The 2022 Fish For Holly Sailfish Tournament had a record turnout! In its 4th year, 289 anglers on 64 boats went sailfishing on January 8th in honor of Holly Given. With winds ENE at 12-15mph, there were 85 sailfish releases! A great time was had by all who fished and participated, celebrating the memory of a Florida Keys born and raised woman who lost her life to domestic violence in 2017.

Hooked up with the first call in of the day was Mike Schmidt on the Papa’s Pilar with Capt. Scott Walker at the helm. Shortly thereafter, a hook up was called in by Captain Jimmy Hendrix on the Dauntless for angler Caroline Hendrix. Papa’s Pilar and Dauntless battled for an early lead, each hooking up 2 sails in the first 14 minutes of the tournament. Dauntless ultimately finished as 3rd place boat with 5 sails and Caroline Hendrix as Runner-up Overall Angler with 3 sails released.

2nd place boat was awarded to the Olympic Gold, captained by Doug Mientkiewicz with 6 sails released, Megan Simpson releasing 2 of those sailfish.

Top Team and 1st place boat was the Time Out with Capt. Justin Miller at the helm, with 8 sails released. Jenny Mason on the Time Out earned Champion Overall Angler and Top Female Angler, with 4 sails released.

Top Male Angler was Erik Perna with 2 sails released on the Booty Shaker, captained by Danny Perna.

In the Junior division, 1st and 2nd place went to a brother sister duo on the Fearless with Capt. Joey Hendrix. Champion Junior Angler was Sawyer Hendrix with 2 sails and 2nd place Junior Angler was Saydie Hendrix with one sail. 3rd place Junior Angler was Connor Daniels with one sailfish, on the Kalex with Capt. Alex Adler.

The Fun Fish division awards the heaviest Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo, and Kingfish caught during the tournament. Andrew Garcia earned Heaviest Mahi, landing a 25lb. Mahi on the Boat Depot. Debbie David on the Back in Business landed the heaviest Tuna at 11lbs. Karina Velunza on the Sea Senorita won Heaviest Wahoo at 29lbs. Heaviest Kingfish was caught by Angie Valdesuso on the Spring Mix, weighing in at 10.5lbs.

Hayley Vito on the Churned Up was awarded Last Sailfish hooked up and released. Sue Pfiefer on the MDala won the Old Salt award for oldest angler to release a sail. Dustin Hansel on the Skip Jac won the Dunkaroo video contest, a new challenge for the 2022 FishforHolly!

The Post Card Inn Resort and Marina was a beautiful venue for this year’s tournament events. We want to thank all sponsors, donors, and participants involved for making this tournament the largest sailfish tournament in the Florida Keys. This tournament is operated by volunteers and 100% of the proceeds go towards re-building the Florida Keys Domestic Abuse Shelter, professional women’s scholarships, high school scholarships and sports programs, and Captain’s licenses.

The 5th annual FishforHolly Sailfish Tournament will be held January 6 & 7, 2023.

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