After some sizeable wahoo and dolphin catches at the Barcadere Classic, the fishing year is shaping up well.
The 2014 calendar’s first event took place earlier this month, with the three biggest catches being a 58.9-pound yellowfin tuna caught by Carolyn Paffenroth on C Money, a 56.5-pound wahoo by Denise Begg-Smith on SeaBird and a 46.8-pound dolphin by Josh Ebanks on Knotty Buoy. For Cayman Islands Angling Club president Franklin Thompson, the main focus going forward is angler participation in future tournaments.
“We look forward to the 2014 tournaments with increased participation from local and visiting anglers,” Thompson said. “Also, if interested, people should come join the angling club. Membership benefits include discounts at Scott’s Marine and Harbour House Marina on select gear and equipment and also discounts on auto, home and marine insurance with Cayman First.”
For the Barcadere Classic, Daren May of Troublemaker had the second biggest tuna at 56.4 pounds and the third heaviest fish was 54.6 pounds, caught by Johann Wood on Party Heat. Vaughan Smith of Miss Nicole had the second largest wahoo at 51.5 pounds and the third heaviest catch was 41.2 pounds by Harvey Paffenroth on C Money. Dwayne Lee of Knotty Buoy had the second heaviest dolphin at 34.9 pounds and the third largest fish was 34.3 pounds by Justin Ebanks on Blue Moon.
Carolyn Paffenroth of C Money had the most blue marlin releases, Monique Barnett of Dolphin King had the biggest junior catch with a 15.8-pound dolphin and Al Parsons of Strike Force focused his efforts on landing a 16.8-pound barracuda.
Aside from the catches, the competition attracted American fishing personality Capt. Jimmy Nelson. The Floridian, who came to film the action, has featured Cayman on NBC Sports’ “Extreme Fishing Adventures” TV show, Gaff magazine and Gaff Life TV in recent months. Nelson said he was impressed with the Barcadere Classic. “It was a very well organized tournament set at a great time of year to catch dolphin, wahoo, tuna and marlin,” Nelson said.
The next tournament is slated to be the Cayman Swordfish Challenge on April 11-13. Before that, local fishing gets added international publicity as the World Fishing Network is featuring Cayman on a new series titled ‘Hookin’ Up with Nick and Mariko’ as show hosts Nick Honachefsky and Mariko Izumi filmed their experiences here. Episode 11 of season one airs over the coming days, starting March 16 at noon and ending March 19 at 1:30 a.m.
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