With great fishing and a spectacular host location in the Dominican Republic, the Casa de Campo Blue Marlin Classic saw some amazingly tight competition among the fleet. Day One began with red-hot action and 29 blue marlin releases by the fleet. Frank Rodriguez’ team on Fa-La-Me led the way with four blue marlin releases but there were a number of boats with three each, including Emily, Blue Bird, Mama Who and Team Supreme.
Day Two was marked by a shift in the weather and currents, which slowed the fishing somewhat. Still, with 14 blue marlin releases, it’s still better than a day in the office. Fa-La-Me added two more releases to their tally while Mama Who had three to move within just a few points of the lead. Auspicious was the top boat for the day with four blue marlin releases, which also put them into contention.
The tournament’s lay day hosted the annual sporting clays competition and the now-infamous donkey polo match that afternoon in the equestrian center, before teams took to the water for the third and final day. The stage was set for an unforgettable finish.
Amazing Grace, a Venezuela-based team, released the fleet’s first blue marlin of the day to bring their total to three, then Capt. Tim Richardson’s Chaser released a blue, their fourth of the tournament. A bit later, Fa-La-Me had a release to maintain their lead. Then Amazing Grace went on a strong run, releasing five blues in just two and a half hours of fishing to give them six for the day. The team lived up to their name, moving from ninth place into first with one blue marlin ahead of Fa-La-Me, while Chaser went from seventh to third place overall. Chaser angler Garrett Penley was the event’s top angler.
