October 23, 2011 | Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico | Capt. Dave Lear

The smoke from the fireworks has long since evaporated and anglers are winging their way home. But as the 2011 Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament series draws to a close, all signs point to another successful season.

“It really has been a great year,” says Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee. “We started off with a fantastic event in July at the East Cape Offshore. Thanks to our wonderful hosts, the Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort, we had 61 boats and a new tournament record marlin brought to the scales. The Los Cabos Offshore was equally noteworthy. The teams–and the crowds–really enjoy seeing those big tuna and dorado come in.

“And then there’s the grande finale, the Black & Blue. What can I say other than an overall purse of $2.1 million-plus, a very respectable 409-pound marlin and second place taking home more than $1 million bucks? Booming fireworks is the only way to put an exclamation point on all that!”

“I really do want to thank all our great anglers and crews,” Bisbee added. “Without them none of this would be possible. I’d also like to sincerely thank our many fine sponsors. Baja Cantina feeds our large staff, Bahia Hotel and Beach Resort gave us a place to sleep and the beautiful Spirit of Two Thousand & Ten in association with Cabo Magic was our start boat each morning. Montauk Tackle Company supplied cool fishing shirts for the anglers and Costa Del Mar outfitted winners with polarized shades. West Coast Fishing supplied trips to Panama for the $10,000 jackpot winners and the top teams will smile whenever they look at their beautiful David Wirth trophies.”

“And I’d like to especially thank our presenting sponsor, Cabo Riviera Marina and Golf Resort, for its generous support throughout the year. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should check out this beautiful development located north of San Jose. When it opens next year it’ll feature more than 920 acres with big homesites and dockage, a world-class golf course, shopping and more than 2 miles of beautiful beach. It will really add a whole new dimension to the Baja experience.”

So with fond memories and millions of dollars in prize money awarded, the richest tournament series in the world wraps up another successful season. But it’s not too early to start making your plans for 2012. Somewhere off Los Arcos, the big fish will be waiting.