Even though the first day of fishing saw a steady billfish bite, it was tuna that shined under the weigh scale gantry Wednesday evening. Alex Moherek, of Marathon, Florida, was competing with his dad Emil aboard a local Cabo charter boat when he hooked a hefty yellowfin on a light combo with a blue runner for bait. The fight took 40 minutes and that catch turned out to be the top fish of the day. The weight was 102.3 pounds.
“We were fishing the Pacific side and conditions were favorable,” Moherek said afterwards. “There wasn’t any swell. We ran away from the storm and were trolling in open water when the fish hit. I didn’t see the sonar since I was down on the deck the whole time.” The father and son team have fished the LCO for several years together and this is the second year with the same crew.
“I love everything about this tournament,” he adds. “The camaraderie, the fishing style, the chance to put our names on the fishing map. It’s all good stuff. Tomorrow we’ll keep trying for game fish and marlin in between, whatever bites the hook.” Team Moherek is entered in the game fish jackpots.
Angler Darren Jacobs on Gotta Go also put a nice tuna on the dock. It tipped the scales at 99.1 pounds. Richard Bajakian (Geri Lyn) weighed a 82.3 tuna, followed by Mike Coulter (Five More Minutes) at 77.8 and Steve Davis (Prime Time) with a 73.8-pounder.
Only one marlin was weighed on Wednesday, a blue. It was disqualified for not meeting the minimum required threshold of 300 pounds, however. The 122-boat fleet tallied 13 blue marlin, two blacks, 31 striped marlin and 23 sailfish for the first day of competition. A total of 20 yellowfin tuna were caught; no dorado were boated.
Capt. Nicholas Froelich and his team aboard Linda Gale, an 82 Viking based in Sarasota, Florida, was the top release boat for the day, earning 925 points overall. Linda Gale released two blues Wednesday morning and added the third and a sailfish later that afternoon. El Suertudo was in second place with 625 points, followed by Santana with 325.
Under the tournament scoring format, a successful blue or black marlin release scores 300 points each. Striped marlin, sailfish and spearfish release score 25 points apiece. All releases must be verified by video in terms of species and qualification.
Hurricane Simon was on the distant horizon well south of Cabo San Lucas and the local port captain has the discretion as to when to close the port for safety reasons. The weather outlook had improved considerably by Wednesday evening though.
“We’re fishing again Thursday,” said Capt. Dan Jacobs, Bisbee’s general manager. “It looks like the storm is winding down and the winds are dissipating. Everything is looking good and we have a green light from the port captain.”
Fishing resumes at 7 am Thursday. Will Simone push a trophy blue or black marlin north into the fleet’s range? Will a chunky dorado make its way to the scales? With nearly $2.4 million in prize money at stake, you can bet every team is hoping those possibilities come true.
Photos courtesy of Sebastian Harris and Capt. Dan Jacobs
