Jaselyn Berthelot is no big game newbie. The young lady angler has numerous marlin catches on her ledger with multiple wins in tournaments in her home Gulf waters. She made her Bisbee’s debut last year with her family team, Rising Sons, and Magnifico, a local Spencer 60 with Capt. Drake Sawyer at the helm. She won the daily jackpot on the last day of the Los Cabos Offshore, but came up a little short when weighing a marlin in the Black & Blue. This year she came back on a mission.
Teaming again with Magnifico, Berthelot released two blue marlin on the first day of fishing. On Thursday, Rising Sons/Magnifico vaulted into the lead with one day to go by topping the leaderboard with a 457-pound blue marlin (104 inches long lower jaw to tail fork by 60-inch girth). That catch propelled the team into a hefty first-place lead.
“We were live baiting a bonito in the Sea of Cortez,” Berthelot explained Thursday evening. “It was very calm with pretty nice seas. We didn’t see a lot of life, only a couple birds. But we got the right bite at the right time.”
Her fish, caught on 80-pound class tackle after a two-hour fight, didn’t give up easily.
“It jumped at the beginning, then went deep,” she recalled. “It looked similar to Gulf fish that I’ve caught so I knew it would be the one. When it stayed down for a while it was a little frustrating. But the crew made it happen and Capt. Drake was great to work with. The team kept cheering me on. I’ve fought fish for eight hours, so it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”
Team Rising Sons/Magnifico was still debating a game plan for Friday, the last day of fishing. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be scoreboard watching.
“We’re still waiting to see what will happen before the scales close tonight and will have all day tomorrow. I’ve been blessed to fish with this team and experience the Bisbee’s at this level.” Team Rising Sons/Magnifico is entered in the $10,000 and $20,000 daily jackpots, plus both optional release categories.
A couple other marlin were also weighed on Thursday. Team Magic Touch, a 54 Bertram, was the boat Harry Esterley was competing on when he hooked his blue marlin early in the morning. That fish would tip the scales at 344 pounds, good for third place at the present. Marismeña, a 52 Riviera from Acapulco and angler Juan Manuel Martin came up short with their fish, which was disqualified for failing to meet the minimum weight.
So heading into the final day of competition, it’s Rising Sons/Magnifico in first place, followed by Another Line and Magic Touch. Will Jaselyn and her crew hold on and rise to the center of the awards stage? Or will there be a last-effort heavier fish? The countdown is on for very high stakes, indeed. More than $7.4 million dollars worth, in fact.
Photo courtesy of Bert Merritt
