First-timers luck held fast for the team aboard Pescador during the first day of fishing in the 50th Anniversary July Open Billfish Tournament (JOBT), hosted by the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club (VIGFC). Stephen Deckoff, the St. John, USVI-based owner/angler of the 60-foot Rybovich, and his son Stephen Jr., released a pair of blue marlin…
World-class facilities combined with world-record fishing grounds are what sports fishermen can expect in Red Hook, St. Thomas. Over the last half century, this settlement on the far eastern end of the island has grown from a quiet bay where pioneering Capt. Johnny Harms first built a simple marina, to home of the full-service 126-slip…
Manteo, N.C., brings to mind boat builders like Bayliss, Spencer and B&B. But a tradition of offshore fishing for blue marlin also exists at the Pirate’s Cove Marina. The 30th annual competition will decide which boat wins bragging rights – and a hefty check – by weighing-in the heaviest blue marlin during the Pirates Cove…
Capt. Johnny Harms is credited with ‘discovering’ the magnificent blue marlin fishery in the Virgin Islands. That was back in the 1950s when Laurence Rockefeller brought Harms down to explore the possibility of big game charter fishing for Rockefeller’s guests at St. John’s Caneel Bay Resort. Yet charter fishing isn’t the only thing for which…
San Juan, Puerto Rico (June 7, 2013) – Register now! Club Nautico de San Juan’s International Billfish Tournament (IBT) celebrates its 60th edition September 15 to 21, 2013. In honor of this special diamond anniversary, organizers are pleased to present exclusive rates on entry and hotels as well as fantastic prizes in addition to the…
The Atlantic Blue Marlin that is also known as the Makaira Nigricans is the largest and most widely distributed member of the billfish family. Since the early days of game fishing, inspired anglers have traveled to all parts of the globe in search of reeling in a 1000 lbs plus fish, better known in fishing circles as…
The S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series is an official program of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The brainchild of former S.C. Gov. Carroll A. Campbell, it consists of five privately run billfish tournaments. The 2012 Series set a record with 300 billfish releases, and a fleet of sportfishers hope to swamp that benchmark in…
A competitive spirit, tons of talent, and a hunger to best the third place finish earned last year led Trinidad & Tobago’s team Vesper to win the 22nd St Lucia International Billfish Tournament (SLIBT), hosted by the St. Lucia Game Fishing Association November 5th – 9th out of IGY Rodney Bay Marina. Captain Gerard ‘Frothy’…
There was a five-way tie for top boat going into the fourth and final day of fishing in the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT), nicknamed the ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ for the event’s chief beneficiary. Yet only one, the team aboard Puerto Rico’s Carlos Garcia’s 47ft Cabo, Peje, released one blue marlin…
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Club Nautico de San Juan’s 59th International Billfish Tournament (IBT) concluded with a spectacular 102 blue marlin releases, plus achieved another milestone in billfish conservation history by being the first tournament to partner with the National Geographic Society in the deployment and recovery of billfish Crittercams six successful times to capture…
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Blue Marlin, Tight lines and trend-setting summed up the red hot sports fishing action on the first day of the Club Nautico de San Juan’s 59th International Billfish Tournament (IBT). The fleet of 43 boats, with 148 anglers hailing from 8 countries, released 30 blue marlin and hooked-up or saw more…
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. There was a five-way tie for top boat going into the fourth and final day of fishing in the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT), nicknamed the ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ for the event’s chief beneficiary. Yet only one, the team aboard Puerto Rico’s Carlos Garcia’s 47-foot Cabo,…
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. There was proof positive on this third day of fishing in the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT) that there’s a whole new generation of skilled anglers ready to make as celebrated tournament history as the fishermen before them. Seventeen-year-old Mason Domel from Austin, Texas, fishing with…
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. After two days of fishing in the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT) or ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ nicknamed for the event’s chief beneficiary, Juno Beach, Florida-based angler Sam Jennings’ 58-foot Revenge jumped into the lead with the team’s release of five blue marlin total, well on the…
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The release of three blue marlin put Peje, a Puerto Rico-based 47-foot Cabo, at the top of the leader board after the first day of fishing in the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT) or ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ nicknamed for the event’s chief beneficiary. “We saw three…
Black Gold held their lead on the final day of fishing to win Top Boat in the 49th July Open Billfish Tournament (JOBT), hosted by the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club (VIGFC). Harry Sargeant, owner and angler aboard the 65ft American Custom Yacht, released two blue marlin on the final day to give Black Gold…
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The docks are alive with the sights and sounds of pre-tournament excitement as the 40th Anniversary USVI Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT) or ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ so nicknamed for the event’s chief beneficiary, gets underway. The first day of fishing in this four-day tournament will kick-off Tuesday. Early risers…
Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament 2012 Angler Todd Baxley of Charleston, S.C., brought the winning fish to the scales at the prestigious Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, N.C, fullfilling what any blue water angler would have at the top of their bucket list. Incredibly, Baxley struck the blue marlin, reeled it…
The International Billfish Tournament of Club Náutico de San Juan will serve as a launching platform for National Geographic Society scientists to deploy their Crittercam system on blue marlin during the Tournament’s 59th edition Sept. 23-30, 2012. Gustavo Hermida, Commodore of Club Náutico de San Juan (CNSJ) and Miguel Donato, Tournament Chairman, said National Geographic…
The eagerly anticipated 15th Annual Saint Martin Billfish Tournament held May 30th to June 2nd on the Marigot waterfront was won by the French St. Martin boat Yellow Whip whose crew revelled in the victor’s spoils … a trophy, copious amounts of champagne (mostly sprayed over the crowd), and a cool $19,150 in prize money….