2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship Final Results:

14 May 2011. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing Report Courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com


The IGFA Offshore World Championship has ended. Last night at the Awards Banquet the following winners were announced in one of Cabo fishing’s most prestigious tournaments:
First Place Team, “Islamorada Fish Club Captain's Cup Sailfish Tournament” team from Florida with 3400 uncontested points. They worked hard and Sam Worden and Hunter Barron tied for 4th place angler each racking up 1400 uncontested points. Also in first place was IGFA Offshore World Champions 2010 with 3400 points. Not far behind in second place was “IGFA Offshore World Championship2010-2nd Place” team from the Bahamas with 3200 uncontested points. In 3rd place was “IGFA Offshore World Champions 2008” also from Florida with 2400 uncontested points. Also tied in 3rd place was “27th Treasure Cay Annual Billfish Tournament” team from Florida with 2400 uncontested points and second place angler Eddie Flack with 2200 uncontested points. The rest of the top ten teams were “N'Gor Marlin Cup 2010” from Senegal also with 3rd place angler Jean Robin Dubochet, “S.A.D.S.A.A. Billfish Classic 2010” from South Africa, “Lyford Cay Offshore Tournament” from Florida, “Campeonato de pesca OPEN” from Brazil, and rounding out the top ten teams “IGFA Offshore World Champions 2003” from Bermuda and Virginia.

Picante Sportfishing’s captains scored big in the Top Captain category. Picante had 3 of the top 5 Captains. Ivan Gomez was 2nd place winner, Antonio Romero was 3rd and Daniel Carrera was tied for 4th.

In the Wahoo competition, the winner was the “60th Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Tournament” team from Russia with a 43.5 pound Wahoo aboard the “Rising Sun” part of Picante Sportfishing’s fleet.

The biggest surprise of the tournament was the Brazilian team, “Torneio De Marlin Azul do Rio De Janeiro” catch of a Giant Yellowfin Tuna of 226.2 pounds.
Congratulations to the real sports fishermen in the group. They fish for the love of the sport. Thank you for your participation and fine showing of sportsmanship and fishing in Cabo San Lucas.

--  michael@picantesportfishing.com Team Picante www.picantesportfishing.com  Why are some sport fishing charters head and shoulders above the others? Why are some fishing charters more enjoyable, while others are just glorified boat rides? Learn the secret and do as our returning customers do and book with Picante Sportfishing and see why. Come make some sportfishing memories with Picante Sportfishing. www.picantesportfishing.com  Proud corporate sponsors of the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation  Friendly, helpful staff and crews will make your trip memorable. 

2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship Day Four

12 May 2011. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing Report Courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

It is day four and the preliminary results are in. It has been a hard fought tournament. The weather today was picture perfect. And the fishing was good too. Just about the same number of fish were caught today as the last couple of days. And there were some different names in the top teams. The “27th Treasure Cay Annual Billfish Tournament” team from Florida had a great fishing and catching day and ended up in first for the day. They released 6 Striped Marlin and racked up half their total points. And that rocketed Eddie Flack into second place angler behind Hernando Gonzalez from the “IGFA Offshore World Champions 2010” team. That also put the Florida team into a tentative tie for fourth place.

The South African team, “S.A.D.S.A.A. Billfish Classic 2010” had a great day with 5 Striped Marlin. That also was half their score and that put them into 2nd for the day and tentative 6th place overall. The third place team for the day was the “Ocean City Light Tackle Club 63rd Annual Derby” team, with 1000 points also. They had a slow start with only one Striped Marlin on day one, but did a fine job releasing 5 Striped Marlin today, but still didn’t score high in the overalls. So far these results are for the day and the official winners will be announced at tomorrow night’s dinner.

The fishing has been good just like we all expect Cabo fishing to be. With 59 teams consisting of 282 anglers and 289 billfish caught the tournament has turned what started as a slow spring into more what we like to see. Anglers from over 30 countries using different techniques and fishing with a lack of good bait have made the 2011 IGFA World Offshore Championship a success. Congratulations to all the anglers and good luck in this year’s tournaments.

 

Day Three 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship

11 May 2011. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing Report Courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

Here it is day three and the fishing is still holding on. No game fish were weighed today as everyone is really focused on billfish. The weather is holding up nicely as it usually does this time of year. That is one reason Cabo fishing is usually so good. The winds for tomorrow are again predicted to be out of the East and that should keep the water good and warm. Wind speeds are supposed to be around 12 mph. And again with the warmer water in the Sea of Cortez the boats will probably be heading out to the Gordo Banks.

Today has been just plain out hard fishing for Striped Marlin. There were the same number of Striped Marlin caught today as yesterday, but there were more Pacific Sailfish and a Blue Marlin. There are a few teams that seem to be doing the majority of catching. But right now the race is between the “IGFA Offshore World Champions 2010” team from Cabo and the “Islamorada Fish Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament” team from Florida. The “IGFA Offshore World Champions 2010” team from Cabo released 9 Striped Marlin today while the “Islamorada Fish Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament” team from Florida released 6 Striped Marlin. And the other teams aren’t that far out of reach.

Looking at the scores it looks more like it is a battle between Hernando Gonzalez of the IGFA 2010 World Offshore Champions 2010” and team members Sam Worden, Hunter Barron, Glen Miller and Frank Juliano of the “Islamorada Fish Club Captain’s Cup Sailfish Tournament.”

So now it’s time for the cream to rise to the top. Only one day is left and there aren’t too many points separating the leaders or even the other teams when you realize that one Blue or Black Marlin or Swordfish is worth 2 ½ times as many points as a Striped Marlin. So good luck to all the anglers and we have to wait to see who wins this year’s tournament.

 

Day Two 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship

10 May 2011. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing Report Courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com


Last night the clouds rolled in and stayed around all night. And it was still cloudy this morning for the start of Day Two of the 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship. Eventually the skies cleared and it got hot. The winds have shifted from the East to the West at around 12 mph. That makes the Pacific side of the peninsula rough. And with that wind colder water is moving down the peninsula. So most fisherman were fishing near the Gordo banks on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula.
 
This tournament has been a good one for swordfish. Two have been landed and another one spit the hook. And the Striped Marlin are biting better today. Other game fish have been cooperating with the anglers. Today the heaviest Dorado was a nice fish at 37.60 pounds. It was caught on board the “Picante Dream,“ Picante Sportfishing’s 35 ft. Cabo Flybridge by the Italian team,” Trofeo Circolo Nautico Sambenedettese”. Then the “Rising Sun,” another yacht in the Picante Sportfishing Yacht Fleet, brought in a 43.50 pound Wahoo caught by “60th Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Tournament” team whose members are from Russia. Fishing in Cabo San Lucas paid off for both teams who are leading in their respective categories.



Then came the big surprise for the day. The excitement was high for the Swordfish that were caught, but the Yellowfin Tuna that came in was a bigger surprise.  The team from Brazil, “Torneio De Marlin Azul do Rio De Janeiro” fought, for 199 minutes, and landed a giant Yellowfin that tipped the scales at 226.2 pounds. It was one big Yellowfin Tuna that would have won some recent tuna tournaments. These guys won’t soon forget their trip to the IGFA Tournament and fishing in Cabo San Lucas.

Now, to the standings after day two. After a great day of fishing in Cabo San Lucas the leaders have changed. First place is shared by the local team,” IGFA Offshore World Champions 2010” with 1800 points. And the other team tied for first place is from the other side of the continent. The “Islamorada Fish Club Captain's Cup Sailfish Tournament” team from Florida is doing well fishing in Cabo San Lucas with 1800 points.

In second place is the “N'Gor Marlin Cup 2010” team from Dakar, Senegal with 1700 points. They were in first place at the end of day one and their catch of a Swordfish keeps them in the running.

In third place is ”IGFA Offshore World Championship2010-2nd Place” team from the Bahamas, another Atlantic Ocean team, with 1600 points.

Now with the wind expected to shift again from the East bringing with it more warm water, the anglers, hopes are high that the fishing in Cabo San Lucas, the home of the IGFA Offshore World Championship, will again heat up and even more fish will be caught.

--  Why are some sport fishing charters head and shoulders above the others? Why are some fishing charters more enjoyable, while others are just glorified boat rides? Learn the secret and do as our returning customers do and book with Picante Sportfishing and see why. Come make some sportfishing memories with Picante Sportfishing. www.picantesportfishing.com  Proud corporate sponsors of the IGFA and The Billfish Foundation  Friendly, helpful staff and crews will make your trip memorable. 

Day One 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship:

09 May 2011. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fishing Report Courtesy of Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

Last night was a beautiful colorful sunset and today was a beautiful sunrise for the start of the 2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship. The morning temperatures started out in the upper 60’s Fahrenheit, but quickly were warming up to our daytime high in the 90’s. Winds were out of the East blowing 11 mph and seas were SSW 3 feet at 14 second intervals. What a great day for the beginning of the most prestigious invitational tournament in the world. At 7:00AM the boats were off and running.

This year all teams are required to provide their own video equipment and verify their catches using strict criteria. Continuous footage must show the catch and full release of the fish to score points. So it will be an interesting tournament.

In first place is the “N’Gor Marlin Cup 2010” team from Dakar, Senegal, on board the Picante Express, Picante Sportfishing’s 32 foot Cabo Express. They started out the tournament with 5 Striped Marlin netting them 1000 points.

In second place with 800 points was team “IGFA Offshore World Championship 2008” fishing the Mexican flag, but from Florida, with 4 Striped Marlin.

And in third place is team “Campeonato de pesca OPEN” from Rio de Janeiro with 700 points which consisted of a Striped Marlin and a Swordfish.

Only 2 game fish were weighed, a Yellowfin Tuna of 26 pounds and a Dorado of 30 pounds. Everyone is concentrating on the big points and that means billfish. The waters are still warming. On the Pacific side of the peninsula the water is now in the upper 70’s and on the Sea of Cortez side the water is up to the low 80’s. Hang on for some hot billfish action during the rest of the week.

Tune in tomorrow for more results and see how the current leaders hold out as the water warms up and so does the competition.

 

 

2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship

Water Warms Up in Cabo Just in Time for the

2011 IGFA Offshore World Championship 

8-13 May 2011

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 8 May 2011. Report from Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com

Hello from Picante Sportfishing in sunny Cabo San Lucas, the marlin capital of the world. The weather here has been great. The air temperatures are in the 90’s Fahrenheit. But the real news here is the water temperatures. At the beginning of the month the water temperatures to the east of Cabo San Lucas were in the low 70’s and to the west they were in the low 60’s. Then in less than a week the water warmed up big time. The water to the east warmed up into the high 70’s and the water in the west went to the upper 70’s. The currents and winds are blessing the waters here at land’s end. Just that has caused some excitement in the area, since the warmer temperatures bring in the warm loving species, like the Dorado, Wahoo and the Blue and Black Marlin. With the change in water temperature all the local marlin species should be available.

This is just in time for the largest and most prestigious invitational fishing tournament of the year. We’re not talking about the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament, or the Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot or even the Bisbee’s tournaments. This is the IGFA Offshore World Championship http://www.igfaoffshorechampionship.com/, often considered the “Olympics” of big-game fishing.

What sets this tournament apart is that it is not a tournament that anyone can enter. It is an invitation-only tournament. In order to get an invitation you have to have won one of the 130 IGFA sponsored tournaments during the year. This year there are going to be over 60 boats with over 300 anglers, representing 32 countries. This one is about bragging rights. It is a catch and release billfish and big game tournament. Videos are going to be used to verify the catches this year. Four 8-hour days of fishing will pit the best of the best on a collision course to the history books.

Picante Sportfishing http://www.picantesportfishing.com , as a corporate sponsor of IGFA,is proud to be one of the charter fleets chosen to supply the anglers with fishing platforms. With our record of numerous wins and excellent crews, anglers hope to be able to fish on one of our Cabo Yachts, and get a chance to be named “best anglers in the world.”

And with the last couple of weeks of some great Striped Marlin fishing and the waters warming and the big Blue Marlin already showing up, the recipe, here in Cabo San Lucas, is for world class fishing and fun.