A Hollywood screenwriter couldn’t have crafted it any better. An avid angler who had always wanted to compete in a Bisbee’s tournament catches the winning marlin in the afternoon of the last day and helps his team to a first-place win while his young son cheers him on. The 82 teams competing in this year’s tournament were angling for $1.6 million in prize money. HDI Marine is the ECO Presenting Sponsor.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to Taylor Schuster and Magic Touch in the 2026 East Cape Offshore. Schuster’s blue tipped the scales at 675 pounds to earn the team a payout of $278,379. Magic Touch, a 54 Bertram based in Cabo San Lucas, is run by Capt. Kim Manning with mate Richard Roudstell. The other team anglers were Ronald Weisfeld, Ken Eberle and Joy Badger. The winning fish measured 120 inches long (lower jaw fork length) with a 66-inch girth. It was caught on a trolled Andy Moyes green and black medium plunger lure. Magic Touch is also coming off a first-place win in the 2025 Bisbee’s Black & Blue.
Sneak Attack was the second-place team overall, thanks to a black marlin weighing 488 pounds. Angler Lukas Huberman, Capt. Vicente Bojorquez and the team takes home the biggest consolation prize of $411,223 with optional jackpot winnings. Sneak Attack is a 65 American Custom Yacht also based in Cabo.
Wild Hooker also made a last-day charge only to come up a little short. Jean-Paul Michel, Capt. Shane O’Brien and the team on the 68 Blackwell weighed a 451-pound black marlin for a third-day finish and $161,257 in winnings. Angler Jim Arthaud and his team on Second Wind, a 64 Bertram with Capt. TJ Dobson, are taking home $399,600 in optional entry money after weighing a 433-pound black on the first day.
Stella June (Jakob Gonterman/386 black), Sea Angel (Austin Angel/366 black) and Bend Bandits (Andrew Anderson/363 blue) also weighed eligible marlin. Blue and black marlin must be 300 pounds or heavier to qualify.
In the close Release Division competition, Estrella Kahe came out on top. Captain Jorge Adrian Martinez Geraldo and his team won $158,100 after releasing nine blue marlin for top team honors. Stella June boated the heaviest tuna (Franciso Ruiz/192.0 yellowfin), while NO QUE NO registered the top dorado (Gildardo Lucero/41.6). Both of those fish paid $43,995 with daily jackpots. Bendito Mar (Joel Hirales Ailes/38), Reel Talent 250 (Luis Zumaeta/36.6), Team Too Awesome (Matt Minor/160.8) and Don Julio (Sean Feeney/180.6) all earned payouts of $26,775 for dorado and tuna daily game fish jackpots.
The fleet of 82 teams tallied 61 blue marlin, 10 blacks, 48 striped marlin and 39 sailfish. Twenty-two yellowfin tuna and 10 dorado were weighed during the 2026 ECO.
“What another fantastic week,” said Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee. “Thank goodness we had cooler weather,” he added with a laugh. “We dodged the storm, had some quality fish come to the scales and last day drama. Muchas gracias to our Presenting Sponsor HDI Marine, our host Buena Vista Resort and all our teams for fishing with us. We look forward to seeing everyone again in October.”
The next legs of the Bisbee’s Baja Series will be the Los Cabos Offshore, October 13-17, followed by the Black & Blue October 20-24. Both tournaments are held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Photos by Capt. Dan Jacobs
