Bonfire Series Is Off to Red Hot Start at Old Bahama Bay
The 2015 Guy Harvey Outpost Bonfire Series opened last month with the Burnin’ Wahoo leg of the three-event series out of Old Bahama Bay, West End, Grand Bahama Island. In June and September, the Bonfire Series moves to Bimini and Islamorada with the Burnin’ Marlin and Burnin’ Tarpon tournaments.
Sharkbait kicked off day one of the event as the first boat to weigh fish. Their five largest wahoo totaled out at 182.3 pounds, with their biggest tipping the scales at 44.1 pounds. Side Show weighed in with a 52-pound wahoo to push their way to the top of the Largest Fish category.
A succession of boats weighed fish, but none displaced Sharkbait until the second hour of weigh-in when Fishin A’ Loan brought five large wahoo to the scales. To heighten the drama, Fishin A Loan weighed their smallest fish first and the largest last. They had three fish over 50 pounds, including the largest of the day at 63.9 pounds. Their total weight for day one was 239.8 pounds!
The drama did not stop there, as local favorites Matchless arrived at the weigh station just minutes before the closing bell at 5 p.m. Their three fish totaled 87.8 pounds to put them in third place at the end of day one.
As the evening festivities began the wind began to build. Day two would prove to be more challenging fishing. All the boats got out, and the leaders put in extra effort trying to take advantage of the “no limits,” fishing. Sharkbait was first back to the weigh station with one wahoo that just missed the 20-pound minimum weight and a pelagic slam of dolphin, tuna and kingfish. Their aggregate total did not change, but no team had a better time.
All eyes were on Fishin A Loan. Would they add to their total or would another boat have the hot hand for day two? Again found fish, catching a 60.5-pounder to back up their day one lunker and four more for a total of 208.2 pounds on day two. This gave Fishin A Loan a two-day total of 448 pounds and a substantial lead. Drama remained as Matchless once again was the last boat back to the dock with minutes to spare. A single 100-pounder could jump them in to second place. Alas, it was not to be as they raced down the dock with a 36.0-pounder in arm bumping their total to 123.8 pounds and a solid Third Place finish.
Final Results:
Winners: Fishin A Loan , 448.0 pounds
Runners Up: Sharkbait, 182.3 pounds
Third Place: Matchless, 123.8 pounds
Fourth Place: Game Over, 87.0 pounds
Fifth Place: Llangus, 69.5 pounds