The BGFA’s longest running tournament, the Blue Water Classic, was hosted once again out of the picturesque Blue Marlin Lodge on stunning South Water Caye. Building on the success of last year’s tournament, the BGFA was able to up the tournament’s prize money with first place set at $10,000 and total prize money of over $30,000! This year we were also very excited to welcome 6 boats from Honduras who made the journey from Omoa, Puerto Cortes and Roatan to compete in this fast – growing tournament.
Blessed with beautiful weather, the fleet of 23 boats headed offshore with eyes set on catching Belize’s elusive Blue Marlin, as well as a host of other species. It didn’t take long before the first Blue Marlin was released by Honduras Team ‘Boatweiser’ near to Gladden Spit. Team ‘BenAvi’ out of Belize City followed quickly behind them, releasing an estimated 250lb Blue Marlin north of Glover’s Reef. The third and final Blue Marlin release came from Team ‘Jolly Mon’ out of Belize City who released another big Blue Marlin estimated at 250lbs only 6 miles from South Water Caye. Back at the dock, boats started rolling in with plenty Dorado for the scale and at the end of the first day, a total of 21 Dorado and 5 Wahoo had been weighed along with the three Blue Marlin releases.
Day Two started out just as beautiful as Day One with most boats heading out from South Water Caye as the sun peaked over the horizon. Unfortunately, the billfish bite slowed down on the second day, and no other billfish releases were recorded, but there were plenty more Dorado and a few Wahoo brought in.
After the scores were tallied, the crowd gathered inside the restaurant at the Blue Marlin Lodge to cheer on the winning teams as they collected their prizes. In total, Anglers released 3 Blue Marlin and weighed 8 Wahoo, 39 Dorado and 17 Tuna. Prizes for the winners were as follows:
The BGFA would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the sponsors who made this event possible. A special thank you goes out to Belikin Beer who have been the major sponsor of this tournament for the past 25 years and who went all out to make sure it was once again a success. Thanks as well to our gracious host, Blue Marlin Lodge. We hope to see you again next year!
