These Marlins Have a Fall Classic Too

It’s peak season in Cabo San Lucas, which means the circus is in town.

That, of course, is the Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot tournament, the greatest show on earth in the eyes of promoters and others who stand to benefit from the annual extravaganza.

By spectacle’s end, about $4.5 million will have been pumped directly into the Cabo economy, and economic multipliers put the amount closer to $10 million, according to one study.

The top three Mexican captains will split about $45,000, tremendous paydays for them. About $50,000 will go to charity.

As a show of support, Leonal Cota, newly elected governor of Baja California Sur, will kick the three three-day competition off Wednesday morning by being shot out of a cannon.

Actually, the cannon blast from a pirate ship was last year, and involved no human ordinance. Cota will, however, light the dawn sky with a flare gun, which will get the show on the road dramatically enough as more than 200 high-priced yachts will follow the flare past Land’s End and do their best to turn black and blue into green.

In this the 19th year of the Bisbee’s event, a record 207 four-person teams--coming from as far as England and Belgium, Tahiti and Japan, and shelling out $5,000 plus optional jackpot money--will be vying for a record $2 million in prize money, give or take a few hundred grand.

So serious will the competition be that making a mistake is practically grounds to be thrown to the sharks.

Had Erren O’Leary fumbled away his 732-pound blue marlin last year, for example, how do you think his teammates would have felt? His catch, in the tournament’s final hour, netted his foursome $535,300, causing his father to boast, “It was like winning the World Series.”

The year before, because of side jackpots and the fact only two marlin meeting the 300-pound minimum were weighed in, the second-place team earned a record $917,263.

“The stage is definitely set for another great year,” tournament director Wayne Bisbee said during a phone interview from headquarters at the Marina Fiesta Resort this week. “I’ve got goose bumps just telling you about these numbers we’re putting up. How crazy is it down here? The entire town is already plugged. The airlines . . . two days before and two days after you won’t even be able to get a flight.”

And for those wondering, there are plenty of billfish swimming around with fictitious dollar signs all over them. A 550-pounder was caught and released Tuesday and several 300- to 400-pounders have been released this week.

Of course, not everybody is cooperating. Late last week, anglers caught and killed two blues that any of the competitors would have killed to get their hooks into: a 750-pounder and a 725-pounder.

“I don’t even want to hear about that,” Bisbee said.

TOURNAMENT TIME

* After the Bisbee’s event, on a smaller scale but more noteworthy for obvious reasons, is the Pete Lopiccola Memorial “For Pete’s Sake” charity tournament, Oct. 29-30 at the Hacienda Hotel. All cash proceeds go to leukemia research projects north of the border and to Cabo’s needy. Last year’s event raised $85,000. Cost is $300 per angler, but non-anglers can help through donations of raffle and auction items. Details: (619) 560-4727 or 011-52-114-31516.

* The inaugural $450,000 Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot tournament, put on by Western Outdoor News, is Nov. 3-6. The weekly fishing publication is charging only $500 per team plus optional jackpots for Cabo’s first large-scale tournament featuring something other than marlin.

The risk here is that fishing for large tuna is unpredictable, in part because commercial seiners move in whenever they get wind of a good bite. This is playing out now. “The commercials have been very busy this week,” one fleet owner said. “I can see them every night from my house.” Seiners notwithstanding, the timing is right for this endeavor. Details: (818) 762-5873.

* The Los Cabos tournament slate will spill into December for the first time as the local tourism board--hoping to promote business during a seasonal lull--is sponsoring the inaugural $350,000 Los Cabos Billfish tournament Dec. 1-5. The board has done a lousy job of promoting this event, however. You can try your luck by calling (800) 847-48-2226.

* East Cape: Variety has been the name of the game here, as shown by 153 anglers on 50 boats competing in last week’s Lynn Rose Tours tournament at Palmas de Cortez Hotel. They caught everything from small dorado to a 473-pound blue marlin landed by Matt Smith of Orange.

Top tuna: 168 pounds (one of 11 topping 100 pounds). Top dorado: 44 pounds. Top wahoo: 38 pounds.

Biggest winner: The children of Los Barriles. More than $10,000 was raised as part of an ongoing effort to build them a park and give them more than dirt to play on. Nearly $50,000 has been raised so far and the park is scheduled to open during next year’s event.

* La Paz: Light-tackle enthusiasts might consider competing in the inaugural “Rip Some Lip” tournament Nov. 3-7 at remote Las Arenas Beach Resort east of La Paz. Not the tastiest of titles, considering that tournament proceeds will help fund an operation north of the border on the son of a local captain, who requires cleft-palate surgery. In any event, the Las Arenas area is often forgotten but offers excellent fishing for small and big game a stone’s throw from shore. Entry is $25 per person and there will be daily jackpots. Details: (888) 644-7376.

BLIND AMBITION

Predictions of record fall flights have duck hunters ready to take aim Saturday morning, when the season begins in most of Southern California (dates may vary at private reservoirs).

Thousands of birds have already touched down and many more are coming. “Problem is, they’re all pintails and you can only shoot one of them,” bemoans Pam Cherny, manager of the Imperial Wildlife Area’s Wister Unit in Niland. “We’ve got about 5,000 birds right now, though.” Mixed with pintails are some wigeon, but little of anything else.

The daily bag limit is seven ducks, but only one pintail and one canvasback. You can shoot seven wigeon.

Wister expects to have about 80 sites flooded for the morning hunt Saturday. The unit is booked, but there usually are lots of no-shows, giving walk-ons a chance.

At the state-run San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Lakeview, there are fewer pintail, but lots of wigeon, gadwall and teal. San Jacinto will have 33 sites available.

At nearby Lake Perris State Wildlife Area, boat hunters should note that the ramp has been moved to the west shore and that they should line up outside lots 11 and 12 before the gates are open.

“We’re expecting a very good opener at both places,”’ said Tom Paulek, manager at San Jacinto.

Reservation information: Imperial Wildlife Area, (760) 359-0577; San Jacinto, (909) 654-0580; Lake Perris (same number as San Jacinto); Raahauge’s Duck Club (Prado Basin), (909) 735-7981; San Diego City Lakes, (619) 668-2060; Lake Henshaw, (760) 782-3501; Lake Cuyamaca, (760) 765-0515; Kern National Wildlife Refuge, (661) 725-2767.

HOT BITES

* Albacore score (or should it be, snore?): Interest has dropped locally to the point where it’s safe to say the season is over, but such is not the case off Morro Bay. In the period between Oct. 3-9, Virg’s Landing reported 1,785 albacore for 402 passengers, topped by a 51-pounder by Los Angeles’ Frank Reatt.

* Channel Islands: The presence of bait-sized squid has sparked an on-again off-again yellowtail bite at the northern Channel Islands. The Pacific Dawn, skippered by John Shull, returned to Cisco Sportfishing in Oxnard this week with 51 yellowtail in the 20- to 30-pound range, caught at Santa Barbara Island. “We hooked about 140, but lost a lot of them [in the rocks],” he said. The Cortez Bank is also producing sporadic yellowtail catches.

* Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo: The focus is on marlin at Land’s End, but big tuna and unusually large dorado are providing lots of action for the non-billfish crowd (although the tuna bite seemingly is on the wane).

One South Bay group teamed to catch 10 tuna close to or heavier than 100 pounds, and added a few large dorado while fishing aboard the La Playita fleet in San Jose. Doug Pagh of Redondo Beach fought an estimated 400-pound black marlin for three hours until it practically spit the lure in his face at the boat. Pagh had better luck with a 165-pound yellowfin that came in after an hourlong struggle on 40-pound-test line.

WINDING UP

A bonfire memorial will be held at dusk Oct. 23 at Keller Peak Campground outside Running Springs to “celebrate the life” of Dave Bridges. Bridges, 29, and Alex Lowe were buried by an avalanche and presumed dead during a summit attempt of Shishapangma in the Himalayas late last month. Bridges, who lived in Aspen, Colo., grew up in the Big Bear area. The gathering and slide show will be hosted by the Rim of the World Climbing Club. Details: (909) 337-9831.