538 Pound Black Marlin Wins Bisbee East Cape Offshore
EAST CAPE, BCS, Mex., Aug. 1 – A 538-pound black marlin that took angler Steve McCoy 1-hour, 42-minutes to subdue, won $166,064 for Team Booze Brothers during the 18th annual Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore fishing tournament.
Total cash prizes and jackpots for various tournament categories including catch and release amounted to $657,125, the greatest distribution of money in the event’s history.
McCoy, from Texas, fishing aboard the cruiser “Reel Machine,” caught the winning marlin on Day One of the three-day tournament.
It was the largest fish McCoy had ever caught and the first time he’d ever won a big game tournament. “During the protracted fight, the billfish almost severed the 100-pound test leader, sawing it nearly in half,” said tournament certified observers.
Angler Adrian Miranda Camacho, Puertos Los Cabos, aboard the skiff “North Star” captured the tuna prize with a 102.3-pound yellowfin landed in 33 minutes. The catch was worth $31,720.
Team Outcast received $69,120 for a 50.5-pound dorado caught by Clarence Rowse, the only weighed in qualifier in this category.
The event, headquartered at Hotel Buenavista Beach Resort on the edge of the Sea of Cortez, featured 360 anglers on 62 teams. It was the first Bisbee tournament since the death of founder Bob Bisbee, who was memorialized in pre-event ceremonies.
This year marked the 18th year of this event, the starter of the big money tournament season. Sixty-two boats participated leading to an all-time high payout spread amongst eleven different boats.
Collectively, tournament contestants landed 6 black marlin, 47 blue marlin, 2 dorado, 28 striped marlin, and 15 yellowfin tuna.
Additional winning teams were:
Second Place: Feelin’ Azul $8,788 for a 493-pound black marlin on day one
of the tournament also (the larger fish, swept all the jackpots on Day One
however, they had the second largest fish).
Day Two Jackpot: Sporty Game $140,675 for a blue marlin.
Top Releases: Reel Quest $37,750 for four blue marlin and two stripers.
Second Place Release: Reel Gold $13,005 for four blue marlin.
Third Place Release: Karma $7225 for two blues and four stripers.
Day Two Tuna: Altata Bay $18,700 for a 80.3-pound yellowfin.
Day Three Tuna: Awesome $18,700 for a 78.1-pound yellowfin.
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