Bisbee’s Baja tournaments are well-known for drama. Still, the final day—and night—of the 2026 East Cape Offshore may have ratcheted it up just a notch. With 83 teams competing and $1.6 million dollars on the line, things can get a little tight. So it was only appropriate that suspense and excitement were on display at the scales Friday night.
Dave Auge and his team mates on Incantata got the ball rolling with a hefty yellowfin weighing 167.4 pounds. Capt. Oscar Verdugo coached Auge and two others to bring the fish in after a 45-minute fight on a 50W combo once it ate a live green jack. Incantata is a 37 Sea Hunter center console.
Next, ECO first-timer Raylie Gray took advantage of her invitation to fish with friends on the ModeloMen team. She caught a 37.9-pound dorado that would end up in third place in the division.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day,” she said. “Perfect weather, sunshine, calm. We were trolling a fluorescent orange lure and the fight took 10 minutes. It was my first big one and first ever in a tournament. It was pretty awesome. I’m afraid I’ve found a new habit.” As luck would have it, neither tuna or dorado would hold up for long.
Sean Feeney and his Don Julio team with Capt. Lucio Vargas would weigh a 184.6-pound yellowfin later Friday night to move into second place. Team No Que No and angler Gildardo Lucero would do the same with dorado, only their 41.6-pound bull would vault into first. These two game fish paved the way for the last two marlin entries., but not before Stella June made a serious run at a trifecta. Jakob Gonterman, Capt. Evan Salvay and the boys would weigh a 386-pound black marlin, just a little short of the top entries. Stella June still had an outstanding tournament with the winning tuna and fourth-place dorado.
Next to the scales at the Buena Vista Resort was Taylor Schuster of Texas, with Team Magic Touch, with Capt. Kim Manning at the helm.
“It was a very long three days of fishing, but we kept at it, stuck to the plan,” he explained. “I had a weird feeling it was going to happen and it did. This was a fish of a lifetime and words can’t explain exactly how I feel.”
This was the first time Schuster had fished a Bisbee’s tournament and he was able to do it with his son. His marlin ate a Andy Moyes medium plunger in green and black on 130 monofilament main line and 400-pound mono leader. The fight took an hour after the strike nine miles southeast of the lighthouse.
“We were back in the only place we could find substantial bait after three days of looking and it was our last hurrah,” Schuster added. “I was in the chair for an hour and I was exhausted in the end. I was so happy when the fish finally came up.”
When that Magic Touch fish was hoisted aloft, the scales read 675 pounds—the new tournament leader. And yet, the final outcome still wasn’t decided.
The veteran team Wild Hooker would have a final shot. With first place wins in the 2023 and 2024 ECO, the crowd of on-lookers knew there was still a chance of an upset. As angler Jean-Paul Michel and the other team members listened, the weight was announced at 451 pounds, good for third-place overall.
“We were hoping for the best, but we’re not bummed by getting bumped by that other fish. That was a real fish,” said Wild Hooker Captain Shane O’Brien. Wild Hooker’s marlin was fooled on a live bait over structure on an 80W Accurate reel and Suffix line.
“It was a pretty quick fight,” O’Brien added. “We gaffed it in 11 minutes and it created quite a ruckus at the side of the boat, but we got it done. Any time you can weigh one here, it’s special. We really like the ECO, spending the night on the boat, camping out. It’s a lot of fun and it’s cool how the tournament has grown in size and money. That’s great.”
With the Friday Night Showdown now in the books, the focus shifts to the laid-back awards banquet Saturday on the beach at sunset. Authentic Mexican cuisine, cold libations and friendly post-competition camaraderie await. Oh, and $1.6 million in cash prizes and trophies will be handed out also, in true Bisbee’s fashion.
Photos by Capt. Dan Jacobs, Bob Busby and Capt. Dave Lear
