The 2016 Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic hosted a fleet of 45 participating boats, fishing out of Venice, Louisiana and vying for their share of nearly $658,000 in cash and prizes.
The action started early, with Wild Hooker and Click Through both calling in blue marlin at 116 inches in length (measured from the fork in the tail to the tip of the lower jaw) on the first day of fishing. Click Through, with owner Keith English, Capt. Matt Mauldwin and angler Lopaka Robello, weighed in first. Their marlin hit the scales at 672.2 pounds for the crew aboard their 68-foot Wanchese. It would be worth $122,400 as the largest blue marlin of the tournament.
A few hours later, Wild Hooker arrived at the marina and weighed their 635.1-pound blue, good enough for a second-place finish for owner Allen Stuart, angler Guy Arrington and Capt. Shane O’Brien.
Next up would be a surprise: Bimini Babe, a 74-foot Viking owned by Floyd “Babe” Appling and captained by Lee Weidner, scaled at 541-pound bluefin tuna for angler Trey Thormahlen. The team chose to burn over 600 gallons of fuel and lose nine hours of fishing time to weigh the beautiful tuna.
The following day, Capt. Pat Ivie, owner Matt McDonald and angler Rick Olsen aboard the 68-foot Viking Breathe Easy weighed a 392.3-pound blue marlin, large enough to hold up for third place.
In the Release Division, it would be You Never Know topping the fleet with two blue marlin caught on the first day of the event by Sydney Turner, who also captured top honors in the Lady Angler category. You Never Know was named the Top Billfish Boat of the tournament. Second place went to Done Deal based on time of release with two blue marlin, while Born2Run was third, also with two blues released. For the tournament, the fleet released a total of 16 blue marlin and six white marlin. The event hosted a silent auction to benefit The Billfish Foundation and raised $7,290 for TBF’s conservation work in the Gulf of Mexico.
