands of Debby started to work their way north across Florida. Some teams fishing further south ran into bands and rougher seas but good fishing for rare billfish. At the weigh-in scales, big fish wowed the crowd.

“That was a statement to how good the bite was,” said Warren.

Weighing in were multiple swordfish, the biggest at 432 pounds from Team Semper Fi which required a boat lift strong enough to lift it as Debby’s rain poured down.

Team Xtreme Offshore Supply fought a blue marlin for two and a half hours before getting it boatside for the catch and release.

But most had to change game plans as storms and rough seas approached, costing many fishing time. At the end, it was Team Big Game’s variety that took home first place in the six-fish total tournament with 382.7 points.

“I didn’t think we would place but it was obvious it was tough to put together the whole package,” Warren said. “There were a lot of epic fish caught. Normally we don’t fish in that weather, and if I knew it was going to be how it was I would not have fished it. At the end of the day it’s just a fishing tournament and we want to be safe. We’re recreational fishermen and these are for fun for us.”

Team Big Game, who is looking for sponsors for future tournaments, brought home $9,100 for first place, beating Gulf Coast Offshore who posted 286.6 points.

For Team Big Game and anglers Mike Warren, Kevin Warren, Paul Sloat, Tom Kane and Mike Kyzer, it is the end to a successful 2024 tournament season, who won the Fire Charity Tournament as well.

For others, they will be participating in the Sarasota Slam out of Marina Jack whose anglers left Friday before returning to weigh in Sunday. That tournament will feature a variety of divisions with the biggest in each taking home prizes.