The Latest Catch

Saturday night was the welcomed finish line for the 120 teams that had fished their hearts out during Cabo’s Black & Blue Tournament.

“Seven qualifiers in one day alone is electrifying; two on one boat and two different species is unusual, plus a last-minute hookup sure made the hump day of the richest tournament on the planet one for the books,” Bisbee marveled.

By the time the final team had submitted their paper work and paid their entry fees, there were 120 teams registered and the cash prizes totaled $3,211,825 which was higher than it had been in 2016.

 All 10 Brothers cheered-on the weigh station crew as they struggled to hoist the second fish. “Hey, we want a new Ten Brothers record” laughed one as the fish slowly settled on the rope. “Three-two-one- let’s have the weight,” begged one brother. Then, the weighmaster drawled out the official weight of 485 pounds!

There were 671 anglers and crews consisting of 114 teams who competed in the 19th Annual Los Cabos Offshore Tournament held October 19 - 22 in Cabo San Lucas and the winners carried home $823,500 in prize money.  To quote Wayne Bisbee, “The “Los Cabos Offshore” can’t be called the “Baby Bisbee” any longer … it’s all grown up!” 

Today is the beginning of the final Bisbee tournament of the season, the 37th Annual Bisbee Black and Blue, October 24-28. This event primarily targets black and blue marlin weighing a minimum of 300 pounds to qualify. All other species, including striped marlin, sailfish and spearfish, are released with special prizes for the top release teams. The Black and Blue also features a special Saturday night Award celebration with Auction, Raffle, and David Pack's "Legends Live" Charity Benefit Concert.

This year

As the committee boat idled toward the rising sun, Wayne Bisbee mused, “Looks like we are going to have great weather for the tournament; the 114 teams should be pleased.” His comment was an understatement! The first day’s fishing was a show stopper with three qualifying billfish and one yellowfin tuna brought to the scales by closing time.

Pandemonium broke out at the scale as spectators, photographers and staff all jostled for a better view of the fish. When the fish had settled on the scale, with gusto, weighmaster Jack Teschel bellowed out the weight at 574-pounds, verifying that this “Hail Mary” turned out to be the largest fish of the 2017 Bisbee Los Cabos Offshore Tournament.

He concluded by updating the final tally to 114 teams with 626 participants competing for $822,450 in cash prizes. “If you had asked me thirty days ago, I never would’ve thunk it!”  He grinned.