The 2008 Capt. Bob Lewis Billfish Challenge promised to be an exciting event for its 15th annual fishing classic from the very start!  Many changes were implemented to enhance angler and team competition yet still keep the heritage and camaraderie that the CBLBC is famous for.

On Saturday morning, March 1st, the teams were met with good sailfish conditions as the fleet of 44 boats headed out to find their spot on the edge, off the coast of Southeast Florida.

Gary Lawson's Team Boat Center was out of the gates quickly with four fish in the morning and finished five for seven by day's end.  Team Advanced Roofing, captained by Mike Kornahrens, lead the outboard division and Ovi Vento's Team Rock Star leading the inboard division were tied for the overall lead with eight fish going into the final minutes of day one.

A familiar foe in the Miss Britt, captained by Jim Mulcahy and mate Jason Cartwright, happened across a pod of tailing fish with just ten minutes until lines out.  After getting releases on three of the last four fish they hooked, Miss Britt packed up from their southern fishing grounds and headed to the docks with their catch cards indicating they had nine fish and an overall one fish lead.

Day two promised to be slightly more challenging with weather and timing, as the second day the crews had only six hours of fishing from lines in at 8 AM to out at 2 PM.  Never the less, the crew of the Miss Britt, fishing south once again, managed to lead the field by scoring another seven releases for the overall win and a 16 fish two day total.

Joe Turner, captaining the 4 Aces, worked their way up through the field to capture second place overall with a two day total of twelve fish and Top Angler honors with Peter Adrian scoring nine of the releases.  Team Uptight had battled mechanical demons with an overheating transmission, but was able to limp into the docks at 3:21, just before the 3:30 PM deadline.  Their efforts were rewarded with a third place overall finish.  Team Rock Star edged out Team Advanced Roofing based on time for fourth place in overall division with 10 fish each.

In the Outboard Division, Team Advanced Roofing's catch was followed by Team Money Shot that also had 10 fish, but finished in second place based on time.  The third place outboard boat, Team Night Prowler, had seven releases but scored big with the tournament's heaviest weighed fun fish - a 50 pound dolphin caught by Daniel Uribe.  Finishing fourth and fifth based on time, were Teams Kite Hunter and Extra Expense, both of which also had seven releases for their two day total.

Other notable winners include Top Kingfish at 14.9 pound to Team Game Time and Team Boat Center captured Top Wahoo with a nice 33.2 pound fish.  Top Lady Angler was Paige Owens aboard the PRN II captained by her father Mike Owens.  Top Junior Angler was David Mills with five releases.  Top Amateur boat belonged to KC Crook's C&C.

All in all, even with the slightly reduced field, the new tournament format allowed more boats to win more money than ever!  The awards ceremony was a great event that allowed true camaraderie that has made the CBLBC an event that is second to none.

The Captain Bob Lewis Billfish Challenge is a 501(c)3 not for profit that benefits kids fishing and the environment.  To learn more please visit www.billfishchallenge.com