With the Blessing of the Fleet at 6:15 AM Tuesday morning the 40th annual USVI/Open Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament was officially open! Now that Tropical Storm Isaac is a distant (literally) memory in the waters of the Virgin Islands and with presence of blue skies and calm seas the conditions are near perfect for this event which lasts for four days.
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| Now that's a fish! |
The USVI Tournament is one of the most popular Marlin events. What is most satisfying for many is that this tournament is a 'release' event so no need to be anxious about the safety of these magnificent fish. The USVI tournament was the first of its type - in the world - to go 'release'. Points are awarded based on anglers actually releasing the fish, their size (that is the size of fish not the angler!), and the total number of fish caught.
The fishing should phenomenal as the full moon is on August 31st and this makes for good times.
This year, so far, 27 boats registered for the tournament and 26 actually started fishing today, up from 20 last year. The registered boats and captains represent the best of the best in the world of sport fishing since this has become a sought after tournament and winning 'the Boy Scout Tournament', as it is nicknamed (after the event's main beneficiary). In addition, the USVI Tournament is part of a new popular 3-legged fishing event dubbed 'the Bermuda Triangle'.
The tournament follows the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules. To most, winning the "Boy Scout" is a life goal, now to win at a series of events of the same design - is carrying the angler and crew challenge to a new level!
If you are on-island stop by the docks around 6:30 PM as the fishing boats return to their docks. Count the number of marlin release flags flying from the outriggers of each boat. The boat with the most flags wins.
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| The Blue Marlin were plentiful on day #1 |
The real-time report as of 5:35 PM Tuesday:
Lines Out! The first day of fishing is complete! 21 blue marlin released today by our fleet of 26 boats - with Deguello still hooked up and fighting away! Congratulations go out to Alina for releasing the first fish of the tournament, and to Peje for leading the day with 3 releases. Unoffical release results are: Peje 3 / Alina 2 / Dona Lucy 2 / Over Easy 2 / Revenge 2 / Trophy Box 2 / Black Gold 1 /
Chach 1 / Double Dog 1 / Free Spool 1 / Gulf Rascal 1 / Lady Abi 1 / Marlin Prince 1 / Uno Mas 1.