By Capt. Dave Lear
October 18, 2011, Cabo San Lucas, BCS:
Viva la Mexico! Only in Cabo San Lucas can you find the combination of sultry nights, more than $2 million in prize money and Elvis Presley igniting the torch to start the 31st edition of the Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot Tournament, the richest sportfishing event in the world. One-hundred teams representing 12 different nations will hit the water early Wednesday morning hoping to find a hefty marlin potentially worth more than 27,000,000 pesos. But that’s all part of the aura and fun of the Black & Blue.
“I’ve been fishing this tournament since the beginning,” says Mike Miles of Oxnard, California. “We won the big money in the early ‘90s with a blue marlin weighing 538 pounds. I keep coming back because of the good times, good whiskey, good cigars and good friends. We look forward to it every year.” Miles fishes aboard his 60-foot Hatteras, Black Gold II, during the event.
“We’re going to soak some bait and do some trolling, the same as everyone else. If they’ve invented a better mousetrap, I haven’t heard about it,” he added when asked about his strategy for the next three days.
Captain Genaro Winkler will be pulling plastic behind El Gallo to entice a blue or black marlin that tops the 300-pound minimum. El Gallo won the tournament in 2003 with a monster fish caught in the Lighthouse Canyon. Winkler’s favorite lure colors are green/red, green/orange and dark combinations. On the first day he plans to steer west past Los Arcos and into the Pacific Ocean.
“There has been skipjack, some dorado and tuna up to 10 miles off the cape,” he says. “With all that bait on the Pacific side from the lighthouse to Golden Gate Bank, that’s where we’ll probably put lines in.”
Fishing begins at 8 a.m. each day starting Wednesday and continues through Friday. Lines must be out of the water by 5 p.m., and the scales, located at the Puerto Paraiso Mall in downtown Cabo San Lucas, will be open until 9 p.m. A huge crowd of family, friends, locals and tourists gather each evening to watch the weigh-ins and check out the sponsor booths located along the harbor boardwalk. Live scoring will be posted on bisbees.com and catchstat.com throughout the day. Live video feeds from the scales will be broadcast on those same sites.
“Give yourselves a round of applause because we’re going over $2 million again this year,” said Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee at the conclusion of the captains meeting. “It’s going to be another fun time as we start our third decade of the Black & Blue hosted by the Cabo Riviera Marina and Golf Resort. Good luck everyone, and bring us some big fish.”
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