IN PICTURES: ANNUAL BULL & COW DOLPHIN TOURNAMENT DRAWS MORE THAN 600 ANGLERS TO MARATHON

a couple of men standing under a blue sign
Team Steel Leader wins the Largest Wahoo category with a 23-pound trophy.

Brutal conditions just one weekend earlier subsided in time for 79 boats to take to the waters off Marathon for the 2022 Tom Thumb Marathon Offshore Bull & Cow Dolphin Tournament on April 29-May 1. Out of 632 total anglers, team Contagious emerged victorious for the third time in the bull and cow combined weight category. The squad, composed of Don Delon, Rob Delon, Travis Bennett, Andy Cone and captain Brian Cone, tipped the scales with a massive 40.8-pound bull mahi paired with a 17.8-pound cow to capture the top slot. 

“We had great weather, and the people there loved it,” said tournament organizer captain Jack Carlson. “It was just a great all the way around tournament. We’ve been running this for a long time, and everybody has fun.”

Alex Rickert
Alex Rickert made the perfectly natural career progression from dolphin trainer to newspaper editor in 2021 after freelancing for Keys Weekly while working full time at Dolphin Research Center. A resident of Marathon since 2015, he fell in love with the Florida Keys community by helping multiple organizations and friends rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Irma. An avid runner, actor, and spearfisherman, he spends as much of his time outside of work on or under the sea having civil disagreements with sharks.