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Hattaboy Tops Presidential
Challenge of Costa Rica
Playa Carrillo, Costa Rica- There's an old
saying that when the going gets tough, the
tough go fishing. That seemed to be the case
for the fourteenth annual Presidential
Challenge of Central America's Costa Rica
leg, held March 4-7, 2010 in Playa Carrillo,
Costa Rica.
In the days leading up to the tournament,
fishing reports were grim and billfish
sightings scarce. Then, a very unusual
weather pattern developed, where strong
winds would roar through the peaceful
beachside community from after midnight
until around lunchtime, then mysteriously
both sea and wind conditions would subside.
Despite the adversity, 12 teams signed on to
fish in this year's event, which also marks
the start of the Presidential Challenge
tournament series, crowning the Costa Del
Mar Grand Champion Team and the Eagle Claw
Grand Champion Angler at the season finale
in Guatemala. Teams fish throughout the
season under the same set of rules and using
a uniform class of line, Berkley Big Game,
which is supplied by the tournament as well
as non-offset circle hooks (the Eagle Claw
2004EL is the preferred hook of the
tournament). Observers are supplied by the
International Game Fish Tournament Observer
organization and also from the Los Suenos
Certified Observer Program to ensure a level
playing field for all.
Spirits ran high despite the dismal weather
forecast for Day One as the fleet spread out
over hundreds of square miles of open ocean
off Carrillo. Known as an excellent area for
blue and striped marlin as well as Pacific
sailfish, Carrillo is an excellent gateway
to sportfishing off the central coast of
this beautiful Central American nation. By
the 4 p.m. call for lines out, the
Texas-based Sea Angel team held a slim lead
in the ICT Top Team standings over the rest
of the fleet with 800 points, followed by
the Hattaboy, owned by Ted Smith and based
out of Los Suenos Resort and Marina, with
600 points. The Big Oh, hailing from
Jupiter, Florida and owned by Gray Ingram,
slid into third after the first day of
fishing with 600 points. Each of the leading
teams released one blue marlin, worth 300
points, then added a few more sailfish to
their tallies at 100 points each. In the
Costa Del Mar Top Angler standings, Gray
Ingram was in first with 400 points followed
by Austin Angel in second, also with 400
points, and Steve Fancsy in third with 300
points.
The high winds continued into Day Two,
making for a sporty ride out to the fishing
grounds. However, once situated, the fleet
went back to work releasing billfish in
decent numbers. Some captains reported water
temperatures reaching nearly 90 degrees, far
above the comfort zone for marlin and
sailfish, while others sighted the seemingly
ever-present longliners and tuna boats, both
of which contribute to billfish mortality
levels.
It would be the Big Oh team that located a
pod of willing sailfish on Day Two,
capitalizing on their number of bites to
move into the lead in the team standings
with 1100 points. However, the rest of the
fleet was hot on their heels with Hattaboy
reaching 1000 points and Sea Angel adding
enough to their totals to reach 900 points.
The angler standings tightened up
considerably, with Gray Ingram, Diego Lopez
and Arturo Lopez each scoring a total of 600
points to date in the tournament. It should
be noted that there are three anglers per
team and that anglers must rotate their
positions, from the flatlines to the
outrigger baits, every 30 minutes. Once
again, this promotes equality for both the
team and especially the angler scoring-no
one angler can monopolize the opportunities
in the cockpit.
Moving into Day Three, Hattaboy captain
Chris Garner must have felt the confidence
growing in his team. Capt. Chris once again
steered the big Hatteras toward productive
water and the bites started almost
immediately. When the salt spray cleared at
the end of the day, the team had swept both
the ICT Top Team standings and the Costa Del
Mar Top Angler division. They had added
another marlin and four sails to their total
to score 1700 points. In three days of very
tough fishing, they scored a marlin release
every day, with the final tally being three
marlin and eight sailfish released. Gerard
Eliseo was the event's Top Angler with 700
points. In addition to a host of prizes and
trophies for the team, captain and crew,
they will also receive an invitation to
compete in the IGFA Offshore Championship
event in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico later this
year.
Finishing in second place was the Big Oh
team at 1300 points. Led by owner Gray
Ingram, they fell just short of the mark set
by the Hattaboy. Ingram was the third place
angler with 600 points. The Sea Angel
finished third in the team standings, with
angler Austin Angel placing second in the
angler division at 700 points. For the
tournament there were 67 billfish released:
57 sailfish and ten marlin.
Even though the Presidential Challenge
centers on intense light-tackle billfishing,
there are also larger forces at work. The
entire series serves as a major fundraiser
for conservation groups such as The Billfish
Foundation, the Adopt-A-Billfish program and
several others. As the event drew to a close
under starry skies at the extravagant awards
banquet and celebration sponsored by the
I.C.T., Ellen Peel, president of The
Billfish Foundation, was presented with a
check for $5,000 on behalf of the
tournament-funds which go straight to
conservation efforts that are vital to the
future of sportfishing in Central America
and elsewhere in the world. With the
additional pledges and proceeds from other
sources, it's estimated that this single
event raised nearly $10,000 for TBF
conservation work.
Next year's Presidential Challenge of
Central America's Costa Rica tournament is
scheduled for March 24-27, 2011. For more
information and photography, please visit
www.preschallenge.com |
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