Unique Bull and Cow Dolphin Tournament Enters 19th Year

• “We didn’t want the same boring format so you have to be on your weights. We’ve had the winners decided by 1 ounce.”

Capt. Jack Carlson of Two Conchs charters in Marathon knows a thing or two about targeting tournament-winning dolphin. He put together the famous Bull & Cow Dolphin Tournament now entering its 19th year May 2-4.

“It’s a unique event and since its entering its 19th year, the total purse has been increased to $19,000 paid to winners. We’ll increase the award every year, too, to keep up,” Carlson said.

The Bull & Cow awards $18,000 cash (or more based on boat entries) to heaviest combined weight of two dolphin—a bull and cow—as well as largest bull, largest cow and largest three dolphin. Cash is also awarded to heaviest wahoo, blackfin tuna and tripletail, and there are prizes for Top Female and Top Junior anglers, too.

There is also a Father’s Day Dolphin Derby in mid-June the Saturday before the commemorative day paying out $5,000, $2,500, $1,000 and fourth place cash for biggest dolphin.

Carlson said the reason he picked May to host the first dolphin tournament of the season is because the dolphin are on the doorstep then.

“We get a good push of bigger fish before the start of the summer when we see more schoolies. That first push of bigger fish has produced a few catches over 50 and 60 pounds in the past. Lately, we see more 30s and 40s. The dolphin come swimming down into the Gulf Stream following pallets or floating objects and swim with the bait. They then migrate back into the current back north.”

A big part of the Two Conchs fishing fleet success is based on Furuno radar’s bird mode, Carlson said.

“It’s about connecting the dots and finding numbers of dolphin. It you cross 20 to 25 sets of birds, that will increase your odds. By getting on 25 schools of fish, that’s where the law of averages comes in when targeting tournament winners—30-, 40- or 50-pound fish,” he said.

Carlson added that often those bigger fish are not loners.

“There’s been times when we hook a big cow, but if we can keep it hooked for a few minutes, we’ll see a larger bull nearby. We’ll leave her in the water as long as possible,” he said.

They don’t always get the big bull, but that’s what makes the Bull & Cow Tournament format much more exciting, he said.

“We didn’t want the same boring format so you have to be on your weights. We’ve had the winners decided by 1 ounce,” Carlson said.

Dolphin fishing is a staple of life in the Florida Keys. To learn more, visit marathonoffshoretournament.com.

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• This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click here to subscribe