Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) will induct acclaimed Florida Keys fishing guide Captain Tim Carlile and renowned fisheries scientist Dr. Roy Crabtree into the BTT Circle of Honor on April 10, 2025, during BTT’s 12th Annual Florida Keys Dinner at Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, Florida.
“Bonefish & Tarpon Trust stands today on a foundation that Tim Carlile and Dr. Roy Crabtree helped lay,” said BTT President and CEO Jim McDuffie. “Roy was among the first scientists to tackle important questions about flats species while Tim volunteered countless hours in support of the same pioneering research. We are grateful to them for their advocacy and many contributions to our mission.”
Captain Carlile will receive the 2025 Outstanding Guide Award in recognition of his storied sixty-plus-year career as a fishing guide and his longstanding support of fisheries conservation. Encouraged by his father Cliff—an offshore captain out of Sugarloaf Marina—Carlile took his first guide trip at age 11, escorting tourists on a rental boat. He dropped out of school in tenth grade to fish full-time before being drafted into the U.S. Army. Carlile was deployed to a combat zone in Vietnam, where he served in an infantry unit, receiving a Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Following Vietnam, Carlile was attached to an Army infantry “readiness unit” in Key West.
With his clients, Carlile has won hundreds of awards in tournaments, including the Key West Fishing Tournament, the Miami MET, the Marathon International Bonefish Tournament, and the Redbone series of flats tournaments. His breadth of knowledge has made him a valuable and trusted partner to BTT. Carlie has generously shared his time and expertise with BTT researchers investigating bonefish migration, reproduction, and feeding habits as part of BTT’s Florida Keys Initiative. Carlile is also a vocal advocate for management measures to ensure healthy flat habitats. He co-hosts a weekly radio show in the Keys, and has appeared on numerous television fishing programs and documentaries showcasing the importance of conservation of the flats fishery.
The 2025 recipient of BTT’s Flats Stewardship Award, Dr. Roy Crabtree has dedicated more than four decades of his professional life to researching, conserving, and managing bonefish, tarpon, and permit—as well as numerous other marine species—found in Florida and beyond. After earning a PhD in Marine Science from the College of William & Mary, where he concentrated on deep-sea fishes, he moved to the Florida Keys, where he became a backcountry fishing guide in Islamorada. As secretary of the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Association (FKFGA), Crabtree testified before the then-Florida Marine Fisheries Commission—now the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)—to advocate for flats species and habitats. He soon became deeply immersed in fisheries science and management in Florida and decided to make it a career.
Crabtree went on to conduct the first-ever research projects on bonefish age, growth, feeding, reproduction, species identification, and mortality. He also published pioneering papers on tarpon age, growth and reproduction; and permit age and reproduction. His numerous scientific publications serve as the basis for current research on flats species and are cited by his colleagues today. Crabtree’s long career included roles as Senior Research Scientist and Division Director at the FWC. In 2003, he became Southeast Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg, FL where he worked until his retirement. At NOAA, Crabtree sought to balance the interests of the commercial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors.
Master of Ceremonies for BTT’s 12th Annual Florida Keys Dinner and Circle of Honor Inductions will be award-winning author T. Edward Nickens, editor-at-large of Field & Stream and a contributing editor for Garden & Gun. Past honorees and special guests will take part in the program.
The BTT Circle of Honor recognizes legendary anglers, fishing guides and conservation leaders who have made significant contributions to the conservation of the flats fishery. It is housed in the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center, located in Islamorada, and features an annually rotating exhibit about those honored as well as educational content about the significance of the flats fishery.
