Middle Keys anglers shine at Marathon sailfish tournament

Paula Hart of Key Colony Beach turned a strong day on Marathon’s home waters into one of the clearest local wins of the fifth annual Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament, landing three successful releases on day two to capture Top Female Angler honors for Team Reel Locos.

The result fit the larger story of the April 17-18 competition: Middle Keys anglers were not just filling the leaderboard, they were defending their own waters. The tournament brought together familiar names from across the island chain and gave Marathon another spring weekend built around fishing, lodging and waterfront business, with walk-up registration and a kickoff at Fairfield Inn & Suites Marathon on April 16 and the awards banquet set for Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters on April 18.

That local footprint is part of why the event has grown into more than a boat-by-boat contest. Marathon Premier Sailfish Tournament Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered by Katie Lewis in 2021, and Lewis created the tournament to give local fishermen a sailfish event in Marathon that would showcase the community and support charity. Proceeds are donated to Mission Fishin’, which was founded in 2014 and serves children with special needs, foster children and their families through fishing and marine adventures.

The tournament’s scale has also become a marker of how much the Middle Keys can deliver when the bite is right. In 2025, the event drew 17 boats and 94 anglers, produced 34 sailfish releases on day one and 18 on day two, and paid out more than $100,000 in cash prizes. Team Killbox took the top team title, and Jill Paglia was named top female angler.

A year earlier, 75 anglers aboard 16 boats recorded 30 hook-ups, 27 successful releases and five tagged fish. Organizers said then that the tournament had historically raised around $10,000 a year for Mission Fishin’ and was on track to increase that total by about 50 percent. For Marathon, that matters beyond the leaderboard: the event pushes anglers through local hotels, banquet space, marinas and restaurants, while reinforcing the island’s identity as a place where sailfishing is both sport and business.

For the Middle Keys, Hart’s finish was a hometown result with wider value. It showed that Marathon anglers can fish with anyone and still stay rooted in the waters that define the community.