Blue marlin and other gamefish took the bait in a big way over the weekend during the first three-day leg of this year’s Scrub Island Invitational Billfish Tournament.
For $5,000 each, 12 sportfishing boats carrying up to six people registered for the tournament’s first leg and pre-planned entertainment, according to event organisers. On Monday, participants were on the last day of the first leg, and Event Organiser Jennifer Dudas was already declaring this year’s tournament a success.
“The fishing’s been very good,” Ms. Dudas told the Beacon. “Every team, I think, has caught at least one fish, so that’s encouraging.”
During the first leg, 59 marlin ranging from about 200 to 700 pounds were caught and released along with seven sailfish, according to the organiser.
Just as she was answering another question, Ms. Dudas had to pause her conversation with the Beacon to respond to a competitor reporting they had just hooked a blue marlin.
“Gulf Rascal, we got you,” she said over her radio. “Hooked up at 11:47 a.m. Good luck.”
Scrub Island’s invitational is the territory’s second billfish tournament in just over a month, closely following the inaugural North Drop Open held Aug. 8-10 out of Virgin Gorda.
A leg to stand on
With three days of trolling the North Drop under their hulls, fishers began to crest over the horizon just after 5:30 p.m. on Monday, their course set for the wide slips of Scrub Island.
Since the tournament was catch-and-release only, anglers returned to the marina carrying snapshots, stories and not much else.
The stories, however, are what keep anglers coming back for more.
Asked if they were having a good time so far, Marlin Darlin owner Bobby Jacobsen, who hails from Florida, spoke for the crew.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah!” Mr. Jacobsen said aboard his 62-foot Spencer fishing boat.
The team caught one blue marlin that day weighing about 250 pounds, he estimated.
Four sportfishing yachts cruise between Beef and Scrub Island on the way back to Scrub Island Marina after the last day of the first, three-day leg of the 2024 Scrub Island Invitational Billfish Tournament. (Photo: RUSHTON SKINNER)
Mr. Jacobsen’s team was in fifth place with 3,200 points, and he said he was “absolutely” looking forward to leg two. With 5,000 points, the boat Doña Lucy from Puerto Rico ended leg one in first place.
Pulling their 58-foot sportfisher into the marina, the crew whooped and whistled in celebration of their win. Flying off the stern, a Puerto Rican flag with a silhouette of a marlin instead of a star notified other teams of their island of origin.
As a member of Marlin Magazine used a smartphone to broadcast live, three crewmembers took the plunge from the yacht’s flybridge while dance music played from its speakers.
They had reason to celebrate: Doña Lucy nearly swept the competition, catching and releasing nine blue marlin to take most of the first leg’s awards.
All told, they won $104,466.67 of an available $157,600 payout.
The Puerto Rican team aboard Doña Lucy back their 58-footer of the same name into a slip in Scrub Island’s Marina after winning leg one of the 2024 Scrub Island Invitational Billfish Tournament. (Photo: RUSHTON SKINNER)
Jackpot
There are several ways to win in the tournament.
Half of each participant’s entry fee, for instance, goes into a pot reserved for the top three points-holding teams.
Teams receive 500 points for every blue marlin caught and released, and 100 for each white marlin, spearfish and sailfish.
After half of all the entry fees are added together, 50 percent of the pot goes to first place, 30 percent to second, and 20 percent to third. The highest scoring male and female individual anglers also win a trophy and other prizes.
Aside from the registration fees and base prizes, there are four different optional jackpots for which boats can register.
For the most courageous with their cash, the “winner-take-all” jackpot costs $5,000, but the team with the most points wins the entire 88 percent take.
Teams that wanted to take their chances with every available jackpot for the first leg — like Doña Lucy — forked over $35,000 including registration fees.
The 67-foot SEA WEEZ caught five blue marlin over the course of the first three-day leg of this year’s Scrub Island Invitational Billfish Tournament. (Photo: RUSHTON SKINNER)
Leg two
Yesterday marked the beginning of leg two, which will continue through tomorrow.
After registration ended Tuesday evening, all but two of the original 12 boats were signed up, according to organisers.
