There were lots of fish brought in to the scales and the final results are in and . It has been a very exciting and successful tournament.
The tournament started out on both a good and a bad note. Day one fish count was the highest number of Marlin brought to the scales in the 30 year history of the tournament. There were 10 big Marlin weighed during the day, three were big Blue Marlin and the rest big Black Marlin. It was a great day for the tournament.
Now, to the bad. Well it wasn’t really bad just a little bad luck. The first bit of disappointment was for Amanda Thompson aboard the Dog House, when her Blue Marlin tipped the scales at 297. That was under the minimum 300 lb. weight. She was penalized 31 points. It was a big disappointment for her. Then the whammy hit Great Escape as it took 5 ½ hours to land and boat a big Blue Marlin. They were rushing to get back in before the 9 PM dead line. Well, they didn’t make it. They were less than 10 minutes late, but a rule is a rule. But the biggest disappointment was when they weighed the fish. It tipped the scale at 800 lbs. That was one Big Blue Marlin!! Carl Riley and his team aboard Great Escape, a 40-foot Cabo, did their best, but the fish had become tail wrapped and died. That made it just a little too difficult for Carl to rush it in. So they missed being the tournament winners. That made the big Black Marlin, weighing 599 lbs. that Jose Almanza and Team Reelaxe landed the day 1 winner. John Stonecipher, fishing aboard Rehab, a 35-foot Cabo yacht and part of the Picante Sportfishing Fleet, was in second with another Black Marlin at 560 pounds, followed by Buzz Colton (C-Bandit) with a 549 lb. Black Marlin. Total jackpots for the day totaled $539,155.00. The big winner for the day was C-Bandit with their 549 lb. Black Marlin. They had entered a couple of good jackpots which netted them $282,299.00.
Then along came day 2. Only 4 marlin were weighed. The Great Escape came to the scale first to get their first legal fish, a 430 lb. Blue Marlin brought in by angler, John Sellers. This time they were having some good luck. Then Dream Weaver angler, John Boratto, landed a Black Marlin of 484.0 lbs. And the third place fish was a 426 lb. Blue Marlin brought in by Chuck Grieger onboard Sporty Game. Again the daily jackpots totaled $539,155.00. Dreamweaver’s fish netted John Boratto, and his 10 Brothers Fishing Team, a cool $411,655.00. The Sporty Games’ Chuck Grieger and team picked up their pot to the tune of $127,500.00.
Day 3, the final chance to score big, had finally arrived. This is when John Stonecipher and his team aboard the Rehab changed tactics and scored. Most boats were fishing out on the Gordo Banks where the big marlin had been hanging out. Well, John, along with his lifelong buddy, Captain Mike Hennessy, from Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii, decided to fish closer to home. They went out about “3 miles off land’s end” in “maybe 80 fathoms,” according to John. Well it paid off as they landed a 347 lb Black Marlin. That put them in 1st place overall. Then at the end of the day, the team on the Fisherman brought in a marlin hoping to get in the money. They weighed their Black Marlin in at a disappointing 292 lbs. They were penalized 41 points and lost their chance for another top place finish. So John Stonecipher and his Rehab Team took home $129,455.00 for the day. A couple of the jackpots weren’t entered, so the jackpots rolled over to previous days. C-Bandit took home $282,200.00 in jackpot money. And Tiger Spirit took home $127,500.00.
There were lots of fish brought in to the scales and the final results are in and . It has been a very exciting and successful tournament. Now to the overall standings announced at the tournament banquet.
3rd place in the Release Division was Mobius with winnings of $7,278.13. 2nd place in the Release Division was Auriga with winnings of $13,100.63. And the 1st place winner in the Release Division was El Lobo, with prize money totaling $37,846.25.
Right as I am writing Wayne Bisbee is announcing the overall winners. Here they are, in 5th place, the KW Karma, from the Picante Sportfishing Fleet, with winnings of $6,180. 4th place is the team on the Dream Weaver with winnings totaling $430,237.50. 3rd place is C-Bandit, overall netting $614,612.50. 2nd place was the team from Reelaxe, whose total winnings were $176,530.
And the 1st place winner of the 2010 Bisbee’s Black and Blue Marlin Tournament is the Rehab, of the Picante Sportfishing fleet, consisting of John Stonecipher, John Stonecipher Jr., Captain Mike Hennessy, Bill Donahue, and Mike Meridith. With two Black Marlin totaling 907 points, their total cash winnings were $254,905.
Besides the prizes and great angling, we had some other firsts. This was the first year that there was mandatory use of non offset circle hooks with all natural baits. The circle hook requirement helps to alleviate the problem with gut hooking and thus fish can be released with little harm.
And this year the Bisbee’s Black and Blue Marlin Tournaments, www.bisbees.com, partnered with Offshore Live Broadcasting, http://www.offshorelivebroadcasting.com , Picante Sportfishing, www.picantesportfishing.com, and Baja Cantina, http://www.bajacantina.com.mx/ to provide a technology first. Using satellite tracking technology and live video feeds will lead to the offshore Sportfishing fans being able to watch live video, just as it is being done in Auto and Motorcycle racing. Each boat is outfitted with a transponder for safety purposes and rule enforcement. The boat's position will be displayed on the fishing grid so family members and friends can follow the action. One boat, Team Baja Cantina/Picante, will also be carrying a cameraman. The action and excitement from the cockpit will be uplinked to a satellite and broadcast live over the internet. The scene at the scales will also be streaming live as fish are weighed. Click on direct links on bisbees.com or CatchStats.com to follow all the action. So this year has become another record setting year. Record numbers of fish, lots of winnings, totaling $1,933,190.00, and first time live broadcast streaming of a big game fishing tournament, the Bisbee’s Black and Blue Marlin Tournament.
Congratulations to all the fishermen and winners for making the tournament a success. And, of course, congratulation to the organizers of the Bisbee's Black and Blue Marlin Tournament for organizing another successful event.
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