2019 LOS SUEÑOS TOURNAMENTS BEGIN WITH THE LADIES
Los Sueños Resort and Marina held the first leg of its sixth annual Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown billfish series, presented by Chantilly Air, January 16-19, 2019. A total of 44 of the world’s most competitive billfishing teams comprised of 210 individual anglers challenged each other over three days of fishing, releasing a total of 648 billfish, including 582 sails and 66 marlin for a per boat average of 15 billfish releases.
LADIES ONLY ONE-DAY TOURNAMENT
Held on Tuesday, January 15th the first annual Los Sueños Ladies Only Tournament, presented by Chantilly Air and sponsored by Maverick and Galati Yacht Sales, brought together 49 individual anglers participating on 17 boats. It seemed like a clear battle between Family and Friends and D.A. Sea who were tied both for points and on time just half an hour before lines out. Fish Tank (anglers Laura Jessen and Michelle Keeney) surprised everyone though, calling in a marlin hook up which they went on to release at 4:04 pm for the win, having released 8 sails and 1 marlin for 1300 points. D.A. Sea (anglers Valerie Dunn, Susan McCart, and Judy Duffie) ended up second with 1100 points with 6 sailfish and 1 marlin release, and Family and Friends(anglers Jackie Kopp, Kristin Feller, and Andrea White) rounded out the leaderboard in third with 1000 points after releasing 10 sails.
Awards were presented the following day and the ladies took to the stage to receive their cash prizes and trophies, sponsored by Gray Taxidermy. A total of $27,500 was handed out, 50% going to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. Individual angler points follow the ladies through the Triple Crown and will be tallied to their total scores from that event to determine the Top Female Angler Overall. So far, Jackie Kopp of Family and Friends is well in the lead with 700 points from the Ladies Only and 1500 points from the first leg of the Triple Crown.
TRIPLE CROWN DAY 1
It was Numero Uno who fittingly released fish “numero uno” of the tournament at 8:05 am on Day 1, January 17th. By 10:00 am the competitive fleet of 44 teams and 210 anglers had released 89 billfish, including 84 sails and 5 marlin. Tarheel took an early lead with 800 points, over The King and I and Blue Eagle, each with 700 points. The King and I showed their stripes early with 1800 points by noon, taking a 600 point lead over Tranquilo with 1200 points and Outlaw with 1100 points. Over 40 fish were released in the next two hours, but the leaderboard changed very little, with The King and I releasing one more sail for 1900 points, Tranquilo staying steady with 1200 points, and Outlaw rounding out the top three, also with 1 more sailfish release for 1200 points. Although The King and I ended the day in first with 2000 points, there was definitely some jockeying in the latter part of the afternoon; Wire We Here ended up releasing 6 sails and 2 marlin for 1600 points and second place, and Blue Eagle released the same fish for the same points, just 13 minutes later to take third for the day.
TRIPLE CROWN DAY 2
The King and I had a slow start to Day 2 with zero releases by 10 am, but managed to hold on to their first place spot. Wire We Here released four sails in the same period to tie The King and I with 2000 points, just 1 sailfish release and 100 points ahead of Reel Pushy. By noon the fleet had released a two-day total of 380 billfish and Fish Tank had pushed The King and I down to third on time after Wire We Here, both with 2100 points, and taking top spot with 2300 points. Family and Friends were keeping their name in front of spectators, taking top spot with 2600 points by 2 pm, followed by Fish Tank with 2400 points and Reel Pushy in third with 2300 points. By the end of the day Family and Friends had earned enough points after releasing 7 sails and 2 marlin for a two-day total of 2600 points, to keep their first place position. Reel Pushy released 7 sails and 2 marlin on Day 2 for a two-day total of 2500 points, and Fish Tank rounded out the top three with 2400 points after releasing 9 sails on Day 2. The top 9 teams were all within one marlin and one sail of the lead going in to Day 3.
TRIPLE CROWN DAY 3
Day 3 followed the same trend as the first two days with a good morning bite. By 10 am the fleet had released 61 billfish for a three-day total of 522 billfish (469 sails and 53 marlin). The King and I were vying for the leaderboard and had amassed 3300 points to take first over Reel Pushy in second with 3100 points, and Tranquilo in third with 2800 points. At noon it was still anyone’s game. Fish Tank was in first with 3500 points. The King and I was in second, now with 3400 points, and Reel Pushy in third with one more sailfish for 3200 points. The 2 pm leaderboard would end up being a prediction of the Leg 1 finishers, showing Fish Tank in first with 4200 points, The King and I in second with 3400 points, and Reel Pushy in third with 3300 points. Fish Tank went on to release four more sails, ending the day – and the tournament – with 4600 points. The King and I and Reel Pushy kept the same points, Reel Pushy tying with Tranquilo on time, but releasing their last fish two hours before. On behalf of the tournament committee, congratulations to all winners!
OWC QUALIFYING EVENT
The top team from each leg of the Los Sueños Signature Triple Crown will be eligible to compete in the 2019 Offshore World Championship. For further information, please visit www.offshorechampionship.com.
‘BIG OH’ CAPTURES VICTORY & $122,400 IN 2019 ROCKSTAR OFFSHORE TOURNAMENT
Marina Pez Vela [Quepos, Costa Rica] – At day’s first light, a quiet harbor came to life as fifty-two tournament teams, anglers, and crews assembled in anticipation for what has quickly become “Central America’s Richest Fishing Tournament”. As the sun rose above the lush, rainforest canopy adjacent to Marina Pez Vela, a choreographed procession of participating vessels – both large & small – exited to the Pacific, greeted by the vibrant tunes of a solo, heavy-metal guitarist. The clock struck 0700 and engines purred as inboards and outboards throttled up in a race to the fertile, bluewater grounds in hopes of capitalizing on Costa Rica’s incredible offering of game & billfish species. The 3rd Annual PELAGIC ROCKSTAR Offshore Tournament had begun…
The ROCKSTAR Offshore Tournament is a team event held annually each January which focuses on the diverse variety of species available in the waters of Pacific Costa Rica. Featuring multiple marina-side bashes, live rock ‘n roll concerts, and an offshore tournament extravaganza, the ROCKSTAR is the event both new and savvy tournament teams look forward to every year.
This tournament hosted both a large (35’ and over) and small (34’ and under) boat category, with general divisions of: Billfish Release, Tuna, and Dorado. $500,000 in cash prizes were presented to teams for their performance in releasing the most aggregate billfish points (sailfish, blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin) and/or weighing the heaviest two-fish total of each gamefish species (tuna & dorado) during the two-day tournament.
The 2019 event rocked Costa Rica beginning on January 11th as 52-teams with 261-anglers finalized their registration and jackpot bets to a live rock concert playing live on the main amphitheater stage. ROCKSTAR Tournament Village was bustling with energy as crowds flocked vendor tents where tournament apparel and merchandise was available; and to PELAGIC’s Flagship Superstore – a unique addition to Marina Pez Vela’s waterfront retail landscape.
The 52-team tournament fleet experienced incredible fishing on day-one of the tournament, with a total of 209 marlin and sailfish released, and a busy weigh station hoisting a steady stream of quality dorado and yellowfin tuna. In the Billfish Division, Team NSATIA BILL cleaned up shop by accruing 1100-points for 11 Pacific Sailfish releases which was good enough to sweep the daily billfish jackpots. Combined with their 3rd Place performance in the Dorado Division, NSATIA BILL took home a check for $93,600.
Team FIRE FLY weighed in a 54.4-lb. Yellowfin Tuna to take the tuna daily jackpot of $12,400 while TENACIOUS brought a 33.0-lb. dorado to the scales, earning them the dorado daily jackpot of $15,200. In the Small Boat Category, Team Desert Plastering aboard AMY’S DREAM earned the daily billfish jackpot of $1,800 by releasing 3 sailfish (300-point). A 62.4-lb. yellowfin tuna earned Team CDP Diamond aboard SWORDFISH $1,400 and a 36.6-lb. dorado earned GUNNER $1,600.
Fishing continued to fire on day-two of the tournament as 216 combined billfish were released and the dorado bite was on fire. Team BIG OH stole the show with 16 sailfish releases, earning them 1600-points and sweeping all levels of daily billfish jackpots. MISS BEHAVIN’ scored the largest tuna of the day (60.8-lbs) to take the tuna daily jackpot, while TAG TEAM took home the dorado daily with a solid 44.2-lb. fish.
In the Small Boat Category, KELLY DAWN weighed-in the tournament’s largest dorado – a stud 49.0-lb. bull dorado – to earn their division’s Dorado victory and the day-two jackpot, good for $4,600.
After two-days of tournament competition, 261 anglers combined to release a staggering 424 billfish (413 sailfish, 9 blue marlin, 1 black marlin, 1 striped marlin) along with 151 dorado and 22 yellowfin tuna.
Upon the tournament’s conclusion, the marina was amplified by the sounds of The Kin Rivera Band as teams and onlookers alike were anxious to hear the final results. Z-Gastro Bar, Flor de Caña, & Heineken once again provided a great party atmosphere in the PELAGIC “Pura Vida” Beach Club, while a giant inflatable TV screen was erected just before the awards ceremony as the entire crowd was treated to an incredible Rockstar! Tournament recap video. And the results are in…
When all was said and done, the 2019 ROCKSTAR Offshore Tournament crown went to Team BIG OH. A high-scoring second day – spearheaded by the tournament’s Top Overall Angler, Gray Ingram – catapulted the team to the top of the leaderboard as they tallied a total of 26 sailfish releases for the two-day tournament and a score of 2600 points to earn 1st Place Billfish Division honors. In conjunction with sweeping all levels of the day two billfish jackpot, BIG OH won an impressive $122,400!
TAG TEAM weighed a 44.2-lb. dorado on the second day to take the daily jackpot. Combining that fish with their day one dorado of 22.0-lbs. gave them a 2-day aggregate total of 66.2-lbs. – enough to take 1st Place in the Dorado Division and a total winnings of $30,800.
Weighing respective 41.2-lb. and 38.8-lb. yellowfin tunas on days 1 & 2 of the tournament was Team Sea Hawk Paint aboard OPEN FLY. Their combined weight of 80.0-lbs. won them 1st Place Tuna Division and an earnings of $15,600. Team Desert Plastering aboard AMY’S DREAM was the top overall team in the Small Boat Category. They took home the 1st Place trophy in the Small Boat Billfish Division, as well as both daily billfish jackpots with their combined 9 sailfish releases (9000-pts.) to win $9,600.
The evening’s celebration continued as Queen’s hit single “We are the Champions” resonated through amplifiers and fireworks filled the skies above Marina Pez Vela as thousands of onlookers and tournament participants honored the captain, anglers, and crew of BIG OH on their resounding victory. The partied continued well into the night as Kin Rivera Band once again rocked the stage with an eclectic mix new and old rock hits, while tasty cocktails and beers were provided by Flor de Caña & Heineken.
Thank you to all tournament participants and be sure mark your calendars as the 4th Annual Pelagic ROCKSTAR Offshore Tournament is set to return to Marina Pez Vela next January 10-12, 2020!
