b"Boatside. Mark Colin Hickey's (l) Islamorada tarponMcLeanwith ablue onfly in Costa RicaEddie Twyford Zoe Zuloaga, with dad, Mike, releasesher first tagged sailWPBFC Sailfish Release Certificates RyanBuelSince the 1930s the WPBFC has been presenting Sailfish Certificates to anglers to help commemorate their special catch.The practice began as a way to boost tourism and support local charter boats by providing an attractive keepsake for their clients, many of whom were from out of state.The certificates would end up being proudly displayed on office walls and living rooms where they would spark the re-telling of an exciting fish story of a memorable day spent offshore the Palm Beaches. Of course these certificates prompted more than a few return visits, which was exactly the kind of response the club and tourism officials were looking for.Early on, WPBFC Sailfish Certificates were presented for fish that were boated, noting the length and weight of the catch.Club leaders soon realized that en-couraging the practice of boating sailfish was not sustainable.In 1938 the WPBFC developed the red release pennant launching a new catch and release ethic for sailfish.The certificate was soon converted to a Sailfish Release Certificate.Affiliated organizations formed by WPBFC members like the Sailfish Conservation Club and the Game Fish Research Association also played an instrumental role in the development and promotion of these certificates.Over the past eighty years the WPBFC has distributed thousands of these certificates to anglers from across the country.It is not uncommon for the club to get a call from someone from out of state announcing that they found this really cool looking certificate their grandfather received and wanting to know moreIs Your Hand Scale Certified?about the catch.Such calls are a testament to just howHand scales are a convenient way to get enduring and meaningfulaccurate weights on fish you intend to enter the act of commemorating a sailfish catch can be.Today,in club contests.Be sure your scale is certi-the club often sends these certificates to young anglers who catch their first ever sail. Club member Capt. Wink Doer- fied yearly.Hand scales can be certified at zbacher, a WPBFC member of 49 years, has had countlessthe WPBFC clubhouse or at local tackle certificates sent to his anglers over the years. While the clubshops including Fishing Headquarters in doesnt distribute near as many certificates as it once did,Jupiter, Lott Bros. in North Palm Beach they are still available to members if someone on your boat catches a memory making sail.Just call the WPBFC withand Tuppen's in Lake Worth.details of the catch and well send it out!"