Capt. Rick Murphy Wins Grand Champion Award at the Prestigious Gold Cup Invitational Tarpon Tournament

Tim Mahaffey, with Captain Rick Murphy, won the grand champion award at the prestigious Gold Cup Invitational Tarpon Tournament held June 18-23 in Islamorada, Florida.

Mahaffey and Captain Rick Murphy built a lead on the second of five fishing days, then held off two top tarpon tournament competitors for the win.

Mahaffey scored with 11 releases plus the tournament limit of five weight fish. He also caught the largest tarpon of the tournament -- 155.5 pounds (calculated) -- and had the most releases.

Tournament rules mandated that release fish must be a minimum of 48 inches long and weight fish must weigh a minimum of 70 pounds.

A full field of 25 anglers fished the tournament, capturing 107 tarpon counted as releases and 36 counted as weight fish.

Mahaffey and Murphy will have their names engraved on the Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament perpetual trophy, on display at the Worldwide Sportsman store in Islamorada. Mahaffey will join such legendary anglers as five-time grand champions Glenn Flutie and Andy Mill, four-time champion Billy Pate, three-time champions Sandy Moret, Eizo Marahashi and Jimmy Bell Jr., and a list of winners that includes baseball great Ted Williams.

Capt. Rick Murphy will join some of the pioneering guides of backcountry fly fishing whose names are engraved on the trophy, including Jimmy Albright, Cecil Keith, Hank Brown, Nat Ragland, Jack Brothers and Stu Apte.