October 21, 2009 — by Dave Lear
Basking in the warm Mexican sun under clear blue skies, anglers and crews spent today making final preparations for the 29th Annual Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin  Jackpot Tournament. The richest billfishing contest in the world kicks off tomorrow after a one-day delay due to hurricane Rick.
“It’s going to be a great tournament,” says founder Bob Bisbee. “After the storm we never had, the weather has turned great and we’ll see some big fish caught in these conditions. Black marlin always seem to bite better after a blow.
“I knew Rick was going to diminish, but nobody listens to me,” he added. “These systems always turn and weaken after they hit that cold water off the Socorro Islands, about 250 miles south.”
Owner/skipper Hakan Wiberg, of Manhattan Beach, California, is definitely ready for the competition to start. Wiberg spent the day getting Lazaro, his 58-foot Ocean, ready for action. The sixth-time participant has already formulated his game plan for tomorrow.
“We’re going offshore to look for clear water and bait,” he says. “I like to fish a mix between live bait and lures, so we’ll see what happens. We’ll concentrate on finding that one big fish. There are many great teams here, but it’s going to come down to who’s lucky.”
Captain Steve Geary, who’s coming off a second-place finish in the billfish division in the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Tournament last week, will be strictly live bait fishing. Geary runs Spartacus at Sea, A 60-foot Hatteras. Owner Gary Sumner of Prescott, Arizona, will be one of the anglers.
“Making bait hasn’t been the problem,” Geary explains. “There’s been a ton of bait around. You just need to be in the right place at the right time and keep those baits in the zone. You can’t make the fish eat.”
When the scales open tomorrow at the Plaza Puerto Paraiso in downtown Cabo San Lucas, we’ll find out which one of the 90+ boats was in the right spot and who was lucky.
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