LOS CABOS BILLFISH TOURNAMENT 2010 FINAL RESULTS

The third and final day of the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament stated out with great expectations because there were two tides to fish during tournament hours and a double daily Marlin Jackpot was up for grabs since no qualifying marlin came to the scales on day two. Because no dorado over the minimum weight was weighed on the first two days of fishing, a qualifying dorado would mean a triple daily for one lucky team. The bite was consistent as teams called in releases from the start. Team Bandit, the 2009 champion, hooked up early and subsequently boated a nice blue marlin at 8:49 a.m. for angler Rich Hamilton. The team elected to keep fishing until lines out in hopes of releasing more billfish and perhaps catching a daily game-fish winner. Team Rum Runnin from Indiana hooked up at 11:15 a.m. to a nice fish for first-time tournament angler Jason Pruden. After a long, hard two-hour fight, the 22-year-old angler had the fish alongside, with the captain making the call to boat the blue marlin. Then the hookup call came from Team Fisher Man, who were leading the tournament and trying to add to their points and winnings. The team elected to boat the black marlin caught by Hugo Pino and fish toward home until lines out.

Team Alure put up some great release numbers on day three, catching two blue marlin and one striped, earning them the Day 3 Release Jackpot and third-place billfish release Team. Team Hang Em High continued their consistency in the release division, adding three striped marlin and two sailfish releases to their five striped marlin releases on day two, taking the second-place billfish release team honors. Team Game On was ultimately the most consistent billfish team of the tournament, catching five striped marlin on day one, one sailfish on day two and two striped and one blue marlin on the final day for a total of 1,300 points, earning them the billfish release point team win.

With three marlin coming to the scales and over $100,000 in the balance, hundreds of spectators looked on as the drama unfolded, with tournament director Dan Jacobs carefully weighing each fish. The first team to the scales was Rum Runnin, with a blue marlin that ultimately weighed 465 pounds. Their fish put them in third place and gave them the lead in the Level One Daily Marlin Jackpot. Next to go to the scales was FisherMan, who led the tournament with their first day’s 713 black marlin. Team Rum Runnin’s hopes for a daily were soon dashed when team FisherMan’s fish weighed just 1 pound heavier, at 466 pounds. The additional marlin gave team FisherMan 1,179 points, securing fist place and the lead in Levels 1-4 Daily Marlin Jackpot. Now both teams had to sweat it out as team Bandit backed into the dock with a nice blue marlin. Team Bandit was across the board, so a fish over 466 pounds would mean third place and all the marlin dailies. But it was not in the cards for the 2009 champions, as their fish fell just 4 pounds shy, coming in at 463 pounds.

In the Tuna/Wahoo/Dorado jackpots, team Blue Marlin shone with a 125.6-pound tuna, earning them the daily jackpot. Team High Risk took their second wahoo daily with a 41-pounder. Team Bull Rider managed a 41.6-pound dorado to take the triple daily. Angler and team captain Rick Twamley commented at the scales, “It was a great day to catch a nice dorado.”

The awards banquet took place at the luxurious Playa Grande beach-side terrace. Participants enjoyed filet mignon and lobster, incredible door prizes, amazing raffle items, a slide show and the always popular awards video. The fishing was fantastic, with the tournament posting a record 713-pound black marlin, a 466-pound black, and 629-, 465- and 463-pound blue marlin. The fleet presented video of 60 billfish caught and released. The final results are as follows:

Day 1 Tuna Jackpot Retriever angler Martha Macnab 123.1 pounds wins $4,347.50 Captain Tony Araiza, mate Omar Araiza

Day 2 Tuna Jackpot Santi I angler John Truschke 209 pounds wins $4,347.50. Captain Victor Salzar

Day 1 and Day 3 Wahoo Jackpots High Risk angler Jorge Jain 52.1 pounds, 41 pounds wins $8,695. Captain Charlie Aboroa, mate Hernando Gonzales

Day 2 Wahoo Jackpot Chupacabra angler Clay Hensley 50.9 pounds wins $4,347.50. Captain Jesse Scarborough, mate Robert Cline

Dorado Daily Jackpot Day 1-3 Bull Rider 41-pound dorado caught by
team representative Rick Twamley $13,043.25 Captain Fransisco Ruiz

Day 3 Tuna Jackpot Blue Marlin angler Bill Illidge 125.6 pounds wins $4,347.50
Day 1 Release Jackpot wins $5,197.50 total winnings $9,545.25
Captain Luis Olascoaga, mate Salvador Benitez, anglers Tom Illidge, Ed Marriott, Don Pacoud

Day 2 Release Jackpot Incognito team representative Randy Hinton, Captain Jamie Gonzalez wins $5,197.50 Anglers Victor Flores, Gabael Cesena, Luis Arballo
 
Day 3 Release Jackpot Alure wins $5,197.50
Third Place Billfish Release points team Allure wins $3,700. Total winnings $8,897.50 Team representative Greg Grosch, Captain Jeff Gaebel, mate Chad Herren, anglers Russ Armstrong, Steve Spina, Jose Ojeda and Jeff Gaebel.

Second Place Release Points Team Hang Em High wins $5,550. Team representative Chip Wagner, Captain Ramon Agundez, mate Dago Agundez, teammates Albert Connell, Andrew Lack and Eddie Kopplow

First Place Release Points Team and Early Registration Prize Game On wins IsatPhone Pro from Mackay Communications and $9,250. Team representative and Captain Robert Gebo, mate Christine Gebo, teammates Esteban Morales, Fabian Sanchez, Richard Goodall

Second Place Team with 629 points Sneak Attack wins $27,750, Largest Blue 629 pounds wins $9,250, Half of Striped Marlin $4,625, Winner Take All Marlin Jackpot $59,400. Sneak Attack total winnings $101,025. Team representative Dan Rosenthal, Captain Sammy Talbert, mate Eduardo Angeles. Teammates Shawn Gutterson, Dan Stewart, Bo Jenyns

Third Place Team with 465 points Rum Runnin angler Jason Pruden 465-pound blue marlin wins $18,500. Team representative Joe Assenza, Captain Javier Ceseno, mate Jesus Romero, teammates Randy Pruden, Darrell Pruden, David Herrmann

First Place Team FisherMan with 1,179 points from a tournament record 713-pound black, angler Daniel Fisher, and 466-pound black, angler Hugo Pino, wins $46,250, Largest Black $9,250, Half of Largest Stripe $4,625, Level 1-4 Daily Marlin Jackpots $144,639. Team FisherMan total winnings $204,764. Team representative Daniel Fisher, Captain Alfredo Sanchez, mate Chato Cortez, teammates Esaul Valdez, Carlos Bloch, Hugo Pino, Agustin Pino, Oscar Daccarett, Rafal Garcia. Invitation to the IGFA Offshore World Championship

LOS CABOS BILLFISH TOURNAMENT 2009 FINAL RESULTS

The Los Cabos Billfish Tournament kicked off its 11th year on Tuesday evening, October 13, 2009 in the beautiful ballroom of the Playa Grande Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Despite inclement weather that closed the port for several days, the tournament registered 42 hard-core LCBT teams ready to fish for more than a half-million dollars in purse. In addition to the cash, teams received fantastic welcome gifts and a chance to win Furuno, Sony and Inmarsat electronics; Vanmark jewelry; Craig Smith artwork; Penn rods and reels; Tormenter, Todd’s and Mold Craft lures; Berkley fishing line; Melton Tackle gift certificates; Old Harbor Outfitters clothing; Evade gaffs; and many other quality door and raffle prizes. The sponsors of the LCBT are incredibly generous, making this the class leadoff event in Cabo San Lucas. Big thanks go out to the sponsors that make this tournament possible, including the Los Cabos Visitors & Convention Bureau, Craig Smith, Furuno, Carter Chevrolet, IGY Marinas, Dockwise Yacht Transport, Old Harbor Outfitters, Cabo Chips, Penn Reels, TransCabo, Corona, Sony Marine, AMD, Melton International Tackle, Berkley, Mackay Communications, Inmarsat, VEI, King Sailfish Mounts, XOJET, Pisces Sportfishing, Vanmark Nautical Jewelry, Evade, Marlin Masters, Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort, Minerva’s Baja Tackle, Hilton’s Real-Time Navigator, Tormenter Lures, Pacific Trolling Gear, VMC hooks, Mold Craft Lures, Pelagic, Todd’s Rigs & Lures, and Marlin and Sport Fishing magazines.

Tropical Storm Patricia kept anglers from fishing Wednesday, the first scheduled day, as the port was closed due to weather conditions. Fortunately, the weather improved, and the port opened, allowing two days of fishing on Thursday and Friday. 

The seas calmed quickly, and the sun broke through, which made for a scenic start of the tournament. Each team checked in with the 75-foot committee boat, Fantasy, and was welcomed by Gov. Narcisco Agundez, members of the Los Cabos Hotel Association & Tourism Board and the crew from Marlin and Sport Fishing magazines. At 7:30 a.m. Gov. Agundez shot the flare announcing the start of the October tournament season.

The bite started early for Bandit, a 60-foot Viking owned by Corey Meyer and captained by Tommy Neikirk, when angler Anthony Hseih went to work on a nice black at 8:18 a.m. At 8:33 Bandit announced theyboated the fish. Bandit decided to keep fishing and not come to the scales early. Get Over It, a 54 Bertram chartered by Kenneth Eberle of Texas and captained by Jobe Garcia of Cabo San Lucas, hooked a nice blue at 9:57 for angler Dan Wheeler. At 10:32 the fish was released, marking the first release of the tournament and earning the team an Iridium handheld satellite phone provided by Mackay Communications. Get Over It added a striped marlin release at 11:05 for angler Drew Andrews, giving the team the daily release jackpot worth $7,125 and the lead in the overall release category. At the scales Bandit’s black marlin drew a huge crowd, as it was a nice fish weighing in at 451 pounds. This gave Bandit the daily on the dock jackpots, the lead in the tournament and the overall largest marlin jackpot. The LCBT also offers daily game-fish jackpots that are very popular with the participants. Rum Running, a 32-foot Crystaliner charter boat captained by Javier Cecena, took the daily wahoo jackpot with Indiana angler Randy Pruden’s 28.4-pound wahoo. Reel Slippery Lizard,a 43-foot Bertram captained by Jay Click, edged out the competition to win the daily tuna jackpot with a 130.8-pound fish for angler Jose Luis Yuen. Tenacious, a 65-foot Monterey captained by Gene Vanderhook, put owner angler Ron Tegland of California on a nice 52-pound dorado, taking the daily jackpot. All game-fish daily jackpot winners received $7,862.50. 

The second and final day of fishing was another postcard sunrise, with all 42 teams taking off at the 7:30 a.m. start. Minerva V got things going with the first sailfish release, followed by Tenacious releasing a black. This put Tenacious in the lead for the overall billfish release. It must have been déjà vu for Bandit when they hooked up another fat black marlin at 9:24 with angler Anthony Hseih back in the chair. Bandit successfully boated the fish at 9:45 and continued to fish until lines out. Wildcatter, a 68 Hatteras owned by John Martin and captained by Enrique Villanueva, got a striped marlin release for angler Brian Martin at 10:18. Tenacious released their second fish of the day at 12:15, giving them four releases in the tournament. But Wildcatter poured it on, releasing a total of five billfish for the day, which earned them the daily release jackpot, worth $7,125. The five releases were also enough for Wildcatter to edge out Tenacious for the overall release prize of $21,000. Bill Collector,a 35-foot Cabo captained by Julio Gonzalez, also had a great day, releasing two striped marlin and boating a 32.5-pound wahoo-jackpot-winning fish for angler Mark Chiavetta. Hang Em High, a 58-foot Miller captained by Emilio Villarreal, snagged a nice 39.3-pound dorado for angler owner Chip Wagner of Texas, winning them the daily pot. Last year’s winner, Karma, a 35-foot Cabo captained by Gilberto Castro, hooked into something large for angler Steve Spina at 11:36 but didn’t know what it was until the yellowfin tuna was boated at 12:14p.m. Back at the dock Karma’s fish tipped the scales at a tournament-record 336 pounds, winning them the daily game-fish jackpot of $7,862.50 for the day. Now Bandit was back at the scales with a massive black marlin that weighed a tournament-record 550 pounds. Bandit broke out the broom and swept the team, largest marlin, daily marlin and overall largest marlin jackpots to win $420,875. Owner Corey Meyer graciously accepted the invitation to compete in the IGFA Offshore World Championship while his family listened to the awards on his BlackBerry. Capt. Tommy Neikirk of Bandit received the top-captain trophy and a gold piece from Vanmark Jewelry. Angler Anthony Hseih has now been on three wining teams in the 11-year history of the tournament, which is quite an accomplishment. Following the awards, Tom Hilton won the top raffle prize, consisting of a $7,500 Inmarsat Sailor 150 Fleet Broadband system provided by Mackay Communications. The banquet and awards festivities took place on the ocean-side terrace of Playa Grande Resort. Participants were treated to filet minion and lobster, complimentary Corona, an entertainment video and $20,000 of door and raffle prizes. The tournament committee thanks everyone involved and hopes to see you back next year for the tournament, Oct. 12-16, 2010. 

LOS CABOS BILLFISH TOURNAMENT 2008 FINAL RESULTS

An economical slump and two hurricanes threatening the area around Los Cabos didn’t deter the 53 teams competing in the 2008 Los Cabos Billfish Tournament, presented by the Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau, and held October 14-18 in Cabo San Lucas. These anglers were rewarded with what ended up being perfect weather and sea conditions for the 10th anniversary running of the tournament.

It was also a year that saw a few tournament records broken. During Saturday’s awards banquet, tournament director Dan Jacobs bestowed upon Team Karma a 35-Cabo Express, the largest check ever given to a LCBT team - $559,000 for their sweep of all of the billfish categories with their tournament-record-weight 415-pound black marlin.

The team - consisting of lucky angler Steve Spina, fishing with Captain Gilberto Castrol and fellow anglers Boyd DeCoito, Shane Obrien and Kerwin Masunaga - also earned an invitation to the IGFA Offshore World Championship, which is being held May 10-15 2009. Furthermore, captain Castrol also walked away with the Top Captain Award and a top-of-the-line Joseph Henry watch.

Other big winners honored included Team Summertime a 43-Cabo Convertible, with a 56.9-pound dorado; Team Hang Em High a 58 Miller, with a 44.5-pound wahoo; and Picante Express with a 181.1-pound tuna. Each of these wins earned these teams $11,883.33. Get Over It a 54 Bertram, also scored $40,500 in total winnings in the release categories with 22 billfish releases over the course of the tournament.

Conservation was on everyone’s mind Saturday, and during the awards banquet Dan Jacobs recognized the leading groups in attendance - The Billfish Foundation, La Fundacion para la Conservacion de los Picudos and the Los Cabos Hotel Association.  All organizations are still fighting Shark Norma/Nom 029, which allows unacceptable by-catch of billfish in commercial operations, and the Billfish Foundation also took the opportunity to present results from a recent economic impact study they sponsored that cites the $1.125-billion annually and 24,000 jobs the sport fishing industry brings to Los Cabos. To see the complete study go to www.billfish.org.
The Los Cabos Hotel Association and Marlin Magazine also took the opportunity to personally honor Luis Bulnes – owner of host resort Playa Grande, co founder of the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament and advocate of billfish conservation in Los Cabos. Bulnes is also President of Fundacion Picudos and has worked tirelessly to create conservation zones to protect sport fishing and the pelagic ecosystem.

Attendees at the awards banquet were treated to great food and drink provided by the Playa Grande Resort. There were many lucky anglers winning door prizes presented by the tournament’s sponsors, including Sony Marine , Furuno, Carter Chevrolet, IGY, Carey Chen, Mackay Communications,  Sea Recovery, Berkley, Melton Tackle, Transcabo, Corona, King Sailfish Mounts, Vanmark Jewelry, Ocean Waves, Marlin Masters, Pro Soft Pacific Trolling Gear, Cabo Chips, High Five Lures, Hiltons Real Time Navigator, Evade, Pelagic, Minerva’s Baja Tackle, Tropical Enterprises, Northern Lights, Pisces Sport Fishing, Mustad, Mold Craft, Todd’s Rigs & Lures, Tormenter, Marlin Magazine and Sport Fishing Magazine.

FINAL STANDINGS
HARD LUCK AWARD
Solmar 9 - Jorge Tejes        

MACKAY COMMUNICATIONS EARLY REGISTRATION
Hot Pursuit: First marlin release.  Wins Iridium hand held satellite communications system provided by Mackay Communications.
Mike Brown, Pete Boutiller, Ed Marshal, Pete Finocchiaro, John Palmieri, Michael Jones (Phoenix, AZ)
Summertime: Second marlin release. Wins Iridium hand held satellite communications system provided by Mackay Communications.
Paul Bender (Newport Beach, CA), Hernando Rodriguez (Cabo San Lucas), Chino Alucano (CSL), Martin Vigil (CSL), John Fujiwara (Las Vegas, NV), Marty Dufer (Huntington Beach CA)

TROPICAL ENTERPRISES TUNA/WAHOO/DORADO JACKPOT

DORADO
Summertime  - 56.9 pounds  - $11,883.33
Paul Bender, angler Hernando Gonzalez  
TOTAL WINNINGS SUMMERTIME  - $18,883.33

WAHOO
Hang Em High - 44.5 pounds - $11, 883.33
Capt. Ramon Agundez, angler Emilio Villarreal; teammates Chip Wagner, Ty Bragg, Austin Connely, Mike Smith (Texas) and mate Dago Agundez (CSL)

TUNA
Picante Express -181.1 pounds - $11,883.33
Captain Juan Bertin, angler Alex Khalil; teammates Oscar Daccarett, Pedro Casanova, Stephanie Miller, Anthony Brochon, Eduardo Gonzalez (CSL)

KING SAILFISH MOUNTS DAILY RELEASE JACKPOT
Day One with 16 releases and Day Two with three releases – Get Over It- $14,000
Day Three - Summertime with four releases - $7,000

BERKLEY MOST BILLFISH RELEASES
Get Over It with 22 releases - $26,500
Capt. Jobe Villavicencio (CSL), James Andrews (GA), Edgar Chong, Pedro Orozco (CSL)

TOTAL WINNINGS FOR GET OVER IT - $40,500

LOS CABOS TEAM DIVISIONS

FURUNO FIRST PLACE TEAM - $66,250
SEA RECOVERY BIGGEST BLACK MARLIN - $26,500
CARTER CHEVROLET DAILY MARLIN JACKPOTS - $287,750
PLAYA GRANDE WINNER TAKES ALL JACKPOT - $99,000

MELTON INTERNATIONAL TACKLE BIGGEST BLUE MARLIN –
$26,500 – rolls over to Black Marlin Prize
CABO CHIPS LARGEST STRIPED MARLIN
$13,250 - rolls over to Black Marlin Prize
SECOND and THIRD PLACE TEAM
 $26,500 and $13,250 - rolls to First Place Team

TOTAL WINNINGS FOR KARMA - $559,000
Capt. Gilberto Castrol (CSL) Angler on the black marlin - Steve Spina (Malibu, CA), anglers Boyd DeCoito (Kona HI), Shane Obrien (Kona, HI), Kerwin Masunaga (Honolulu, HI)

TOP CAPTAIN (Joseph Henry Watch) – Gilberto Castrol (CSL)

***

DAILY RECAP
Day One Sees Many Billfish Released
The party started off with Tuesday's Kickoff Gala and Captains Meeting, where anglers registered and enjoyed food and drinks provided by host resort Playa Grande Resort and Spa. Tournament Director Dan Jacobs briefed the anglers on the rules at the Captains Meeting and a few lucky participants went home with great raffle prizes including Carey Chen prints, Ocean Waves sunglasses, Sea Recovery lights, lures from Hi-5, Pacific Trolling Gear, Todd's and Tormentor, Pelagic gloves and great Furuno electronics.

Wednesday's 7:30 a.m. Bimini start saw clear skies and fair seas - great conditions for the fleet of anglers steaming past El Arco to compete in the tournament's first day of fishing.
Day One of fishing saw the fleet of 53 boats photograph and release a total of 61 billfish - consisting of 54 striped marlin, four blues and three sails.

Team Get Over It led the Berkley Overall Billfish Release category after Day One with 16 striped marlin releases, which is worth $26,500. Get Over It also landed the Day One Billfish Release Jackpot worth $7,000. Team Summertime also had a good day of fishing, releasing 15 stripeys.
Team Summertime took the lead in the Dorado Jackpot with a 56.9-pound mahi. That fish would end up winning the team $11,883. Team Mucho Loco landed the first contender for the Tuna Jackpot with a 76.4-pound tuna. No team weighed a qualifying wahoo on Day One.

No qualifying marlin was brought to the scales, so all daily marlin jackpots rolled over into Day Two.

Hot Pursuit and Summertime both won the Early Registration competition with a striped marlin release, earning them satellite phones from Mackay Communications.

Day Two Recap
Once again, no qualifying billfish were brought to the scales on Day Two of fishing in the 10th Anniversary Los Cabos Billfish Tournament. This now makes the tournament a one-day shootout in the most of the billfish divisions - setting the stage for a very exciting day of fishing on Friday, the third and last day of the competition.

The Day Two action for teams fishing in the Tropical Enterprises Tuna, Wahoo, Dorado Jackpot Division was another story. Team Hang 'Em High finally put a wahoo on the board with a 44.5-pound fish, while Picante Express brought a massive tuna to the scales that weighed in at an impressive 181.1 pounds! Summertime's 56.9-pound dorado from Day One still stood in that category after Day Two. Each winning species in the Tuna, Wahoo, Dorado division is worth $11,883.

Team Get Over It is still lead the Berkley Most Billfish Releases category with 19 releases overall, and the team's three Day Two releases also landed a win in the King Sailfish Mounts Daily Billfish Release Jackpot worth $7,000.

Karma Sweeps Billfish Categories with Day-Three Black
An unusual situation faced the anglers competing Friday in the 2008 Los Cabos Billfish Tournament - going into the third and final day of fishing, no qualifying billfish had been weighed. A single last-minute fish could easily sweep many of the tournament categories for an all-in team, and that is exactly what happened. Team Karma brought a 415-pound black marlin to the scales early in the day, and the largest black ever to be weighed in tournament history also earned Karma the largest-ever cash payout to a single team - $559,250!

Team Karma's sweep included all four levels of the Carter Chevrolet Daily Marlin Jackpots, the Playa Grande Winner Take All Marlin Jackpot, all three places in the Los Cabos Team Division, and, since no blue or striped marlin were ever weighed, all three species categories in the Big Fish Division.

In the release categories, Summertime took the King Sailfish Mounts Daily Release Jackpot for Day Three worth $7,000 with four releases while Get Over It put three more on the board to barely edge out Summertime and take the Berkley Most Billfish Releases award with 21 billfish released - an honor worth $26,500.

Nothing much changed in the Tropical Enterprises Tuna, Wahoo, Dorado Jackpot Division standings on Friday, with the three leading fish going into the final day of fishing carrying over to secure tournament wins. Summertime's 56.9-pound dorado, Hang 'Em High's 44.5-pound wahoo and the 181.1-pound tuna brought in by Picante Express on Day Two all earned those teams $11,883 each.