40th Year Grand Slam of SIBT Tournaments

Welcome to the Annual Spice Island Billfish Tournament

How Times & Lines Have Flown By!

SIBT prepares to celebrate it's 40th Tournament

Jim Needham who started it all

It all started with Jim Needham, the owner of the Flamboyant Hotel. Jim had a dream and he lived it as often as he could. He lived to fish and loved the art of sport fishing. Jim ventured along the coastline of Grenada in his little 14 foot open boat “Mambo” and raised and caught dozens and dozens of Billfish.

Ken, Graham and Ian with prizes

He just had to share this love with someone and so in 1964, he called his friend Louis Rostant (Trinidad) and they met in Grenada with Martin Mathias, owner of a beautiful sports fishing vessel named “Bahari”, to formulate and stage the first ever Grenada Fishing Tournament.

Sadly, no records have been available but we do know that less than 10 boats (Grenada & Trinidad) participated in what was essentially a gentleman’s tournament. No formal rules were in effect at the time.

However, Jim & Louis worked steadfastly to refine the rules and procedures, most of which originated from the IGFA and adapted them to suit the Grenada event. They attracted anglers from all the nearby Islands and this still remains the main support for the event to this day.

Louis Rostant’s influence on the tournament was legendary. He took the sport to its extreme by introducing 12lb line to the list of permitted line tests. Indeed, he fished on occasion with 6lb test line and hoped that others would follow. For many years during that period the tournament permitted 12, 20 and 30lb test lines. The frustrations of anglers grew and many anglers experienced “spooling” of their lines by huge fish while many others were lost through line-fatigue. Nonetheless, Louis and Jim steadfastly stood by their position to keep the event as a “light tackle” Tournament.

Michael Grimes Yellow Fin Tuna 177 lb 12 oz

Michael Grimes with a record Yellow Fin Tuna of 177 lb 12 oz on 20 lb test caught in 1976

Jim recognized in the early ‘80’s that he could no longer continue the event and handed over the reins to a group of enthusiastic and younger associates. As a consequence the SIBT was born.

Change was inevitable and the new Committee tried to find ways to attract more anglers from the Region. St. Lucia’s Bernard Johnson was another of early visiting anglers of the Needham era and has continuously supported the Tournament throughout the years to this day. Whenever we look back at the very early years and Tournaments, it only reminds us how much we, as the Committee responsible for the Tournament, have changed for the better. In the early days, all the fish that were caught were brought to the scale. Anglers became more adept at learning the skill to attract and hook up to Billfish and the catch ratios increased tremendously. Billfish were caught in such large numbers that the Committee was very often overwhelmed by the task. Our records reflect that the largest number of Billfish caught in one day during the event was 92. This staggering amount would horrify conservationists today.

An early Tournament before conservation was practiced

The years went by and the boats got bigger and bigger but the fish became fewer in number. Jim traditionally held his tournament on the weekends, without apparently recognizing the part the moon phase played in the success of the event.

However, it has been a testimony to the Committee’s understanding of the anglers needs and their willingness to compromise that has brought about many a change in the format and rules of the SIBT – Grenada. The 12lb pound test line was eliminated, and replaced by 50lb test line. More and more anglers became conservationist at heart, most notable being Trinidad’s Sid Johnson and slowly the rules were amended to the tag and release format.

This was obviously a bitter pill to swallow for the Committee, which with little or no sponsorship derived much of its funds from the sale of fish.

Sue Gillibrand with the womens record Yellow Fin Tuna of 138 lb on 20 lb test in 1976

Nevertheless, each year the fishing and indeed the event grew bigger and better. A lay day–after the second days fishing was introduced and then a third day was added which was supported by the majority of anglers.

Upon the introduction of insured prizes for certain species of fish (six in all) the Blue Marlin and Yellow Fin Tuna records were soon broken and large payouts made.

The other activities held at the Grenada Yacht Club, which was the venue adopted by the SIBT, soon attracted lots of visitors and locals alike. The cooking, happy hour bars and general camaraderie of the anglers have made this event truly the best in the Region.

In our 40 years so much has happened!

The visionaries like Jim Louis and Martin Mathias have passed on. So too have St. Lucia’s Mike Hackshaw, Trinidad’s Francis SaGomes, Barbados’ Denis Atkinson and Martinique’s Roger Charles Nicolas. We have altogether lost too many other friends and anglers from each of the Countries above. The Committee owes a debt of gratitude to them for the part each has played over the years in bringing happiness to those who are still with us and indeed still participating.

Sometimes the seas have been awful, sometimes calm like a lake. There have been hours of frenzied fishing activity and equally some have experienced many hours without a strike. Boats have all come home safely but some came mighty close on occasion to being lost.

All of these experiences and more have contributed to the Institution that is the SIBT–Grenada and we believe, the Region’s premier fishing event.

Special Thanks to our Major Sponsors

Carib Beer	Island Water World	Camper & Nicholson

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