Aug. 31, 2007 — With 11 blue marlin releases to their credit, Peje won top boat in the 35th annual USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (ABMT), while Peje angler, Luis Nevarez, released six of these to take the top angler prize and pocket $10,000 in cash.
On the fourth and final day of fishing Wednesday, the anglers, captain and crew aboard Peje were already partying with back-slapping, high-fives and big smiles as the San Juan-based Cabo 40 owned by Carlos Garcia backed into the dock at American Yacht Harbor.
Garcia gave a run down of the tournament action. “The first day we went 9 for 2 (blue marlin hook-ups to blue marlin releases) and that put us on the scoreboard in 9th. The second day, we went 8 for 3 and moved into third. On the third day, we went 7 for 3 and held onto our third place boat ranking. Today, we went 3 for 3 and shot into the lead,” he said
“In all, we saw 27 fish in four days of fishing and released 11. That’s pretty amazing. I mean, we’ve fished this tournament for seven or eight years now and the bite is always good, but this year is was incredible.”
Why the fantastic bite this year? “I think the conservation effort, releasing blue marlin, is paying off. We’re glad to be a part of that,” Garcia said.
One particularly feisty fish gave top angler Nevarez a run for his money. “It was the second fish we released today,” he said. “It was a 600-plus-pounder and I fought it for two hours and 15 minutes before getting it to the back of the boat and releasing it.”
Overall, what does Garcia credit to his boat and crew’s success? “That’s our secret,” he said, "but we do like to teaser fish."
In other awards, Uno Mas and Lady Lou ended up second and third top boat, respectively, with 10 and 9 blue marlin releases total.
Luis Bacardi, aboard Rum Bum, finished as second best angler with 6 blue marlin releases to his credit, while Christopher Gomes, fishing from Quiet Storm, released 5 blue marlin to take third best angler.
Tricia Freeman, fishing aboard St. Thomas-based sports fishing charter boat, Marlin Prince, with Capt. Eddie Morrison, won the top female angler prize with 4 blue marlin releases.
St. Thomas-based charter boat, Black Pearl, captained by Jim Estraca, won the Top Local Boat award with 7 blue marlin releases.
The Revenge, captained by Mike Lemon and owned by past ABMT top angler Sam Jennings, aced the Jim Smith ‘Race From The Edge’, a race that takes place just at lines out on this last day of the tournament.
This year set an all-time tournament record with 207 blue marlin released by anglers aboard the 37-boat fleet.
This also marks the 20th year since a blue marlin as been boated or killed in the tournament. Anglers earn points for releasing a fish, and it is the number of fish released and who releases that number first that wins the tournament.
Started by an avid Virgin Islands angler, the late Chuck Senf, back in 1972, the USVI Open/ABMT, or ‘Boy Scout Tournament’ has evolved into one of the most competitive saltwater sports fishing events in the world. It’s one of the events making up Bisbee’s World Billfish Series and is a qualifier for the Rolex-IGFA Invitational “Tournament of Champions."
Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Virgin Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
TOP 3 BOATS
1. Peje, 4400 points
2. Uno Mas, 4000 points
3. Lady Lou, 3600 points
TOP 3 ANGLERS
1. Luis Nevarez, Peje, 2400 points
2. Luis Bacardi, Rum Bum, 2400 points
3. Christopher Gomes, Quiet Storm, 2000 points
400 points are awarded for each blue marlin release
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