The Tribune

Hemingway, Playboy, running with the bulls (sharks that is), seaplane landings and take-offs, a sunset serenade with country artist Craig Morgan and 3,400 pounds of wahoo made for one of the Bahamas’ most intriguing fishing tournaments in recent memory.

It was staged at the Bimini Big Game Club on February 21-23 as part of the Wahoo Smackdown II Tournament, which attracted 22 teams, more than 100 anglers and 132 wahoo that were caught during the two-day tournament.

Taking home more than $7,500 in cash and prizes for top team (334.7 pounds of wahoo) and largest catch (96.7 pounds) was Frank Roach, Kevin Marsh, Billy Thomas and Dillon Kemp, competing for Fishin A Loan out of Daytona Beach, Florida.

Team Overtime - Daniel Bell, Rue Monay, Steven Jenkins and Hugh Jazz out of Ocoee, Florida, took second place team honours ($1,500) with 191.1 pounds. And winners of the November 2012 Wahoo Smackdown tournament, Ocean Alley, out of Hollywood, Florida, took third place ($1,000) with 186.9 pounds total catch weight.

Ditch Digger finished second in the largest fish category (65.7 pounds), and Overtime was third with 60.1 pounds.

Tournament director, Captain Paul Cameron, said more than $30,000 in cash and prizes were awarded. He added that due to the success of the two wahoo tournaments, the Big Game Club will be hosting the Billfish Bonanza on May 15-18.

“This is a tournament that will be talked about for quite some time,” said Michael Weber, general manager for the 51-room Big Game Club Resort & Marina, which hosted the tournament.

“Not only was there huge wahoo action for the teams participating, but we had writer John Hemingway, grandson of Ernest Hemingway, fishing with team Makin It Happen. Shawn Dillon, Playboy Magazine’s Miss February 2013, was the hostess for our awards ceremony, and country artist, Craig Morgan, was here fishing aboard Miss Kathleen with Captain Chase Camacho and filming a segment for his TV Show ‘Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors’.

“Also, it was great to see Tropic Ocean Airways’ seaplane service shuttling guests to and from Fort Lauderdale International Airport. It was a very, very busy and ‘Epic’ weekend.”

Mr Weber said the sold-out resort’s customers were treated to a special preview of Bimini Bull Run, a one-day guaranteed shark encounter experience featuring a specially designed shark cage system attached directly to the docks at the Big Game Club Marina.

Those testing the system, including Playmate Shawn Dillon and a reporter with ZNS, used a ‘Hooka’ air system, allowing non-certified divers to experience the shark watching opportunity.

Bimini’s location along the Gulf Stream (a ‘river’ of warm water) location is at the apex of a highway for migrating fish, and acts as a kind of sushi conveyor belt carrying abundant food to the local fish.

Deepwater game fish include marlin, tuna, sailfish, wahoo and swordfish, while big grouper, barracuda and schools of snapper can be found on the reefs.

With more than 50-record-setting catches in the waters around the island, Bimini has earned its title of Sport Fishing Capital of the World. Sport Fishing Magazine recently ranked Bimini as #3 in the Top Ten Greatest Fisheries of All Time.