A total of 178 anglers traveling from 19 countries gathered at the tip of Mexico’s Baja this May to compete in the 2010 IGFA Offshore World Championship. Hotel Finisterra served as the host hotel for the event and was where tournament director Dan Jacobs conducted the captains’ meeting to explain the rules for the next four days of fishing. Each fishing day started early — registered teams gathered in the lobby of the Finisterra for a continental breakfast and waited their turn to pile into a shuttle down to the IGY Marina docks. Once everyone was aboard, the fleet of 38 teams made its way to the arch and awaited the call for “lines in” at 7:00 a.m.
The radio was silent for the majority of day one, and by the time “lines out” was called at 3:00 p.m., there had been only six billfish released among the tournament fleet, all of which were striped marlin. There were good numbers of game fish brought back to the scales at the IGY Marina in Cabo San Lucas, including Trinidad angler Christian Hadeed’s 31.3-pound yellowfin, which held throughout the rest of the event as the third-heaviest tuna. Andrew Sbaga, another angler from Trinidad, weighed a 35.2-pound fish on day one and locked second place in the tuna division.
After a slow day one, teams in the IGFA OWC had high hopes for more action on day two. At the 3:00 p.m. “lines out” call, there had been one sailfish release and 16 striped marlin releases radioed in. Of the 16 striped marlin, three belonged to Mexican angler Hernando Gonzalez, who was fishing on Picante 45 and representing the 2009 IGFA OWC Champions team. Bahamian angler Paul King recorded two striped marlin releases, fishing on behalf of the Harbourside Marine Bahamas Rotary Tuna Classic. King’s teammate managed to best a yellowfin tuna that weighed in at 55.10 pounds and held throughout the rest of the event as the first-place tuna. Sergio De Tommasis from Italy also brought place, holding wahoo to the scale on day two, with his 63.10-pound fish locking up second place in the wahoo division.
Going into day three, the fleet had high hopes for the legendary striped marlin bite that Cabo San Lucas is known for. Though day three was better than day one, the action wasn’t quite as fast as on day two. Cody Moore, representing the El Pescado Billfish Tournament, released one stripey on day one and another on day two. Moore fought hard and managed to get release points for two more striped marlin on day three, putting him in a good position for placement in the top angler division. The winners from the 2009 IGFA OWC had another good day for striped marlin, with Daniel Fisher releasing one and Gonzalez releasing another. These two releases put them in a good position for top honors. Day three was a big day in the game fish division, most notably for Japanese angler Tadayuki Fukuhara, who weighed in a monstrous 70.2-pound wahoo. That fish easily locked him into first place for the wahoo division. Jacksonville, Florida, angler John Thomas secured a third-place ranking in same division with the respectable 54.6-pound wahoo he brought back to the IGY Marina.
Day four was yet another slow day by Cabo standards. However, Gonzalez, from the 2009 IGFA OWC team, struck again with two more striped marlin releases to add to his team’s tally. King, from the Harbourside Tuna tournament, responded with a striped marlin release of his own that put his team in good shape for second place in the team division and himself in good shape for a placement in the top angler division.
All of the anglers that competed in the 2010 IGFA Offshore Championship gathered once again at the Hotel Finisterra for the awards banquet and to find out how they and their team made out. The night started with a brief cocktail hour, during which anglers and teams enjoyed hearing each other’s fishing stories from the previous four days. After cocktails, everyone lined up at the buffet table for a fantastic spread of food, followed by an entertainment video, awards presentation, fireworks and live band.
Team Division
1st Place — 2,196 points; 2009 IGFA OWC Champions (Mexico) anglers: Jobe Villavicencio, Javier Villavicencio, Hernando Gonzalez, Rafael Garcia and Oscar Daccarett. The Champions team received Bodo Muche trophies, Vanmark Championship diamond rings, Reactor Championship diamond watches, Fin-Nor Santiago rods and reels, Costa Del Mar sunglasses, Tormenter billfish lure kits, Hook & Tackle Championship apparel, Momoi lines and lifetime invitations to the Championship.
2nd Place — 1,500 points; Harbourside Marine Bahamas Rotary Tuna Classic (Bahamas) anglers: Paul King, Adam Dann, R. Kristian Kwiecinski, Keith Kelty and Jim Bernard. The Harbourside team received David Wirth trophies, Guy Harvey giclees, Reactor watches, Costa Del Mar sunglasses, Fin-Nor Santiago rods and reels, Momoi lines and invitations to the 2011 Championship.
3rd Place — 1,200 points; El Pescado Billfish Tournament (United States) anglers: Sammy Vaughn, Cody Moore, Tyson Moore, Ronnie Bledsoe and Ralph Schoenherr. The El Pescado team received David Wirth trophies, Guy Harvey giclees, Fin-Nor Santiago rods and reels, Reactor watches, Momoi lines and invitations to the 2011 Championship.
High Point Anglers
1st Place — 1,851.5 points; Hernando Gonzalez from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, representing the 2009 IGFA OWC Champions. Gonzalez received a Bodo Muche trophy, a Reactor watch, a Guy Harvey giclee, Costa Del Mar sunglasses and an Accurate rod and reel.
2nd Place — 1,200 points; Cody Moore from Port Orange, Florida, representing the El Pescado Billfish Tournament. Moore received a Bodo Muche trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Accurate rod and reel.
3rd Place — 900 points; Paul King from Nassau, Bahamas, representing the Harbourside Marine Bahamas Rotary Tuna Classic. King received a Bodo Muche Trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Accurate rod and reel.
4th Place – 648.5 points; Michael Bailey from Louisiana, representing the Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic. Bailey received a David Wirth trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Accurate rod and reel.
5th Place – 647.5 points; Pascal Meyer from France, representing the III Big Game De Aniversario do CNIL. Meyer received a David Wirth trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Accurate rod and reel.
6th Place – 600 points; Jim Bernard from Nassau, Bahamas, representing the Harbourside Marine Bahamas Rotary Tuna Classic. Bernard received a David Wirth trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Accurate reel.
Heaviest Tuna
1st Place — 55.1 pounds; caught by John Page from North Carolina, representing Lyford Cay Offshore Tournament. Page received a King Sailfish Mounts tuna trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Tormenter tuna lure kit.
2nd Place — 35.2 pounds; caught by Andrew Sbaga from Trinidad, representing the Tobago Int. Game Fishing Tournament. Sbaga received a King Sailfish Mounts Tuna Trophy.
3rd Place — 31.3 pounds; caught by Christian Hadeed from Trinidad, representing the St. Lucia Int. Billfish Tournament. Hadeed received a King Sailfish Mounts tuna trophy.
Heaviest Wahoo
1st Place — 70.2 pounds; caught by Tadayuki Fukuhara from Japan, representing the Hawaiian Int. Billfish Tournament. Fukuhara received a King Sailfish Mounts wahoo trophy, Guy Harvey giclee and Tormenter wahoo lure kit.
2nd Place — 63.10 pounds; caught by Sergio De Tommasis from Italy, representing the C.N. Sanbenedettese Tournament. Tommasis received a King Sailfish Mounts wahoo trophy.
3rd Place — 54.6 pounds; caught by John Thomas from Jacksonville, Florida, representing the Annual Bluewater Tournament. Thomas received a King Sailfish Mounts wahoo trophy.
Captain & Mates
1st Place — Capt. David Lieras on Picante/19th Toy. Lieras received a Reactor watch, a David Wirth trophy, a Guy Harvey giclee and Costa Del Mar sunglasses.
2nd Place — Capt. Charlie Abaroa on High Risk. Abaroa received a King Sailfish Mounts trophy and Guy Harvey giclee.
3rd Place — Capt. Lupe Gomez Zenteno on Cabalero. Zenteno received a King Sailfish Mounts trophy and Guy Harvey giclee.
Despite a slow billfish bite overall, all participants had a great time and will be competing hard this next season for an invite to the 2011 event. Thanks to all who participated, and thanks to all of our generous sponsors, including Tormenter Lures, VMC Hooks, Fin-Nor Rods & Reels, Bodo Muche, King Sailfish Mounts, Transcabo, IGY Marina, Hook & Tackle, Corona, Reactor Watches, IWS Scales, Picante Bluewater Sportfishing, Pisces Sportfishing, Minerva’s Baja Tackle, Hacienda Beach Club and Residences, Costa Del Mar, Accurate Reels, Vanmark Jewelry, Momoi Hi-Liner, David Wirth, Zane Grey Collections, Baja California Sur and the Los Cabos Visitors & Convention Bureau.
