2012 Sarasota Tarpon Tournament

The 82nd annual Sarasota Sportsfishing Anglers Club Tarpon Tournament is here! This event is the oldest, continuosly running, open-to-the-public tarpon tournament in Florida, running for six weeks, May 12th - June 17th, 2012. The goals of this historical venue are to not only celebrate the tremendous tarpon fishing our region offers its anglers, but to also support local charities. This year, the tournament comittee is proud to support Suncoast Charities for Children. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Sarasota Tarpon Tournament is one of the oldest fishing tournaments in the world. Famous industrialist and radio magnate, Powel Crosley Jr. as a guest of Robert Ringling hooked his first tarpon while fishing in Sarasota. He was so impressed with the area and the sport of tarpon fishing that in 1929 he moved to Sarasota.

In 1930 Crosley was elected president of the new Sarasota County Anglers" Club and to gain national attention the tournament was carried on Crosley's Cincinnati radio station WLW and relayed via telephone lines to Ohio and affiliate stations nationwide. The Palmer family commissioned the sterling silver four foot Tarpon Trophy in the early 1930's. This trophy now resides at the Sarasota History center. In the 1990's the Sarasota Anglers Club united with the Sarasota Sportsfishing Club and now the Sarasota Anglers Sport Fishing Club now hosts the Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament and continues the fine tradition. This tarpon tournament was one of the first tarpon tournaments to become an "all-release event. A DNA study of tarpon by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute is conducted during this tournament for their Genetic Recapture Study.

OUR CHARITY

The goals of this historical venue are to not only celebrate the tremendous tarpon fishing our region offers its anglers, but to also support local charities. This year, the tournament committee is proud to support Suncoast Charities for Children.