On the third and final day of the Burger King Big Fish tournament, Sir Peanut Captain Gary Rutty steered his boat out along the south shore of Grand Cayman under a vibrantly pink and purple sunrise. Nearby, a magnificent frigate bird rested atop a buoy. Rutty affectionately prompted the “lazy” bird to wake up and go find him some fish.
The boat raced out in the bird’s wake, joining a record 94 teams registered to participate in the seventh annual tournament held 5-7 April. It was originally scheduled to start 22 March, but it was pushed back due to strong winds.
Despite pulling out all the stops, teams struggled to find fish this year in an uncharacteristically slow competition. But that only heightened the excitement surrounding the chase for some particularly gigantic blue marlin and other game fish.
Oooh, barracuda
While wahoo, yellowfin tuna, dolphin and blue marlin are typically the main fish targeted by anglers, barracuda proved the most caught this year.
Teams caught a total of 25 over the weekend, bringing forward batches of the toothy fish for the end-of-day weigh-ins at the George Town Yacht Club. In total, they caught 15 wahoo, eight tuna and one dolphin, with three marlin releases.
Tournament organiser Mark Anthony said he was grateful for the participation by everyone at the weigh-ins and awards, and in supporting the YMCA this year.
Considering the importance of fishing to the history of the Cayman Islands, he said organisers provide an accessible way for anglers of all ages to get out and join the competition.
“It was slim pickings, but what I heard from everybody, without exception, is that they enjoyed getting to spend days with their families and friends out on the water,” he said.
“It’s really about the community camaraderie.”
The peanut gallery
The Sir Peanut crew set out at 6am every day, first scouring the south shore for any sign of fish.
On Saturday, boats of varying sizes zipped by one another though most stuck fairly close to shore.
About an hour into the opening day, Gary Palgon hooked the first fish, a mid-sized barracuda. The team continued to trawl for wahoo while its sister boat hunted tuna.
During the afternoon, Gannon Rutty caught a juvenile dolphin and shark that were released.
The one that got away
Some anglers had better luck on that second day with blue marlin. After a quiet start to the Saturday of fishing, news came through of someone battling a sizeable blue marlin.
Sporadic updates came through. The angler had been fighting the fish for two hours. Then three. Then four. Finally, the Alli B radioed that the fight was over.
Angler Adrian Ebanks said they repeatedly brought the marlin along the boat, and based on the length of the leader compared to the fish, they estimated it was about 800 pounds — what would be a new record in the Cayman Islands.
Typically, tournaments require anglers to bring in their fish to be weighed at the end of the day to count toward the prizes. However, in the interest of protecting marlin, they may allow anglers to catch and release the fish. But to count as an official record, the fish needs to be weighed.
While the Alli B crew was busy getting measurements, the marlin again dove away from the boat, and eventually it broke off.
Even though it was a competition, boats all around the island radioed in their congratulations for bringing in the impressive fish.
Making a splash
Eleven-year-old Matteo Lawson of the Laws n Found reeled in his first-ever marlin on Saturday.
He told the Compass about their efforts trolling along 12-Mile Bank.
“We just said that we were going to bring up the marlin lures and give up on marlin,” he said. “We only had one other line in, and we were reeling that up when we heard nnnnrrrrrhhhh. I love that sound. We looked over, and it was actually on the wahoo rig. I put the belt on, the harness on, sat down on the cooler and just started fighting it.”
The fish made multiple jumps, but careful angling kept it from throwing the hook before Lawson could bring it up to the boat.
Tournament judges didn’t allow the catch on a technicality. Lawson faced an extra challenge bringing in the marlin on wahoo gear, which is considerably smaller. Judges noted in a video of the catch that the swivel didn’t quite reach the rod before the team released the 200-pounder.
Lawson still brought the marlin to the boat after fighting it for half an hour and, per tradition, friends and family tossed him in the Barcadere Marina to celebrate catching his first.
Best of the best
Teams gathered Monday evening at the yacht club to collect their trophies and reflect on the weekend.
Given the dearth of fish this year, no one took home the grand slam trophy. But first place for the heaviest wahoo, tuna and dolphin, respectively, went to Roger Wood of Ohana, Iva Rozinkova of the Hakuna Matata, and Waylon Bush of the Blue Moon.
In the hotly-contested heaviest daily barracuda category, Nancy Binz of the Lil Hooker won the first day with a fish weighing 19 pounds; Nick Foster of Knot Dis Time won the second day with a 15.2-pound catch, and Nathanael Roberts of the Anna Maria won the third day weighing in at 16.4 pounds.
New this year, the prize for the most marlin releases was renamed in memory of Will Jones, a stalwart in the Cayman Islands fishing community. The award went to Jacob McTaggart aboard Clean Gas, who caught the first blue marlin on day one and couldn’t be beat.
Regardless, Rutty said dearth of fish this year was a good reminder of the importance of sustainable practices throughout the year to protect the health of the fish populations.
“If we don’t give back, there won’t be any for future generations,” he said. “The more we can contribute, get serious about conservation, and thank God for what he has given us, the more we will be blessed again.”
Results
Most Blue Marlin Releases (Will Jones Memorial)
Clean Gas 400
Heaviest Wahoo 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place prizes
1 Roger Wood 47.4 Ohana
2 Michael McLaughlin 38.2 Rocksteady
3 Shavon Bodden 37.1 Papa, We Gone Bananas Too!
Heaviest Tuna 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place prizes
1 Iva Rozinkova 56.2 Hakuna Matata
2 Phillmore Barnett 55.6 Infinity
3 Alexander Bosch 53.4 Triple Shot
Heaviest Dolphin 1st prize
1 Waylon Bush 15.6 Blue Moon
Heaviest Daily Barracuda
Day 1: Nancy Binz 19 Lil Hooker
Day 2: Nick Foster 15.2 Knot Dis Time
Day 3: Nathanael Roberts 16.4 Anna Maria
Female Angler
1 Iva Rozinkova 56.2 Hakuna Matata
Meat Pot Dolphin
1 Blue Moon 15.6
Meat Pot Wahoo
1 Ohana 47.4
2 Invisible 31
3 Morning Spirit 23.4
Meat Pot Yellow-Fin Tuna
1 Hakuna Matata 56.2
2 Infinity 55.6
3 Triple Shot 53.4
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