Smookler Top Angler, Just Fish Top Boat in VIGFC’s Annual Dolphin Derby
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The catch of a 39.5-pound dolphin fish (mahi-mahi) earned St. John’s Francis Smookler the Top Angler prize at the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club’s Annual Dolphin Derby held April 25.
Top Boat Winner – Just Fish – L to R Jennifer Tyler, Joshua Bourg, Francis Smookler, Carlos Lindquist, Sarah Dennis, Johnathon Doran – Credit Dean Barnes
Fishing aboard the St. John-based 42-foot Liberty, Just Fish, with Captain Joshua Bourg at the helm, Smookler caught his winning fish south of St. John.
“We had an idea it was a bigger one than the other fish we’d caught, so we thought we had a chance (at the top prize),” says Smookler, an avid fisherman yet first-time tournament winner.