October 18, 2016 Wild Hooker Hangs The Biggest Marlin Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur: From its humble beginnings more than a decade ago as a simple get-together for alumni winners, the Bisbee Los Cabos Offshore Tournament, presented by Or-ca Coolers, has grown into a world-class event that showcases top angling skills and serious prize money. The 2016 edition, which concluded Sunday night, is a perfect example. A total of 108 teams competed for more than $772,000, with several teams earning impressive payouts for their fish. Angler Rick Daab and his veteran crew aboard Wild Hooker earned the biggest share of the overall pot after landing the largest marlin, a 450-pound black on Sunday. The team is splitting $263,951 for the top tournament entry and all three Day 2 optional billfish jackpots. Mike Maier and his Go Naked Team kept their clothes on and whipped a 391-pound blue on Saturday to capture second-place tournament and optional jackpot categories. Theyll be well-dressed now, after receiving a check for $235,034. Team NiceRide and angler Deno Merziotis won $8,505 after landing the third-heaviest marlin, a 366-pound blue. The two game fish categories”tuna and dorado”proved lucrative as well. Fran-cisco Rochin and his Sea Fever team mates are sharing a tournament record payout in the dorado division when the prize money rolled over with no qualifiers on Saturday. The team 32.4-pound dorado, just 2.4 pounds over the minimum weight, was worth a whopping $93,230. Brian Parker and the Sin Duda crew waited until the last moment to weigh their fish Sunday night, but good things came from it. The 283-pound yellowfin paid out $57,955 for the overall heaviest tuna and Sunday daily prize money. North Star (with James Rosenwald on the rod) is taking home $35,275 for landing Sat-urday top yellowfin, a 224-pounder. In the tight Release Division, Sea Angel emerged triumphant after releasing four blues and one striped marlin, good for 1,300 points. That effort won the Texas family team $50,830 in prize money. Team Galati won second-place release honors and $17,595, while Pocket Aces rounded out the standings, good for $9,775. The high number of juvenile blue marlin encountered by the fleet will cer-tainly pique release competition in this week Black & Blue. The less-fortunate children of the Los Cabos region were benefactors as well. Thousands of pounds of the weighed fish were donated to the Feeding Los Cabos Kids charity, which provides high-protein meals through support centers in the local barrios. What an awesome warm-up, said Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee after the conclusion of Sunday awards banquet at the Maria Corona Restaurant. Im just blown away by how much this event has grown over these past few years in the number of boats and prize money. Weve come a long way in a few short years. Of course, none of that would be possible without the support of our great sponsors and all the skilled teams that fish it. There were some impressive fish caught and really good action. If that trend continues, the Black & Blue is gonna be epic. The LCO is part of a series of three Bisbee events in Baja California Sur. The East Cape Offshore, with a similar billfish/game fish format, is held every summer at the Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort. The Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot Tournament, the richest fishing event in the world, starts Tuesday, October 18, in Cabo San Lucas. The B&B is limited to black and blue marlin only, with well over 100 international teams expected to compete for millions in prize money.
Winning Tuna- photo credit Capt. Dave Lear
