The year was 1999 and the event was the three day Keys Spring Invitational Bonefish Fly Tournament. I joined Tim Mahaffey in my classic 18′Hewes Bonefisher to compete against a full field made up of the best that our sport has to offer. Over a dozen mudding herds of giant downtown Islamorada bonefish had refused all of our efforts throughout the gusty first day. We were emotionally prepared to turn in an embarrassing empty scorecard. Time for one last stop at an edge less than one mile from Papa Joe’s (then the tournament headquarters).

One hundred yards ahead, a series of milky trails forged a favorable course, pointing directly at our bow. Dark and very wide bodies protruded out of the smoke as the heavily weighted rubber-legged merkin was delivered through the 20mph winds, a yard in front of the threesome. The trio formed an arrowhead and bumped together to suck in the yarn first. Mahaffey came tight and ALL flyline was gone from the deck in seconds. It seemed way too soon when Tim yelled back, “Get going now, I’m nearly out of backing!”.

Across the channel and on the next flat, we noticed commotion over 200 yards away. It was our fish! Approaching nearly half plane, we were not able to gain line, only to keep a bend in the rod as our megabone continued at his blistering pace for a full minute. Angling back into the safety of the deep channel, the fight settled into a gradual gain of backing, then the long awaited announcement of “Flyline back on the reel!’.

Although not designed for vertical or lateral resistance, sizable local bonefish seem to understand that either a photo or a trip to the scale is pending, and they will use every square inch of their ample girth to delay or totally avoid any angler celebration. At one point we even speculated a foul-hooking, as this battle became an amberjackesque lifting contest, even with beefy 15 pound tippet. The outrageous first run had thankfully drained some gas out of this silver tank and we safely netted the whopper.

The needle stayed at 14 pounds 4 ounces and we had a new IGFA 15 pound tippet World Record and, at the time, the largest bonefish ever officially weighed in any Keys tournament! We were beyond ecstatic, although we knew it would certainly take more work to win the overall. At least we had the Largest Bonefish Award of this tournament already iced. As it turned out, that honor would last less than 24 hours.

On the morning of the very next day, Eddie Miller’s fly touched down in front of a pair of tipped-up pigs only a few miles “up the road” and he connected with a sprinter that also came within only a few wraps of dumping his reel. Capt. Craig Brewer maneuvered his Mirage 17′ and netted the scaly football that later weighed in at an astonishing 15 pounds 4 ounces!

This fish was taken on 12 pound tippet and tied the existing World Record in its respective class, allowing Tim’s to stand alone in 15, until it was topped by 4 ounces only one year later. Miller’s fish still reigns as the largest bonefish taken in a Keys fly tournament. Miami angler Pepe Lopez took a 15 pound 4 ouncer on bait with Capt. Billy Knowles during the Spring All-Tackle. Capt. Paul Tejera poled his Mirage 17′ with Jim Bokor and they fooled a 15 pound 12 ounce Shell Key professor into crunching a crab. This team owns bragging rights for the largest bonefish ever weighed in Keys tournament history, during the $25,000 one day, winner-take-all Bonefish Shootout.

Mahaffey added weight fish of 9 pounds 6 ounces and 10 pounds 4 ounces to take home fourth place. Over the next decade, he would essentially dominate this event, winning a record 4 times, finishing a close second twice and taking third once.

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