The Latest Catch

Shortly after dinner Wayne Bisbee along with Trish and Clicerio Mercado assisted in the handing out of the Checks and trophies. After he took care of a few odds and ends including the “Early Bird drawing”. There were a total of 11 checks handed out in the following order. You can find the actual breakdowns for each award below the checks.

The radio remained remarkably quiet as those Teams searched for the right fish earning them the right to be on the Awards Stage on Saturday night.

The chatter on secret channels was all about the sea temps, which were in the high 80s. Many Teams elected to focus on the Gamefish Categories and Jackpots (Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna), while others chose to tackle Billfish in both Catch and Release Categories.  In the Release Category, all Billfish, including Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Spearfish, and larger Black and Blue Marlin required a minimum weight of 300 pounds. 

Bottom-line what Wayne dubbed the worst start ever evolved into one of the best single days in recent memory.

With a steady stream of all the species in the contest. Later after lines out at dinner Wayne, and Axel Valdez, the voice of “Radio Control” acknowledged it had been a memorable day at the scale.

Wayne was excited to welcome the 98 teams competing for approximately $1.8 million (U.S.).

Team Stella June’s 375-pound black marlin caught on the second day of the 3-day event held in the East Cape area earned the Team an enormous $1,286,385 payday at Saturday Nights 23rd East Cape Offshore Awards banquet held on the sand in front of the Buena Vista Oceanfront and Hot Springs Resort managed by the Valdez Family for the past 46 years.

Wanna be a millionaire? So did the ninety-seven teams still hoping to get in the hunt on the final day of the 23rd Annual Bisbee ECO! With the first two days of fishing behind them, a few awaiting the 7:30-am start were hoping to add to their successes.

Joe Musich aboard "Buena Fortuna" released a dorado 25 minutes after the flare gun went off – the first fish of the day. Hopefully, he would live up to the name of his boat, translated as "Good Fortune!"

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.

Ninety-seven boats crossed the starting line determinedly – with a plan. Although, admittedly, some looked like they had no "plan" in mind!

Some teams targeted a single species, billfish, dorado, or yellowfin tuna.

Those Teams targeting billfish complained that they found the dorado to be a nuisance. However, most billfish hooked did not meet the Tournament's minimum weight of 300-pounds, so they were released.