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Weez In The Keys - 1st Place

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Sea Toy - 2nd Place			Blank Check - 3rd Place	Mama Who - Daily & Heaviest Blue Marlin 691

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Press Release by Jonathan Reiss

Weez in the Keys Wins 2010 Classic
Mama Who Lands Big Winnings with 691 lb Blue Marlin

The 10th Annual Bermuda Big Game Classic was surely the most successful one yet, and that's because the blue marlin bite was Red Hot.  Over the three days of fishing, the fleet of 49 boats caught 66 blue marlin and 20 white marlin.  It's a fantastic result, especially when you consider that the blue marlin in Bermuda are generally good size (often upwards of 350-450 lbs).

Of the 66 blue marlin taken, all but four were photographed and released.

On Day One, we had the 691 lb blue marlin boated by "Mama Who" and the 560 lb blue marlin boated by "Blue Chip".  We had no marlin weighed on Day Two, but on Day Three, "Kerry D" brought in an undersized blue marlin of 488 lb and "Sea Scorpion" boated a 537 lb blue marlin.

The sleek 58 foot Merritt, "Weez in the Keys" team led by Capt. Dave Morris and anglers Rob Ruwitch and Scott Robbins put on a great performance by releasing a blue marlin and a white on Day One, then releasing two blue marlin and a white on Day Two, and finishing strong with another blue marlin release and a white on Day Three.  Their final tally of 4 blue marlin releases and 3 white releases earned them a new Big Game Classic record 2,600 points and First Place Honors worth $44,100.  They also won a bunch of other awards, including the Day Two Release Jackpot worth $29,040, the Most Billfish Release Points Jackpot worth $106,920, the Overall Billfish Release award worth $7,350, and the prestigious Manufacturer's Cup.  So their total official cash winnings aggregated to $191,410.

MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS TO WEEZ IN THE KEYS !!   The team clearly enjoy this tournament as they finished 3rd in the 2008 Classic and caught the heaviest blue marlin in the 2007 Classic, and they are currently on a really good run as they also finished 2nd in the recent 2010 Blast and now have 3,800 Triple Crown Points, which places them 2nd in the Triple Crown standings with just the Sea Horse leg to go.  They actually had the lead in the Triple Crown, but the ever consistent "Que Mas" team hooked a blue marlin five minutes before time on Day Three, which they subsequently released, and that gave them two blues and a white release in the Classic to add to their Blast haul. "Que Mas" leads the Triple Crown standings with 3,900 points, but the gap is a mere 100 points.

Second Place and $22,050 in the 2010 Classic went to Capt. Bull Tolson's "Sea Toy" with four blue marlin releases.  This team also placed 2nd in 2007.  Third Place and $14,700 was won by "Blank Check" also with four blue marlin releases.  The gorgeous 85 foot Jim Smith "Ovation" had to settle for fourth even with 4 blue marlin releases, but at least their angler, John Monti, won the High Point Angler award.  Prior to this year, only two boats had ever scored 2,000 points or more in the Classic and not won (both finished 2nd and one was "Sea Toy" in 2007), but in 2010, these three boats all reached the 2,000 point total behind "Weez in the Keys".

As for the dock money, there was excitement on Day Three because the "Sea Scorpion" team had angler Hamish Burns Jr. hooked-up to a lively marlin at 2:48 pm and the battle continued well after lines-out.  At 6:35 pm, they eventually boated the blue marlin after a nearly 4 hour ordeal.  Back at Barr's Bay Park it tipped the scales at 537 lb, but unfortunately this team was NOT entered in the Daily Blue Marlin Jackpot and so Elaine Jones' 691 lb whopper caught on Day One swept the board with all three Daily Blue Marlin Jackpots (aggregating $89,100) and the Heaviest Blue Marlin Jackpot worth $115,830 - so that big blue marlin earned Elaine and the "Mama Who" team a cool $204,930, and she won the High Point Lady Angler award (again).

The Day One Release Jackpot worth $29,040 was won by "Click Through" with three blue marlin releases, and the Day Three Release Jackpot, also worth $29,040, was won by Captain Russell Young, angler Ricky Sousa and team aboard "Over Budget" with two blue marlin releases.  Coincidentally, "Over Budget" won the same Day Three Jackpot in the 2009 Classic.

The Gamefish award, worth $7,350, went to visiting boat, "Ms Knox", with a fine 110 lb yellowfin tuna.  This is the biggest fish ever to win the gamefish award in the Classic.  The previous best was a 108 lb yellowfin taken by "Kerry D" in 2005.

The final tournament standings are as follows:

1.    Weez in the Keys - 4 blue releases; 3 white releases - 2,600 points, cash winnings of $191,410 and invitation to the IGFA Offshore World Championship.
2.    Sea Toy - 4 blue releases - 2,000 points, cash winnings of $22,050
3.    Blank Check - 4 blue releases - 2,000 points and cash winnings of $14,700
4.    Ovation - 4 blue releases - 2,000
5.    Click Through - 3 blue releases; 1 white release - 1,700 points and cash winnings of $29,040
6.    Sea Duce - 3 blue releases; 1 white release - 1,700
7.    Over Budget - 3 blue releases; 1 white release - 1,700 points and cash winnings of $29,040
8.    Off Piste - 3 blue releases - 1,500
9.    Reel Hot - 2 blue releases; 1 white release - 1,200
10.  Uno Mas - 2 blue releases; 1 white release
11.  Overproof - 2 blue releases; 1 white release
12.  Que Mas - 2 blue releases; 1 white release
13.  Treasure Isle - 2 blue releases - 1,000
14.  Foreign Exchange - 2 blue releases
15.  Offshore Lady - 2 blue releases
16.  Triple Play - 2 blue releases
17.  Artemis - 2 blue releases
18.  Paradise One - 2 blue releases
19.  7th Wave - 2 blue releases
20.  Wound Up - 1 blue release; 2 white releases - 900
21.  Challenger - 1 blue release; 2 white releases
22.  Freedom - 1 blue release; 1 white release - 700
23.  Touchdown - 1 blue release; 1 white release
24.  Fish Cakes - 1 blue release; 1 white release
25.  Ms Knox - 1 blue release; 1 white release - 700 points and cash winnings of $7,350
26.  Mama Who - 1 blue boated - 691 lbs and cash winnings of $204,930 27.  Blue Chip - 1 blue boated - 560 lbs
28.  Sea Scorpion - 1 blue boated - 537 lbs
29.  Chaos - 1 blue release - 500 points
30.  Lone Star - 1 blue release
31.  Pink Impression - 1 blue release
32.  Unreel - 1 blue release
33.  Last Chance - 1 blue release
34.  Reel Addiction - 1 blue release
35.  Mako - 1 white release - 200 points
36.  Certifiable - 1 white release 49. 

 

There are some highly consistent boats, but marlin fishing is often about "waiting for your turn" and so it's noteworthy that last year's first and third place finishers in the Classic were on the blank list this year.

Sometimes it's just a matter of minutes or seconds - Capt. Brooks Rans and team on "Matanza" were winding-up the lines at 4:00 pm plus a few seconds on Day Three when a 300 lb blue marlin crashed the spread and was subsequently fought and released.

By the way, the blue marlin bite has only gone and heated-up considerably even from the successful levels during the tournament.  On Sunday morning (July 11) several boats fought big blue marlin and at least two in the 600 lb class were released.  On Monday July 12, local charter boat "Playmate" led by Capt. Kevin Winter hooked into a GRANDER which eventually died on the line - it was subsequently boated and back at Barr's Bay Park it tipped the scales at 1,012 lbs - NICE GOING PLAYMATE !!!  There was also a 650 lb blue boated by one of the visiting boats on Monday.

The wahoo are also biting quite well.  Jimbo Thatcher, Spencer Moss and crew aboard "Stella Blue" hauled in 13 wahoo and a blackfin tuna on Saturday.

So, it's a BRILLIANT offshore scene here in Bermuda right now.  For those of you who missed it - that's a huge shame, but we'll see you here next year.  A BIG THANK YOU to Tournament Director Dan Jacobs, Raul Miranda and the whole team at Bonnier Corporation for making the Bermuda Big Game Classic the best blue marlin event in the world !!!