The billfish fever epidemic continues with the signature event the Bermuda Big Game Classic recently concluded. Unsurprisingly, this was a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs for all the participants. The one thing that will always amaze is how some boats get the bites and others don’t. This is true even when boats are fishing in sight of each other and often closer; one will consistently get the attention of multiple fish while the other boats’ spreads, which look equally inviting, are ignored. The next day the opposite might be true even when the same boats are involved. It is what it is and all who partake are painfully aware of this.

On the first day, Captain Brent Gaskill’s Builder’s Choice and Captain Rocky Hardison’s Wolverine each managed top spots with three blue marlin releases — 1,500 points apiece. Not as safe as some might think because there were five boats each with a 1,000 points or more in hot pursuit of the top spot.

Showing how days can vary, of those two boats, only Builder’s Choice had had any luck on the second day, releasing a single blue. And that was just one of the 25 caught and released that day. There were all sorts of permutations for the final outcome at that point. Any boat could easily come from behind and do the business at the end of the tournament.

But Builder’s Choice’s luck would hold because on the third day they managed an additional three blue marlin releases to finish on 3,500 points, ahead of Captain Kyle Liane’s Bree in second with 2,800 points with Viking 82 just 200 points behind in third.

Apart from the releases, which is always a tight race, on the third day, things started to get very serious. With no fish boated yet, the largest fish category was open and not just for the overall but as the first two daily pots had not been won, they were carried over into the final day. That meant that there was a lot of cash in the pot for the final day’s winning fish. With this at stake, it did not take too long for a fish that looked to qualify being boated and raced to the weigh station. Sadly, this first fish came up a few pounds short, incurring a penalty for being undersized as well as more negative points for each pound under the minimum of 500 pounds. Ouch!

To be fair, most of the crews involved in this sort of fishing have developed pretty good eyes when it comes to estimating weights. The problem is that the occasional fish can be very deceptive. The formula generally used is based on length and girth. While it is relatively easy to measure the length — US regulations set minimum lengths for the taking of certain species — and there are several gadgets for doing so; girth is a completely different matter usually only being accurately measured once the fish is in the boat. Large billfish are often very misleading when it comes to guessing the depth of the fish and a mere inch or two belies the fact that there are two sides to the fish, so the girth difference is actually double that; changing the math markedly.

But the fish were co-operative that day and shortly thereafter Joshua Crockwell had Reel Priority headed for the scales with his fish that qualified at 570lb. But, just to show how quickly things can change, Catlin Peele, aboard Captain Patrick Byrd’s Bobojo, boated another large marlin and radioed the length and girth to headquarters. The real reading came at dockside where the fish trumped all comers by coming in at 621lb to claim the pot.

Starting today, the fleet will again be locked in competition in the Sea Horse Anglers Club Billfish Tournament, the grande dame of the trio of July events. Once again, the competition will be fierce, and one has to wonder just how many fish are out there. Quite apart from the dozens caught and released in each of the previous two tournaments, many of the visiting boats, along with local charter craft, spend the other days working the same water for the same species.

Looking ahead to the Triple Crown, it is the Builder’s Choice who holds the lead with a total of 6,500 points from the two tournaments thus far. Is this insurmountable — of course not! With each blue marlin release scoring 500 points and the action often coming fast and furious, it is easily possible to surpass that total. Not to mention that most every boat competing in the Triple Crown has already collected some points from each of the first two tournaments. Expect a tight race to the end.

The Blue Waters Bacardi Open has again been moved to the July 26 and will now coincide with the Royal Bermuda Regiment Tournament. Both will allow regular anglers to get back into competing in the traditional fishing that has so long sustained this island. Anglers will again be in pursuit of wahoo and the now abundant species of tuna and other game fish that make for good, old-fashioned Tight Lines!!!