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Posted by StriperChaser on March 5, 2005, 10:10 am Angler goes overboard in fight to land Florida Keys sailfish Associated Press ISLAMORADA, Fla. - With two anglers on the same tournament boat simultaneously fighting losing battles with sailfish, Jon Cooper knew something had to go. He decided it would be him. Cooper slipped on a life vest and, holding tightly to his rod and reel - tournament rules ban anyone else from touching it - he jumped overboard and stayed there while the boat took off in pursuit of the other fish. "We went and got the first fish, then went back for Jon," said Ray Rosher, the boat's captain. Cooper, Rosher's first mate on the 53-foot Get Lit, was hauled back aboard to finish his fight, but another problem quickly became apparent. "We saw the line wrapped around a submerged rope," said Rosher. A practiced free diver, Cooper put his rod in a holder, grabbed a knife and dove in to see if he could cut the rope, which was affixed to a lobster trap. "He swam down and got to about 70 feet, but still couldn't see the submerged line," said Rosher. "Nothing worked, so we ended up breaking the fish off." Even without that sail, Get Lit won the Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament on Saturday with eight sailfish brought to the boat and released.
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Posted on Mon, Jan. 24, 2005 
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