Bisbee's News

The sun was already rising as Bisbee East Cape Offshore Teams gathered on the beach before boarding their boats. Anglers, captains, and crew pondered their options. Should they head north, south, or straight out? The largest group chose to follow the coastline north toward Los Muertos, while others headed farther offshore, and a handful headed south in search of a qualifying billfish.

Tournament Radio Control's Axel Valdez observed that Thursday had been much more active as some boats found the dolphin, having had the patience to wait for a 30-pound qualifier.

However, to put the "catches" in context, on Wednesday, eight qualifying dolphin weighed an average of 38 pounds, and nine weighed an average of 41 pounds on Thursday. 

The Teams total catch each day increased from 57 overall on day one to 89 on day two.

Team  Altamar angler Roberto Osmar Garcia Formestic captured a Dolphin weighing 54.7-pounds earning them a 1st Place Day 2 $34,850 daily jackpot.

The good news was that all category species were accounted for by the time the scale closed on Thursday!

Long after lines out, Team Stella June arrived with a black marlin that was the first qualifying billfish to be brought to the scale during the first two days of competition. The usual debate, "Would it qualify?" ricocheted through the enormous crowd of spectators. The noisy debate continued as the scale was zeroed, and the giant fish was hoisted up. Seconds went by as the numbers settled on the scale and stopped. "THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE POUNDS," Wayne Bisbee declared.

The Stella June crew and anglers rejoiced as everyone congratulated Hugo Pina, the angler who caught the winning fish. Pina hooked the fish at 4:24-p.m. and, remarkably, landed it less than an hour later.

The final fish of the day to be weighed in was Team Crudo, which was the first yellowfin tuna of the event. Much to the delight of the spectators and Bisbee Weigh Station Team, the tuna weighed 43.10 pounds – well over the qualifying weight, guarding them a trip to the stage at the Awards dinner on Saturday Night.

The final day's start went off without a hitch as Bisbee fired the flare gun, sending the ECO Fleet off in search of a winning fish. As a side note: Thursday's action had convinced a sizable portion of the fleet to go south.

When I quizzed John Dominic, Team Sirena, who favors the area down south, he replied, "There were only three boats there, and Stella June found the winner."

Top Tournament Team - Billfish

Rank Team Angler         Species        Points

1        Stella June Hugo Pino Black Marlin        375

2        La Buena Vida     Jason Poch Blue Marlin          -101

3        Tiger Spirit           Gilberto Castro    Blue Marlin          -131

4        La Michelada       Juan Antonio Arredondo Arredondo          Blue Marlin          -215

5        Bajas Bad Influence      Jorge Lazo de la Vega   Blue Marlin          -279

 Heaviest Tuna

Rank Team Angler         Species        Points

1        Team Crudo         Emanuel Bernal  Yellowfin Tuna    43.1

 Heaviest Dorado

Rank Team Angler         Species        Points

1        Altamar      Roberto Omar Garcia Formestic     Dolphin                54.7

2        Tiger Spirit           Gilberto Castro    Dolphin                52.5

3        Macana       Luis Matinez        Dolphin                49.5

4        Rusty Hookers     Richard Bennett  Dolphin                46.5

5        Team Private Reserve   CHRIS THOMPSON     Dolphin                43.7

6        Navima Marlin Hunters         Mauricio Martinez        Dolphin                    42.2

7        TRAUMA    Larry Wilson        Dolphin      41.6

8        Los aferrados       Enrique Sanchez Dolphin                41.5

9        Reel Gold   Murray Wright    Dolphin                41.3

10      Let's Go      TJ Jaworsky         Dolphin                41.

Points

11       Reel Quest  Zach Loth   Dolphin      41

12      ARDOR       Todd Berardi       Dolphin      40.4

13      Los Lobos   David Brilhante   Dolphin      40.2

14      Let's Go      Tom McLaughlin Dolphin      39.1

15      Freebird      David Blackbird   Dolphin      38.2

16      Encantada Patrick Hoppe      Dolphin      38

17      Sea Monkey          Jeff Mathews       Dolphin      36.8

18      Juanpi        Miguel Abaroa     Dolphin      32