Even though the tournament was shortened by a day, it was still incredibly successful. A total of 51 teams participated for over $785,000, despite the weather putting a damper on Day One and the port being closed. The event’s two days of fishing tallied 117 billfish—36 blue marlin, 73 striped marlin, three black marlin and five sailfish.
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The only qualifying black marlin was captured on Day One by angler Guy Arrington on Wild Hooker, scoring 660 points and weighing in at 440 pounds to win the Overall Marlin jackpot. The team also won both daily jackpots, earning a total of $483,750 for their efforts.
With a tournament release total of 1,300 points, Capt. Greg DiStefano and his El Suertudo team—Guy Yocom, Jeff Richardson, Christian Lopez, Bruce McDonald, Adam Flores, and Oswaldo and Alfonso Ortego—released four blues, two striped marlin and a sailfish on Day Two for the 1,275 points that propelled them to the main stage and a check in the amount of $117,350. The team also received a coveted invitation to compete in the 2020 Costa Offshore World Championship held in Quepos, Costa Rica.
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The Sneak Attack team—Capt. Vicente Bojorquez, mate Rene Moreno, Chip Wagner, Shawn Guttersen, Guillermo Bojorquez, David and Daniel Rosenthal, and Christopher Chay—placed second overall for releasing two blue marlin, one black marlin and three striped marlin, receiving a total of 975 points and a check for $72,790. And with 950 points, Buenaventura snagged third place for overall releases and were awarded $44,610 for their three blues and two striped marlin.
The largest yellowfin tuna, courtesy of angler Mike Darden on Tejas, weighed in at 158.6 pounds on Day One, and the largest wahoo, a 35.5-pounder, was captured by angler Ken Eberle and his Auriga team and weighed on Day Two.
