InTheBite

Capt. Ronnie Riebe and the HT Hook

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Photo courtesy ©Los Sueños Resort and Marina • Photographer: PepperAilor

Capt. Ronnie Riebe Scandalous (fishing on HT Hook)

Homeport: Jupiter, Florida
Boat: 2015 62’ Viking
Power: C32 Caterpillars/1925 per side
Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, Leg 1, 1st Place, 500 Pts.

Capt. Ronnie Riebe had not planned to fish in the 2020 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown. But when he got a call the Wednesday before the tournament saying the crew of the Scandalous needed a boat, he knew what was going to happen.

It’s this kind of situation that makes the HT Hook an outlier in the fishing world. While the boat’s owner, Harry Shufflebarger, may not fish tournaments anymore, Riebe says he always tries to keep the boat available for a team in need of a boat and a captain. The HT Hook, is named for the boss, a man who was known as “Harry the Hook” for many years.

That was how at the start of Leg I, Riebe—who has worked for the Shufflebarger family for almost 21 years—along with his first mate, Wailyn Vargas, and second mate, Jacob Provo, combined with the Scandalous team, took to the water.

“I have to give credit to the crew, it was a team effort and for never fishing together before and on such short notice, we all just came together,” Riebe says. “Everyone worked so well together, I was really impressed. It almost felt like we’d been fishing together for years.”

Along with Wailyn, who has been fishing with Riebe for 10-plus years, and Provo, who started fishing with him last January, the Scandalous team included Capt. Brian Shepard, anglers Rusty Little, Bradley Goodrich, Alan Latham, Keith Henry, Randy Gregory, and Corbin Plumlee.

Photo courtesy ©Los Sueños Resort and Marina • Photographer: PepperAilor

Three or four guys were on binoculars, spotting boats, watching for birds and making sure they knew exactly where everyone was. When they tried out an area where there had been a marlin bite, the pace picked up. The team went 9 for 9 on marlin and according to Riebe, “had the right bites and made them count.”

The hybrid team’s total of 5200 points—seven sailfish and nine marlin releases—was good enough to take Leg 1.“At the very end, we knew that we were only one marlin out of winning the daily and then here comes this striped marlin,” Riebe says. “We fed the fish and were like ‘holy cow’ when we realized we had a shot of sweeping it and that was pretty special.”

As a captain, Riebe says his approach to tournaments comes down to tapping into all your resources. From talking to other captains and to trying different areas, to simply burning up fuel to find the right spot to settle in, Riebe uses all available information and tactics come tournament time. “Make all your shots count,” Riebe says.

When it comes to marlin, Riebe favors ballyhoos for hook baits, mullets for dredges and the occasional mackerel or bonita, depending on the size or species of the marlin.

And what’s next for Riebe and the HT Hook? At the moment it could be anything. The original plan was to continue fishing with the Scandalous team in Leg 3 of the Triple Crown, however, because of the coronavirus outbreak, the tournament was canceled. In the meantime, Riebe and the HT Hook will fish the blue marlin in Los Sueños and be ready to head out if there’s another team in need.

“We’ve just been trying to help out all the boats, we’re here to give them a hand if needed,” Riebe says. “We’ll just have to see what happens and try to help if a team’s boat breaks down. We want to help people out and try to contribute to the industry however we can.”

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Jaruco, 90′ Jarrett Bay Boatworks: A Day in the Life

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The Jaruco crew (L to R), Chase Edwards, Newt Cagle, Dale Wills, Edward Barr, Kieran Pullman, Lotte Doherty and Captain James Brown. “I’d like to give a big thanks to the entire Jaruco team for hosting me during Leg 1 of the Los Sueños Signature Series in Costa Rica. The max effort of the crew and fishing on a one-of-a-kind 90-foot rocket ship blew me away. It was truly a privilege to be a part of the team,” says InTheBite Publisher, Dale Wills.

The Jaruco crew in continuous communication throughout the day. (L to R) Newt Cagle, Kieran Pullman and Edward Barr.

Surprise! Stewardess Lotte brings out a birthday cake for angler Jim McGrath (Grand Slam Tackle) as the Jaruco runs between fishing spots.

Deckhand Chase Edwards prepares the mud flaps for duty.

Marine artist Steve Goione’s line runnith over.

All smiles, stewardess Lotte delivers the mid-morning snack.

Deckhand Edward Barr serves up the Zman HeroZ 10˝ jerkbait dredge in green lantern color. “We have caught around 600 fish over the dredge, and the baits are incredibly tough,” says Barr.

Capt. James Brown, commander-in-chief.

John Riggs (right) of Riggs Yacht Sales & Capt. Dale Wills of InTheBite keep the team on a positive vibe.

© Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

Team Galati Wins Leg II of Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown

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Los Sueños Resort and Marina — The second leg of the seventh annual Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented jointly by Los Sueños Resort and Marina and Chantilly Air, was held at Los Sueños February 26-29, 2020. Forty one team comprised of two hundred two individual anglers worked through the heat and the adrenaline of competition to release a three-day combined total of 870 billfish, including 703 sails and 67 marlin.

DAY 1

The tournament kicked off with a sailfish release by Shoe eight minutes after lines in was called at 8:00 am. Gallo Pinto took an early lead with a marlin release at 8:24 am, but HT Hook moved into first at 9:05 am with a striped marlin and three sails and stayed there until after 11 am, ahead of Team Galati and Gallo Pinto. By noon the field had released 164 sails and 8 marlin, and it was HT Hook still in first, but on time only, with 1200 points, followed by Tarheel also with 1200 points, and Team Galati with 1100 points. Off Duty made their first appearance on the leaderboard, moving to first with a marlin release at 12:44 pm, but were bumped out by Team Galati with a double sailfish release at 1:28 pm, only to take the lead back at 1:44 pm with another marlin release. Game Changer entered the fray, moving to second with a marlin release at 3:06 pm. War Party plucked away at the sailfish all day long, finishing with 16 sails, the most releases of any boat on Day 1, but secured their second place finish for the day with a marlin release at 3:12 pm. As the sun set Thursday evening, the official scores showed Off Duty in first with 2200 points (12 sails, 2 marlin), followed by War Party in second with 2100 points (16 sails, 1 marlin), and Team Galati in third with 2000 points (15 sails, 1 marlin).

DAY 2

D.A. Sea started the day off with a sailfish release at 8:07 am and by 10 am the 41 participating teams had released a two-day combined total of 415 sails and 20 marlin with Off Duty in first with 2300 points, War Party in second with 2200 points and Game Changer in third with 2100 points. Between 10 am and noon, War Party went on to release three more sails, taking first with 2500 points as of the midday update. Reel Joy enjoyed the top spot with two marlin releases at 12:30 pm, which they kept until Team Galati released their second marlin at 1:17 pm, taking them to the front of the pack, where they remained for the rest of the day. At 4 pm, it was Team Galati in first with a two-day total of 3500 points (20 sails, 3 marlin), followed by Reel Joy in second on time with 3000 points (15 sails, 3 marlin), and Tarheel in third, also with 3000 points (20 sails, 2 marlin).

DAY 3

Outage started the day off with a marlin hook up at 8:04 am, which they released five minutes later. In under an hour, seven more marlin had been release by the fleet and by 10 am the leaderboard looked almost completely different, with Off Duty in first with 4100 points, Team Galati in second with 4000 points, and Outage in third with 3300 points. Team Galati was in first at noon, over Off Duty and Fish Tank. Outage went on to bump Fish Tank out of third just before 1 pm and then moved to first with a marlin just 20 minutes later. Team Galati took the top position back with a double sailfish release before 2 pm. At 2:21 pm Team Galati, Off Duty (who had just released a triple), and Outage were all tied on points. No sooner had this report been shared on the official tournament radio, Outage released a double and moved ahead of the pack. Team Galati then took first with a marlin just before 3 pm and stayed there until the end, where they finished with a three-day combined total of 5000 points after releasing 25 sails and 5 marlin. Team Galati was followed by Outage in second on time, with 4800 points after releasing 23 sails and 5 marlin, and Tarheel released 33 sails and 3 marlin, also for 4800 points and third place.

On behalf of the tournament committee, congratulations to all winners!

TOP ANGLER LEG 2

The top angler award is usually always a surprise and it was so much so this time around that the man of the hour, Mike Ivancevic of Fish Tank, wasn’t present to receive his award. Mike achieved the highest score out of all the non-professional anglers after releasing 8 sails and 2 marlin for 1800 individual points. Congratulations!

SERIES CHAMPION

Going in to Leg 3 Outage has the highest score, with a two-leg total of 8400 points, 400 points ahead of Tarheel, in second position, and 900 points ahead of Team Galati, rounding out the top three.

Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

Photo courtesy © Los Sueños Resort & Marina | Pepper Ailor

Ritchie Howell Splashes Out of the Box 61’

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Ritchie Howell recently completed a 61’ sportfisher and the result was a beautiful vessel that is currently fishing out of Los Sueños. There is, however, an interesting story to how the vessel came about. “I was building the boat for a customer from Venezuela. He was willing to take a chance with me. We wanted to design something exciting, something ultra-modern,” says builder Ritchie Howell.

“I noticed some guys up north were achieving some great performance numbers and had always wanted to try it. This buyer gave me the opportunity. We set out to engineer a stepped bottom. We had the opportunity to perform some CFD analysis – a computerized tank test,” Howell describes. CFD is computational fluid dynamics analysis. CFD is a pretty complicated deal, but simply stated – it is the use of applied mathematics, physics and computational software to view how a gas or liquid flows.

Photo courtesy Pepper Ailor

Howell’s interest in CFD analysis lay in determining the optimal position of the step to minimize friction between the boat’s hull and the surface of the water. “We ran four computerized tank tests. These are pretty expensive. We’d run it and tweak the bottom. The goal was to reduce friction – we go to the point that we achieved 50-knots,” Howell describes.

“The step introduces a break in the suction of the water to the hull. It’s not as much about introducing air as it is to bend the suction of the water,” Ritchie relates, scientifically. “The faster you run, the more water wants to suck the hull down to the water. The steps in the bottom allows you to break the attraction, freeing up the hull.” With reduced suction and decreased friction comes greater speed.

Hull render courtesy Ritchie Howell / Ocean Designs

“It is really awesome. We put a pair of C18As on the boat with four-blade wheels,” Howell says. The boat’s top end is 39.3 knots. “I am building a new 61 with the same hull technology. The next one will be powered with 1800 Manns – we anticipate even more speed. We’ve just started the hull and figure it to be a 20-month build.”

The new step-hulled 61’ now fishes in Los Sueños. Its original buyer sold the boat upon completion, as the situation in Venezuela made it impossible for him to bring the boat there as he originally planned. It is the Sea Fix.

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA: 61’8″
Beam: 18′
Draft: 4′ 6″
Weight: 64,000 lbs
Fuel:1350 gallons
Water: 250 gallons
Engines: Caterpillar C-18As, 1150 HP each
Gears: ZF 1.75:1
Generators: (2) Caterpillar 21 KWs with sound enclosures
Speed: WOT 38.5 knots – faster with 4 blade wheels

Team “El Suertudo” Wins 20th Annual Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore

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LOS BARRILES, BCS, Mex. – Team “El Suertudo” won top dollar at the 20th Annual Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore fishing tournament with a 381-pound blue marlin caught in the first hours of the first day.

The $619,800 was the largest payout in the history of the event, according to tournament director Wayne Bisbee.  Total prize payout for all categories in the big game fishing tournament was $771,599.50.

Sixty-five boats with 260 anglers competed during the two-day event in Baja California’s Sea of Cortez.

The winning blue marlin was caught by team member Bruce McDonald in 21 minutes.  Team “El Suertudo,” from Southern California, is a frequent big game fishing tournament participant and money winner, acknowledged Bisbee.

Other winners included Team “Carajos” from Sinaloa, Mex., with four blue marlin $6,587 for 3rd place in the Release Division; Team “Tag Team,” Southern California, $11,087.50, four marlin for 2nd place in the Release Division; and Team “Second Wind,”, $34,255 for 1st place with three blue marlin and four striped marlin in the Release Division.

The Day One Tuna Jackpot went to Team “Snafu” with a 50.8-pound yellowfin worth $18,275.  The Day Two Tuna Jackpot went to Team “Hotel Buenavista” with a 60.8-pound fish worth $31,395.  Day Two winning angler was Esaul Valdez of the host Buenavista Beach Resort Hotel while his brother Felipe won Day One.

The tourney’s biggest dorado (mahi-mahi) was a 34-pound fish caught by Team “Los Compadres,” Los Barriles, BCS, worth $50,200.

Contact Gary Graham-That Baja Guy at thatbajaguy@gmail.com or 760 522-3710

2019 Bermuda Big Game Classic – Final Results

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More than 330 anglers competing on 43 teams experienced Bermuda’s famous marlin fishing, catching 55 blue and six white marlin.

HAMILTON, Bermuda (July 19, 2019) – A fleet of 43 teams put on an exciting show at the weigh-ins during the Bermuda Big Game Classic from July 13 – 17, 2019. Three days of competitive tournament fishing produced high numbers of blue marlin qualifying catches, with seven fish brought to the scales surpassing 500 pounds. A total of 61 billfish were caught, including 55 blue and six white marlin.

After lines out on day three, Team Flyer totaled five blue marlin releases, scoring 2,500 points across three days of fishing to win the 2019 Bermuda Big Game Classic, with winnings totaling $122,700. Team Overproof also scored big, landing a 697-pound blue marlin on day three, winning the Day Three Largest Marlin and Winner-Take-All Largest Marlin jackpots for $129,900 in total winnings.

As the competition intensified each day, more and more 500-plus-pound blue marlin moved onto the fishing grounds. The scales at Barr’s Bay Park in Hamilton, Bermuda, were especially busy on day two of fishing. Day one recorded a 594-pound blue marlin (Auspicious); day two saw a 518-pounder (Sea Angel), 525-pounder (Sweetums), 550-pounder (Blank Check), and 616-pounder (American Beauty); and day three produced a 608-pounder (Hot Spot) and 697-pound blue marlin (Overproof). Blue marlin must weigh at least 500 pounds to be eligible for points at the Bermuda Big Game Classic.

DAY ONE

Team Mjolnir, captained by Dave Harris, took control of the leaderboard on day one of the Bermuda Big Game Classic. The team released two blue marlin, for a total of 1,000 points, to earn the Day One Daily Billfish Release Jackpot based on time. Angler Jim Smith caught both blue marlin.

Teams Reel Steel, the winners of the 2019 Bermuda Billfish Blast, was close behind. Reel Steel, captained by Jason Parker, also released two blue marlin for a total of 1,000 points, but they caught their fish later in the day. Anglers Mike and Marc Verzaleno caught the two blues.

Angler Joe Rahman hooked a large blue marlin aboard his boat Auspicious, captained by Edward “Cookie” Murray, on day one of the Bermuda Big Game Classic. After he fought the fish to the boat, the team recognized they had a fish that was eligible to weigh. Back at the docks, their fish weighed 594 pounds, winning the Day One Largest Marlin Jackpot and putting them in the lead for the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot.

DAY TWO

The top two release boats on day two were Flyer and Reel Captivating, with each team releasing two blue marlin for 1,000 points each. Reel Captivating, captained by Travis Ralph, utilized angler Wayne Jenkins to catch both fish. Flyer, captained by Bryce Garvey, won the Day Two Daily Billfish Release Jackpot based on time.

Four different teams caught a qualifying blue marlin on day two, including American Beauty, captained by Travis Rolan; Blank Check, captained by Danny Hearn; Sweetums, captained by James “Pete” Rae; and Sea Angel, captained by BC Angel. American Beauty’s Aaron Fenn caught a 616-pounder; Blank Check’sDan Doyle Sr. caught a 550-pounder, Sweetums’ Colton Resor caught a 525-pounder, and Sea Angel’s Austin Angel caught a 518-pounder. Team American Beauty’s fish won the Day Two Largest Marlin Jackpot and shot them into the lead for the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot.

After two days of fishing, Flyer and Reel Steel both had 1,500 points with three blue marlin releases. Close behind, American Beauty had 1,116 points, Blank Check totaled 1,050 points, and Sweetumsscored 1,025 points.

DAY THREE

On the final day of the 2019 Bermuda Big Game Classic teams knew there were still plenty of large blue marlin patrolling the banks off Bermuda. They knew this because they had seen the big fish come into their spreads, even if the fish didn’t commit to their lures.

Four different teams scored 1,000 points on day three of fishing. Never Enough, captained by Albert Miller; Flyer; Hit N Run, captained by Dave Fields; and Big Deal, captained by Brian Rabbit, each released two blue marlin. Team Never Enough won the Day Three Daily Billfish Release Jackpot based on time.

Teams Hot Spot and Overproof, both local Bermuda teams, boated big blue marlin relatively early in the day. Each team decided to continue fishing for the rest of day three in search of more points. Back at the docks, Hot Spot, captained by Ricky Sousa Jr, weighed a 608-pound blue marlin. Andy Periera was the angler. Overproof’s blue marlin topped out at 697 pounds, caught by angler Jason Friedman. Overproof, captained by Peter Rans, won the Day Three Largest Marlin Jackpot and the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot. Last year, in 2018, Overproof caught a 930-pound blue marlin to win the Day Three Largest Marlin Jackpot and the Overall Largest Marlin Jackpot.

WINNERS

FIRST PLACE TEAM 

Team Flyer, captained by Bryce Garvey, scored 2,500 points to win First Place Team, Day Two Release Points Jackpot, First Place Overall Release Points Jackpot, the Marlin Magazine Manufacturers Cup for Merritt Boat & Engine Works, and an invitation to the Offshore World Championship. Mark Woodbury earned top angler for his 2,500 points. Total winnings were $122,700. Prizes and awards included VanMark custom winner pendants, YETI cooler, King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits, AFTCO gloves, Big T lure and Release Marine trophy. Team Flyer includes Captain Bryce Garvey, owners Kevin and Teresa Jaffe, Dylan Jaffe, Greg Axton, Gotzon Otxoa, Michael Tarmey, Mark Woodbury and Michael Overton.

OVERALL LARGEST MARLIN JACKPOT 

Team Overproof, captained by Peter Rans, won the Day-Three Largest Marlin Jackpot and Winner-Take-All Largest Marlin Jackpot with their 697-pound blue marlin, caught by angler Jason Friedman. Total winnings were $129,900. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Overproof includes Captain Peter Rans, Leslie Rans, Leesa Friedman, Jason Friedman, Morgan Friedman, Brooks Rans, Martin Estes, Michael Batista and Morgan Outerbridge.

SECOND PLACE TEAM 

Team Reel Steel, captained by Jason Parker, scored 2,000 points to win Second Place Team and Second Place Overall Release Points Jackpot. Total earnings were $54,960. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Reel Steel includes Captain Jason Parker, Mike Verzaleno, Marc Verzaleno, Kayla Verzaleno, Drake Cropper, Charles Coats and John Cantiveri.

THIRD PLACE TEAM 

Team Waste Knot, captained by Mike Tickle, scored 1,700 points to win Third Place Team, Third Place Overall Release Points Jackpot and Top Junior Angler for Luke Fletcher. Total winnings were $32,340. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Waste Knot includes Captain Mike Tickle, Gary Fletcher, Rocky Hardison, Chase Pake, Luke Fletcher, and Thompson Brown.

DAY TWO LARGEST MARLIN JACKPOT 

Team American Beauty, captained by Travis Rolan, scored a 616-pound blue marlin to win the Day Three Largest Marlin Jackpot, caught by Aaron Fenn. Total winnings include $24,600. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team American Beauty includes Captain Travis Rolan, Mike Posillico, Corey Hexter, Alan Davis, Roderick Haines, Kayla Milam, Jason Richard Peer and Daniel Strode.

DAY ONE LARGEST MARLIN JACKPOT 

Team Auspicious, captained by Edward “Cookie” Murray, weighed a 594-pound blue marlin to win the Day One Largest Marlin Jackpot, caught by owner Joe Rahman. Total winnings include $24,600. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Auspicious includes Captain Edward “Cookie” Murray, John Copeland, Carl Copeland, David Soares, Kevin Stafford, Mark Brochu, John Given and Everett Petronio.

DAY ONE RELEASE POINTS JACKPOT

Team Mjolnir, captained by Dave Harris, won the Day One Release Points jackpot from two blue marlin catches by Jim Smith. Total winnings include $23,400. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Mjolnir includes Captain Dave Harris, owner and angler Jim Smith, Darrin Isaacs and Tim Smith.

DAY THREE BILLFISH RELEASE POINTS JACKPOT

Team Never Enough, captained by Albert Miller, won the Day Three Release Points jackpot from two blue marlin catches by Walter Shikany Jr. Total winnings include $23,400. Prizes and awards included King Sailfish Mounts trophies, Steve Goione artwork, Soundview Millworks trophies, Bacardi spirits and Big T lures. Team Never Enough includes Captain Albert Miller, owner and angler Walter Shikany Jr., Marc Hopper. Nick Favata, and Ian Poteat.

LARGEST GAMEFISH

Angler Laura Russell, aboard Hit N Run, caught a 34-pound wahoo to win the largest gamefish. Total winnings were $6,450. Team Hit N Run includes Byron Russell, Laura Russell, Mike Walsh, Clark Beaty, Evan Jones, Stevie Ehrber, Barrett McMilliam and Greg Lulemon.

TOP LADY ANGLER

Elaine Jones, owner of Mama Who, won top lady angler with 1,000 points from two blue marlin releases. Team Mama Who includes Captain Wil Thornhill, Elaine Jones, Robert Davies, Charles Lewis, Joe West and Sales De La Bar.

For more information, visit www.bermudatriplecrown.com.
To view the 2018 Bermuda Big Game Classic scorekeeper site, visit bbg19.catchstat.com.

Final Results: 2019 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown Billfish Series

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Fish Tank was the clear and undisputed Series Champion of the 2019 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown, finishing with an almost unbelievable 17,400 points (144 sails, 6 marlin). Kudos to the team and especially to Laura Jessen who, despite a broken foot, released 6 sails this tournament alone and 34 sails over all three legs!

Los Sueños Resort and Marina, located at Playa Herradura on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, held the third and final leg of its sixth annual Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented by Chantilly Air, March 27-30, 2019. Forty seven of the best and most competitive teams came together to release a total of 1,234 billfish over three days.

Going in to this event, the reports were that fishing was slow with 3-6 fish a day being average. We were pleased to see the teams find the fish when the radio went off with an early bite on Day 1 and ended with a nail-bite inducing finish on Day 3. With 100 points awarded for each sailfish release and 500 points for each marlin release, marlin always end up making a difference for the podium finishers. After all the scorecards were reviewed, a three-leg Triple Crown total of 3,945 billfish were released (3,820 sails and 125 marlin) – or 444,500 points achieved by the 51 teams that participated this year, 38 of which were registered in all three events. [Read more…]

Second Consecutive Year–“Builders Choice” Wins Marina Casa De Camp Open

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LA ROMANA DOM. REP.

March 18th 2019

For the second consecutive year, the North Carolina team wins the Marina Casa de Campo Open fishing tournament. The crew and anglers aboard the Builders Choice are champions of the third version of the Marina Casa de Campo Open, organized by Marina Casa de Campo and directed by Robert “Fly” Navarro.

The team aboard the Cabana (Fenwick Island, DE) won second place and the team aboard the Auspicious (Palm Beach, FL) won third place. Elaine “Lainey” Jones (Mama Who) won the Lady Angler category. The tournament ended with 21 Blue Marlins and two White Marlins released for 23 Billfish released in the two days of fishing.

The MCDC Open had 12 sport fishing boats competing, all the participants and guests enjoyed the various activities that started with a welcoming cocktail in the Casa de Campo Yacht Club, home of the perpetual tournament trophy.

On the first fishing day, 12 Blue Marlins were released, out of which five were released by the champions, followed by Cabana with two Blue Marlin releases and Fa-La-Me with one Blue Marlin and one White Marlin. The first day of the tournament ended with a BBQ at the Yacht Club accompanied by good music.

The second fishing day had lines in the water at 8:00AM; fishing began with a Blue Marlin double, released by Shark Byte at 8:50AM. Cabana released a Blue Marlin at 11:56AM, which automatically positioned them in second place. The three Blue Marlins released by Auspicious were released in the afternoon and placed them in third place, the last one being released just an hour before the end of the tournament.

The awards ceremony was celebrated in La Romana Country Club with a fabulous dinner and an after party with a live band and a DJ.

Marina Casa de Campo would like to extend its gratitude to all the participants and sponsors of the event. Next year the tournament will be held from March 12th-14th with more interesting novelties that will make this tournament a must during the 2020 Casa de Campo Fishing Season.

2018 Captain of the Year Awards Presentation – Los Sueños International Division

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Congratulations to Captain Greg Distefano, mate Balin Oswaldo and El Suertudo owner Guy Yocom!

The InTheBite Captain of the Year award for the Los Sueños International Division was presented to Capt. Greg in Latina Miguel, California February 16th.

Ladies Kick Off 2019 Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown

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Kicking off this year’s Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown with the 1st annual Ladies Only Tournament Los Sueños Resort and Marina, located at Playa Herradura on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, held the first leg of its sixth annual Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented by Chantilly Air, January 16-19, 2019. A total of 44 of the world’s most competitive billfishing teams comprised of 210 individual anglers challenged each other over three days of fishing, releasing a total of 648 billfish, including 582 sails and 66 marlin for a per boat average of 15 billfish releases.

LADIES ONLY ONE-DAY TOURNAMENT
Held on Tuesday, January 15th the first annual Los Sueños Ladies Only Tournament, presented by Chantilly Air and sponsored by Maverick and Galati Yacht Sales, brought together 49 individual anglers participating on 17 boats. It seemed like a clear battle between Family and Friends and D.A. Sea who were tied both for points and on time just half an hour before lines out. Fish Tank (anglers Laura Jessen and Michelle Keeney) surprised everyone though, calling in a marlin hook up which they went on to release at 4:04 pm for the win, having released 8 sails and 1 marlin for 1300 points. D.A. Sea (anglers Valerie Dunn, Susan McCart, and Judy Duffie) ended up second with 1100 points with 6 sailfish and 1 marlin release, and Family and Friends (anglers Jackie Kopp, Kristin Feller, and Andrea White) rounded out the leaderboard in third with 1000 points after releasing 10 sails. Awards were presented the following day and the ladies took to the stage to receive their cash prizes and trophies, sponsored by Gray Taxidermy. A total of $27,500 was handed out, 50% going to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. Individual angler points follow the ladies through the Triple Crown and will be tallied to their total scores from that event to determine the Top Female Angler Overall. So far, Jackie Kopp of Family and Friends is well in the lead with 700 points from the Ladies Only and 1500 points from the first leg of the Triple Crown.

TRIPLE CROWN DAY 1
It was Numero Uno who fittingly released fish “numero uno” of the tournament at 8:05 am on Day 1, January 17th. By 10:00 am the competitive fleet of 44 teams and 210 anglers had released 89 billfish, including 84 sails and 5 marlin. Tarheel took an early lead with 800 points, over The King and I and Blue Eagle, each with 700 points. The King and I showed their stripes early with 1800 points by noon, taking a 600 point lead over Tranquilo with 1200 points and Outlaw with 1100 points. Over 40 fish were released in the next two hours, but the leaderboard changed very little, with The King and I releasing one more sail for 1900 points, Tranquilo staying steady with 1200 points, and Outlaw rounding out the top three, also with 1 more sailfish release for 1200 points. Although The King and I ended the day in first with 2000 points, there was definitely some jockeying in the latter part of the afternoon; Wire We Here ended up releasing 6 sails and 2 marlin for 1600 points and second place, and Blue Eagle released the same fish for the same points, just 13 minutes later to take third for the day.

TRIPLE CROWN DAY 2
The King and I had a slow start to Day 2 with zero releases by 10 am, but managed to hold on to their first place spot. Wire We Here released four sails in the same period to tie The King and I with 2000 points, just 1 sailfish release and 100 points ahead of Reel Pushy. By noon the fleet had released a two-day total of 380 billfish and Fish Tank had pushed The King and I down to third on time after Wire We Here, both with 2100 points, and taking top spot with 2300 points. Family and Friends were keeping their name in front of spectators, taking top spot with 2600 points by 2 pm, followed by Fish Tank with 2400 points and Reel Pushy in third with 2300 points. By the end of the day Family and Friends had earned enough points after releasing 7 sails and 2 marlin for a two-day total of 2600 points, to keep their first place position. Reel Pushy released 7 sails and 2 marlin on Day 2 for a two-day total of 2500 points, and Fish Tank rounded out the top three with 2400 points after releasing 9 sails on Day 2. The top 9 teams were all within one marlin and one sail of the lead going in to Day 3.

TRIPLE CROWN DAY 3
Day 3 followed the same trend as the first two days with a good morning bite. By 10 am the fleet had released 61 billfish for a three-day total of 522 billfish (469 sails and 53 marlin). The King and I were vying for the leaderboard and had amassed 3300 points to take first over Reel Pushy in second with 3100 points, and Tranquilo in third with 2800 points. At noon it was still anyone’s game. Fish Tank was in first with 3500 points. The King and I was in second, now with 3400 points, and Reel Pushy in third with one more sailfish for 3200 points. The 2 pm leaderboard would end up being a prediction of the Leg 1 finishers, showing Fish Tank in first with 4200 points, The King and I in second with 3400 points, and Reel Pushy in third with 3300 points. Fish Tank went on to release four more sails, ending the day – and the tournament – with 4600 points. The King and I and Reel Pushy kept the same points, Reel Pushy tying with Tranquilo on time, but releasing their last fish two hours before.