Bisbee's News

In 2006, the largest single payout in sport fishing history was awarded to Anthony Hsieh's Team Bad Company during the Bisbee Black & Blue Tournament in Cabo San Lucas for a record tournament paycheck of $3,902,997. The overall payout that year was $4,165,960.

Seventeen years later, in 2023, the Bisbee Black and Blue has a history-making payout of $9 Million combined with $2 Million for their LCO, and with the 211 Teams in contention, it has been quite a history-making tournament or tournaments. More to follow.

Jakob Gonterman, an angler on Team Stella June, hooked a Black Marlin and landed it on Thursday, Day One at 3:00 p.m. It was the first fish to come to the scale during the Tournament. On Saturday night, the Tournament Awards presented the Team with a check in the amount of $4.4 Million, exceeding that of the $3.9 record of "Bad Company" in 2006. This check is the largest written in the history of the Bisbee tournaments.  

The remainder of the Team consisted of anglers Joshua Crocker, Jazz Moorhead, Francisco Ruiz, Evan Salvay, Ivan Van Ortwick, and Captain Darian Silva from California.

Not to be outdone, Team Rocky Mountain Hooker's Trevor Evans hooked a 501-pound Blue Marlin and boated it at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, Day Two, capturing the Team honors for the largest fish, as well as for the Tournament, earning them a check for $3.9 Million.

Other team members included Omar Luviano, Captain Ivan Arredondo Mate, and anglers Bobby Evans, Logan Evans, Trevor Evans, Wesley McDaniel, and Grant Morgan. 

And this was all managed with an extremely short fuse. Hurricane Norma rolled into Cabo San Lucas just as the Bisbee Team and their partners implemented the final adjustments for their extraordinary innovations to the 21^st Los Cabos Offshore Tournament and the 43^rd Black & Blue. Norma was the worst Hurricane to hit the peninsula since Odile on September 13, 2014. The boats were already in the Harbor, and teams were ready to register for the event.

Storm warnings ricocheted across the internet, and despite their multi-million-dollar boats possibly being in harm's way, Captains and owners opted to remain as participants. They hastily moved their boats north to La Paz or headed to Magdalena Bay, while a few stayed in Cabo San Lucas to ride out the Hurricane. The Bisbee staff was awed by the reception and loyalty of the fleet of anglers as they hung in, eager to be part of the shorter tournaments.

Because of Mother Nature's curve ball and the Bisbee family's 43 years of experience in successful tournament production, they devised combining the two tournaments into one successful one, thereby producing two major sportfishing events simultaneously. The shortened Tournament was born of necessity, and only the Bisbee family could have pulled it off with such style.

Congratulations to the Bisbee’s for their accomplishment – a feat unheard of in the past.                                                                  

Throughout the morning until mid-afternoon, the "Gamefish Division" of Los Cabos Offshore delivered the most action for the Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado, along with a few released Blue Marlin in the Release Division.

Jakob Gonterman hooked the Black Marlin on bait and landed it in approximately one hour at about 3:00 p.m. It was the first fish to come to the scale on Thursday. During the weigh-in, Wayne Bisbee observed that he was delighted because it meant he would not have to write refund checks.

First-time entry, Team C-Student (LCO), with Day Two, 50.2-pound Dorado caught by Ian Megarity Daily, which was Top Tournament and Day Two largest Dorado, earning them $73,380.

Their Team included anglers: Keely Megarity from Houston, Texas: Mario Bacelis, Ken Blackman, Stan Blackman, Craig Bunk, Foley Bunk, Denise Megarity, Hunter Megarity, Ian Megarity and Connor Riley.

Two hundred and Eleven Teams emphasized the effects of "Norma." The boats' wakes left trails both to the left and right, indicating that there were not any preferred hotspots.

Throughout the morning until mid-afternoon, the "Gamefish Division" of Los Cabos Offshore delivered the most action for the Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado, along with a few released Blue Marlin in the Release Division.

It was more of the same on Friday, Day Two, with the LCO Gamefish Division providing most of the excitement. 

Aboard the North Star, the largest Tuna on the first day, Thursday, weighed 93.8 pounds, and on Friday, another Tuna weighed 231 pounds, also caught by Juan Guillermo Amado.

First-time entry, Team C-Student (LCO), with Day Two, 50.2-pound Dorado caught by Ian Megarity Daily, which was Top Tournament and Day Two largest Dorado, earning them $73,380.

Their Team included anglers: Keely Megarity from Houston, Texas: Mario Bacelis, Ken Blackman, Stan Blackman, Craig Bunk, Foley Bunk, Denise Megarity, Hunter Megarity, Ian Megarity and Connor Riley.

Throughout the event, Baja Vida's live-streamed video was taken from their two boats, selected Team Boats with the necessary cameras, their helicopter, and posted on their YouTube channels and Bisbee's for public entertainment. Introduced by Baja Vida, the exceptionally popular innovation was dubbed AIR, LAND, and SEA and was live-streamed video throughout the Tournament. 

Footage of Teams at the Start Line was mesmerizing, as were Teams maneuvering their boats and fighting their fish. While other cameras provided live footage at the scale, as the Teams weighed in their catch, all was a unique introduction for the public to a technology never seen by the Bisbee spectators.

The "Air, Land, and Sea" live stream on Bisbee's "YouTube" is outstanding! You will not want to miss it.

https://youtu.be/HhnCprY5mfQ