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EAST CAPE, BCS, Mex. – Equal parts luck
and skill came into play as Team Copa Gobernador “A”
representing Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort and the
State of Baja California Sur won the East Cape Bisbee
Tournament with a 418-pound blue marlin aboard Hotel
Buena Vista Beach Resort’s Tres Hermanos.
Team Copa Gobernador “A” fished on
Hotel Buena Vista Resort’s Tres Hermanos and used a Penn
International 50TW reel newly spooled with 80# test line
for the tournament. The Big Blue hit a Hi-5 pink lure.
It was pure luck when, just before
nailing the winning fish, the team fought another large
marlin to the leader, before losing it. Then after
breaking off that fish (which was estimated at just over
300-pounds) and would have undoubtedly caused them to
loose what ended up being the second place 344-pounder
and third place 317 blue marlin, team members decided to
keep trying until the bitter end and at 2:30 on the
final afternoon, the winning blue hit.
The Big Bubba was actually the fourth
blue marlin of the day for Tres Hermanos. They
also previously released another smaller blue, in
addition to a third qualifier that became unbutton
minutes after hitting the lures. Julio Cota fought the
marlin for a good hour and fifteen minutes before
bringing it to leader, where the rest of the team
awaited with the flying gaff and mixed emotions. Once
the fish was secured and reported to the base station,
it was just a matter of getting back to the scale on
time.
Meanwhile, it was a tense hour back at
the resort, since another blue marlin was reportedly
boated. This fish was known to have been fought well
over four hours and the rumors were that it was a
contender. At the same time, another big blue marlin,
which ended up being the official 2nd place
winner, was also called in, just a few minutes before
the deadline.
Team Copa Gobernador “A” was
lucky in another sense, as they had a free entry into
the Bisbee tournament this year after winning the Cabo
Del Este Copa Gobernador (East Cape Governor’s Cup) in
Nov. 2006, with a 498-pound blue.
The team’s luck continued on
day two, when they took a 52.1-pound dorado, good for
the $11,500 daily jackpot.
The team members were:
Reginaldo Cosio and Manuel Ochoa (Hotel Buena Vista’s
maintenance supervisors) Julio Cota, who is a mate on
the Nueva Era, Rosario Cota, captain of the
Nueva Era and Julio’s dad. Oscar Daccarett from San
Jose del Cabo, was the team’s sponsor and the state
representative for tournaments, Ramon Tamayo was the
Tres Hermanos Captain, along with Teodoro Araiza the
mate, Jesus Araiza’s grandsons. Total team and boat
winnings were $108,896.40, announced Bisbee officials.
Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort’s Dottie B
II team of Esaul Valdez, Togo Hazard, Mike McGrath and
Hazard’s grandson Derek, were not so lucky, as they just
missed a $74,600 jackpot with 295-pound blue marlin –
five pounds shy of qualifying!
“The fishing was the best
ever seen in any of the Bisbee’s events, with 49 blue
marlin, 197 striped marlin and 79 sailfish,” said
tournament director, Wayne Bisbee, but with all the
activity offshore, you‘d think more would have been
brought to the scales but only four qualifying blue
marlins were weighed in, none of which were weighed in
on the first day, only one on the second day but three
were brought to the scales on the final day, with 96.3%
of the billfish released. There were 274 anglers on 64
teams.
Said Jesus “Chuy” Valdez of Hotel Buena
Vista Beach Resort, “Fishing was fantastic, with
billfish, dorado and tuna all landed. It graphically it
demonstrates that our conservation efforts are beginning
to be felt . . . and it will only get better. State
Governor Narciso Agundez and State Tourism
Representative Lic. Alberto Treviño, who fired the 1st
day’s flare gun shot to start the event, both affirmed
their commitment toward protecting our resources. They
have both been great supporters of the importance of our
sport-fishing industry.
This is the 4th year Hotel
Buena Vista Beach Resort has had the opportunity to
partner with the Bisbee family and host this prestigious
event. “It is an honor for our resort and family to be
in partnership with the Bisbee name, as we have a shared
belief regarding the safeguarding of our fisheries, both
today and for the future,” said Axel Valdez. The event
will be host it again at Hotel Buena Vista Beach
Resort in 2008 from July 29th-August 2nd.
For the official report and results please
click here or visit
www.bisbees.com |
