FLORIDA ANGLERS TAKE TOP PRIZE AT DRAMBUIE KEY WEST MARLIN TOURNAMENT

     KEY WEST, Florida Keys -- Two brothers in law, who share ownership of a boat, scored a blue marlin release and caught two dolphin to win the $25,000 prize at the Drambuie Key West Marlin Tournament that ended Saturday, July 22, in the Florida Keys.

     Building contractors Roy Miller of Clearwater, Fla., and John Burket of St. Petersburg, Fla., began the final day of angling with just one 27.55-pound dolphin caught Friday, but without seeing any billfish during the first two days of the three-day contest.

     "We decided we would go deep, so we ran out about 30 miles," said Burket, who serves as captain of the Serenity, a 29-foot Luhrs sportfisherman. "We hooked the marlin (estimated to weigh 150 pounds) after 20 minutes of fishing and fought it for 30 minutes before releasing it."

     Miller caught the marlin on an artificial balao, but it wouldn't be the only blue the team would see Saturday.

     "We're thinking that we needed to get more points to try to win this thing," Burket said. "So we're looking for dolphin or wahoo and spotted a floating pallet."

     The Serenity team looked below the pallet, spotted several wahoo and dropped a live blue runner on a 30-pound-test outfit.

     "The fish hit and when it jumped it was another blue, about 300 pounds, " Miller said.

     An hour later the fish was at the boat and the leader almost at the rod tip.

     "When the mate when to grab the leader, the fish lunged and took out more line," Burket said. "It broke the line and we thought we had lost the tournament."

     But the team did manage to catch a 16.15-pound dolphin afterwards that won the tournament for the Serenity team.

     Frequently boat ownership partnerships, even among family members, fail. But in the case of Miller and Burket, that's apparently not the case.

     "As long as he (Miller) lets me be the captain, there is no problem, "Burket deadpanned.

     The Finesse, captained by Kenny Harris with angler Andy Glynn of Marshfield, Mass., was second, while Jannace 43, skippered by Ed Wilson of Fort Myers, Fla., with angler Loren Farinelli of Lighthouse Point, Fla., placed third.

     In the Fun Fish division, Key West Fire Department, captained by Ed Gates of Key West won the dolphin category with a 55.2-pound fish caught by George Koehn of Key West. Lucky Charm, with captain Jay Weed of Big Coppit Key, Fla., won the wahoo class with a 53.1-pound fish reeled in by Richard McGinley of Ocala, Fla. Tortgua, skippered by Chip Campbell of Land O' Lakes, Fla., captured the tuna category with a 20.35-pound fish by Susan Campbell.

     Almost 300 anglers, on 58 boats, fished the tournament, according to director Scott Greene. The angling contest is staged each year in conjunction with the island city's Hemingway Days festival, a six-day event celebrating Ernest Hemingway's literary prowess and vigorous lifestyle the late author experienced while living in Key West from 1929 through 1939.

The 2007 event is scheduled for July 18-22 and is to mark the Key West marlin tournament's 25th anniversary.

On the Net:

Drambuie Key West Marlin Tournament: www.keywestmarlin.com