When the fishing off the British Virgin Islands gets good, it can be really good. Luis Isaias and the Jichi team hit the motherlode during the inaugural Scrub Island Blue Marlin Invitational, releasing eight blues in three days, including six in just one day of fishing.
With the typical trade winds blowing and a fleet of boats and teams that all had won tournaments before, it was not long before the boats started to call in their hookups. On Day One, Grander had the hot hand, releasing three blue marlin for angler Curt Richardson. Marlin Darlin, Hit ‘n Run, Indigo and Auspicious each had two blues released to stay in the hunt.
Day Two found the fleet fishing off the island of Anegada, where Capt. Gene Lebron and Jichi were in the bite. They released six blues to move out front, while Never Say Never had three. Predator, Committed and Hit ‘n Run each had two additional blue marlin releases.
Predator, with Capt. Juan Carlos Torruella, caught four blues on the final day as many other boats scored releases. In the end, it would be Jichi on top with eight blue marlin releases. The top angler was owner Luis Isaias, who received a beautiful Kent Ullberg sculpture. Hit ‘n Run was second with seven blue marlin releases, and Predator finished third, also with seven blues. The top lady angler for the event was Prime Time‘s Lisa Evans — Prime Time also weighed a 58-pound wahoo to win that division as well. Over $162,000 in cash and prizes was awarded during the tournament, where 14 teams released a total of 64 blue marlin in three days.
