A New Year

June 27, 2011

Buenavista, Baja California Sur, Mexico | Capt. Dave Lear
From: http://www.bisbees.com/

Bienvenido to a new year. The 12th edition of the Bisbee's East Cape Offshore Tournament kicked off yesterday afternoon as a record 61 boats made final preparations for three fun-filled days fishing the Sea of Cortez. The festive crowd listened closely as the rules were reviewed during the captains' meeting in the courtyard at the host Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort in East Cape.

"We'd like to welcome you all again and wish everyone good luck," Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee told the crowd assembled between sponsor display booths. "Let's start our new year with some really big fish!"

The seas have calmed after a small hurricane skirted the Baja peninsula last week and conditions are favorable for the kind of action Baja is known for. Capt. Sammy Talbert, who runs Sneak Attack, a 65 American Custom Yacht, ran up coast Tuesday from his homeport in Cabo.

"We had some bites on the way up," he reported. "There's a lot of bait around and the water from Punta Arenas to Punta Gordo is as pretty a blue as it gets around here."

Capt. Esaul Valdez is also very optimistic about the angling prospects. His family owns the resort and he runs the charter boat fleet. Valdez is fishing aboard the Dottie B II, a 31 Albemarle, during the competition.

"Fishing has been very good," he said. "There are lots of blue marlin around and a few sailfish. The water temperature is as high as 80 degrees and averaging 77, so that's good. We're seeing plenty of sardines, little ballyhoo and skipjack tuna, but no squid yet. The dorado are all running big. We've been catching 40-pound plus fish, so we should have plenty of activity at the scales."

As the first of three Bisbee Baja events, the East Cape Offshore Tournament targets blue and black marlin weighing 300 pounds or more. Striped marlin, spearfish and sailfish earn release points. In the gamefish categories, tuna must exceed 40 pounds to be eligible, while dorado have to be at least 30 pounds. As a team event, up to six anglers may fish per boat. With the record field of 61 boats entered, the cash prizes add up to $331,740.

"We're really excited to have this many boats this year," Tricia Bisbee, Wayne's sister and tournament coordinator, said after the last boat registered. "That's a big jump from 56 in 2010 and we're expecting another great tournament here at the beautiful Buena Vista Resort."

After an early morning flare start, the boats can fish until 4 p.m. this afternoon. The scales close at 7 p.m. each day and the friendly competition continues through Friday. So stay tuned as we report all the action from the sunny--and fishy--East Cape.

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