Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The lines are in -

The lines are in - 4pm and the unofficial winners are... drum role please...... 

Pro Division - 

First place:  Team Bad Company 
Second place - Gambler 
Third Place - Ruckus 

Amateur Division - 

First place - Aly Cat 
Second place:  Quality Time

These results will not be official until the video evidence has been approved by tournament control - 

Coming up later tonight will be the official results with corresponding prize money....

Thanks for reading.  Next week the Zane Grey starts.  Following the Zane Grey will be the Catalina Classic...


More hookups

So far the following teams have fish on the line - all fighting for the money 

Ruckus - 
Team Bad Company - 

It is neck and neck with Gambler and Bad Company for first place...  

This is fishing excitement at its best...

While typing this Team Bad Company has just released their fish - that is 6 for the day!  With less then an hour to go Team Bad Company is in a prime position to win big!  But if you know anything then you know the Gambler is still in the hunt...

And Ruckus now has a successful release - trying to secure 3rd place.  Keeping with the power of 3 from yesterday this is their third fish....

More to come

Day 2 - the bite is still on...

As of 3pm the action has not stopped with Bad Company and Gambler running first and second place down to the wire - Ruckus, Reel Nice N Easy and Pacific Edge are all competing for 3rd place....

E2 and E3 are still the hot spots...

Between 2:30 and 3pm 

Bad Company is one at 2:40 
The boys from Pacific Edge are hooked up 
The Gambler is hooked up....

This will come down to the wire....

This is the best Pro Am tournament on the West Coast - big money, a ton of fish and a great mix and pros an amateurs...

I will keep you posted..

Day 2 - update

The marlin are still biting as of 2pm the following have caught and released -

Aly Cat - E3
Reel Nice N' Easy - H2
Team Bad Company - E2

As of 2pm 28 marlin have been caught and released - several more marlin have been hooked but have gotten off....

The hot spot for today is Cat Harbor on the backside of the island on and around Catalina Canyon.

More to come - by 9pm the final results will be posted....

Day 2 - the bite is on!

It has been a busy day on the water outside of Avalon. Since 8:20 this morning the bite has been on. The first bite was taken care of on the EPYC - one of the best breakfasts of my life, thanks so much EPYC crew. Now to the details...

As a recap, Team Bad Company started off the day in the lead. And all the money was up for grabs in the amateur division. Then the world turned on its ear.....

Aly Cat (amateur division) - 8:20 H2
Not to be out done - Quality Time another amateur team felt the pressure and hooked up at 10:09 starting a trend in the E3 and E2 zone.

Ruckus hooked up in E3 at 10:24
Gambler went crazy hooking up three in a row starting at 10:30 and ending at 10:56 at E3
Team Bad Company, got the first double hook up of the day at 11am
The Gamber kept the heat on hooking up again at 11:14
Pacific Edge and their all star crew hooked up at 11:21

Just as lunch time rolled around Ruckus hooked up at 12:15
Team Bad Company hooked up at 12:17
Real Time hooked up at 12:09
Pacific Edge hooked up at 12:17

All of the above catch and releases where done in E2 unless otherwise noted.

Before I left the dock another team got a bite but no release as of yet so I will wait to report on that...

The feeders are feeding, the sun is shining and now it is time for me to feed - 5 star style on the EPYC.

Tight lines...

Day 2 - Contender Yamaha ABC

The water is warm, the ocean is alive and day 2 of the Avalon Billfish Classic is under way. Team Bad Company (www.badcoteam.com) starts the day with a one fish lead in the pro division. The amateur division is wide open and with 11k on the line - only one fish needs to be caught.

Stay tuned for the most up to the minute coverage.....

Tight lines...

Monday, September 8, 2008

Day 1 - lines out

The day closed with a bang and a final rush of hook ups. Leading the excitement was Team Bad Company hooking up just as Pete Grey announced that only two minutes where left before lines out. Reel Nice and Easy was also hooked up during the last ten minutes.

Team Bad Co released their 3rd fish putting them in the lead for day 1. Jimmy Kingsmill was the angler on the final Bad Co fish.

Here is a breakdown of today's catches.

11 total releases on day 1 of the Contender ABC

Pacific Edge - 8am - G3
Bad Company - 8:40 - H3
Reel Nice N' Easy - 10:08 - I3
Ruckus - 11:36 - F3
Gambler - 1:39 - F3
Bad Company - 2:03 - H2
Gambler - 2:09 - F3
Reel Time - 3:16 - F3
Ruckus - 3:32 - F3
Reel Nice N' Easy - 3:52 - H2
Bad Company - 3:59 - H2

Great day of fishing!

Almost 11k on the line for the amateur division tomorrow..... And the excitement builds.

The magic of 3......

The magic of 3 - that is theme for day 1 of the Contender Yamaha Avalon Billfish Classic. Every hookup has been in grid 3 - H3, E3, G3, J3... The power of 3....

Keeping the 3 trend alive is Ruckus hooked up in E3....

Lines are tight...

More to come....

Day 1 - Contender ABC

Day 1 of the Contender ABC started off right. Sportfisherman.com and Pete Grey from Lets Talk Hook Up loaded up their gear and headed to EPYC's Pacific Provider - a luxury mothership that is playing host to the ABC and tournament control.

The famed Mark W. of the CNY pro staff started off the morning with the first hook up. A quick 6 minutes and Pacific Edge caught and released their marlin. Not to be out done Team Bad Company hooked up an hour later - the second team to hook up today. Nice and Easy made the third time a charm hooking up and releasing at 10:25.

Tournament control this year is living in style as we cruise the Pacific blue on the EPYC - great food, great drinks - the ultimate in sporfishing and luxury. We may never come back......

As the marlin get hooked the updates will come..... Tight lines....

Day 1 - Contender ABC

Day 1 of the Contender ABC started off right. Sportfisherman.com and Pete Grey from Lets Talk Hook Up loaded up their and headed to EPYC's Pacific Provider - a luxury mothership that is playing host to the ABC and tournament control.

The famed Mark W. of the CNY pro staff started off the morning with the first hook up. A quick 6 minutes and Pacific Edge caught and released their marlin. Not to be out done Team Bad Company hooked up an hour later - the second team to hook up today. Nice and Easy made the third time a charm hooking up and releasing at 10:25.

Tournament control this year is living in style as we cruise the Pacific blue on the EPYC - great food, great drinks - the ultimate in sporfishing and luxury. We may never come back......

As the marlin get hooked the updates will come..... Tight lines....

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

It's Tournament Time

The water has been warm, the marlin have been tailing and the bite is one. It is marlin season and the first pro-am tournament of the year will be starting on Sunday the 7th with check in on the EPYC.

The 3rd Annual Contender Avalon Billfish Classic is scheduled for September 7th–9th in the famed California waters off Avalon on Catalina Island. The 2008 event will again feature a "ProAm" format with separate Tournament and Daily Jackpot prizes to qualified "Amateur" teams. This "NO FEAR" division will allow all teams of different skill levels to compete in one of California's premier billfishing events. This is a catch and release tournament.

The Riviera Zane Grey and the Catalina Classic follow the Contender ABC. All tournaments run out of Avalon.