Day 2 Results - July 9, 2004

The bite continued to be steady as the second day of fishing got under way with the 8:00 radio start. Waste Knot started things off with a white marlin release angler John Cole at 8:16. Sea Toy angler Richard Bewn soon followed with a blue marlin release at 8:28. Rum Bum angler Luis Bacardi finished off the first hour giving the team its first white marlin release at 8:41. The fish continued to spread the luck around as De Mako angler Ricky Sousa had its first release of a blue marlin at 9:50.

Waste Knot
was back in action again and successfully released a blue for angler Lonnie Poole at 10:03 giving the team a real chance in the tournament. Betsy VII also got back in the thick of it with Mike Brauser's blue marlin release at 10:15. Things slowed a bit until Bermuda Banger had three lines come down. Captain John Whiting called in a double header because the first fish dropped off quickly. "We have a double header of large fish control," he shouted excitedly into the microphone. Angler Wayne Chao from Hong Kong fought from the chair as angler Raymond Pitcher fought stand up with the other. Both fish were estimated to be over the 500-pound minimum with one estimated to be over 900 pounds.

Well wishes came across the radio from other boats fishing around Banger , which was on Argus Bank. Unfortunately for the team one crewmember didn't make the boat leaving only the two anglers hooked up and the captain. Pitcher's fish became to much to handle on stand up so he put the rod in the holder and reeled the fish as close as possible while also clearing lines so they wouldn't tangle with the other hooked fish. Since setting the rod in the holder is not legal in the tournament the team cut off that fish and continued fighting Chao's fish. After a three-hour battle 17-year-old Wayne Chao and crew pulled the fish on board.

While all this was going on Bigga Mac , Treasure Isle , Panchdara and Reel Tight all released blue marlin. Treasure Isle was back it business again when a real nice fish pull hard and screamed several hundred yards of line off the 130. Angler Mike Carey put the heat on the fish and brought her along side in 30-minutes. Hearing that Bermuda Banger planned on boating the fish and it could go as high as 800-pounds captain Allan DeSilva told the crew to release the fish. This was a tough decision as the fish was sure to be larger than the 500-pound minimum. L&H and Tenacious broke the curse with L&H releasing a white and Tenacious releasing a blue. Lone Star and Knock Down hooked up with blue's in the 3:00 hour, which could be significant since they both had blues on day one.

In Depth got on the board with a white, Knock Down and Lone Star we also successful releasing their blue marlin. With eight minutes to go Reel Tight hooked up. Lone Star also hooked up with five minutes to lines out with both teams fighting after the 4:00 lines out call. Reel Tight released one that was close but probably over the 500 pound minimum in 16 minutes while Lone Star continued to do battle. All other boats headed to the dock for more Bacardi spirits as the crowd grew in expectation of Bermuda Bangers fish.

By the time Bermuda Banger and angler Wayne Chao made the dock over 500 people were waiting to see the fish. Weigh master Raul Miranda called the weight; 538-pounds we have our first qualifier. If this fish held for the day the crew was looking at a $48,000 check for the Day One and Day Two Daily Jackpots. As camera crews and TV stations interviewed Bermuda Bangers team Lone Star quietly headed back in with their boated fish. Finally at around 6:30 p.m. Lone Star arrived to a packed Barr's Bay Park with the crowd swelling to over 700 spectators. Captain Dean Jones was no stranger to large fish but conservatively estimated the marlin to be just under 600-pounds. Looking at the girth of the fish many experienced crews new it was a good one.

Director Dan Jacobs help situate the boat as crane operator Brett Dudas maneuvered the crane into position. Weigh master Raul Miranda diligently zeroed out the scale. Once the fish was in place he gave the weight to Dan Jacobs who stood on top of the crane and bellowed out the weight, 694 pounds for Lone Star and angler Wayne Courier! The fish bumped off Bermuda Banger's fish and earned them the $48,000 Jackpot. Cheers erupted for the local team as the press took photos and interviewed the ecstatic anglers. One interesting twist to this is that both teams weighing fish were not in the overall marlin jackpot worth $78,000.

By the end of day two it was still anyone's ball game. Teams cleaned up and headed down to Allen Desilva's home for their traditional tournament soirée featuring incredible seafood and special dishes made by loving hands. A great time was had by all. Special heart felt thanks to Allen and Susan Desilva, Miles Market, Bacardi and Jimmy Bayne for the great time.




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