Tarpon tournament raises record $226,357 for conservation on Sanibel Island

The 14th annual “Ding” Darling & Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament, held May 15, raised a record-breaking $226,357 for conservation and water quality research at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.

The event, which traditionally marks the beginning of Southwest Florida’s prime two-month silver king season, attracted its largest field ever with 65 registered teams and 309 anglers competing for $67,600 in prize money. Teams caught and released 63 tarpon during the competition.

Team Loaded Down, led by Captain Kyle Applefield, won first place and $30,420 after being the first to catch and release six fish. The team also earned the coveted pink tarpon jacket, introduced in 2017 by Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, the tournament’s title sponsor, as a nod to golf’s green Masters tournament jacket.