The Super Bowl of Fishing
10/16/2006 3:46:08 PM by Carey Chen
Follow marine artist Carey Chen as he shares his experiences during what he considers to be the most competitive fishing event on the planet.
Photos by Richard Gibson
For the past 14 years, I’ve has the honor of fishing the USVI Open Boy Scout Tournament in St. Thomas and serving as the feature artist three times, donating my artwork to raise money for the Boy Scouts. A giant mural I painted several years ago graces the hill overlooking the Red Hook Marina. The closest I’ve come to winning this tournament was second place on the 46-foot Striker Grey Ghost from St Lucia several years ago, and even that is an honor after fishing such a prestigious event.
I have vivid memories of a triple-header blue marlin hook up on the Grey Ghost off these waters releasing three fish over 500 lbs. Many of my painting inspiration comes from witnessing incredible fishing scenes off this coast. Throughout the years, I’ve made lifelong friends that make St. Thomas feel like my second home. So close in fact, that one of the earlier tournament directors Michael Bornn, visited me in Miami several years ago. I introduced him to one of my best friends, Bridgette, and now they are married in St. Thomas with three beautiful children.
Most fishermen believe the best fishing falls before and after the full moon. This is the place where it definitely makes a difference, especially from July to September when large blue marlin migrate past the famed “North Drop.” The July moon starts the peak to the best marlin catches. It’s not uncommon during the tournament to see several boats hooked up at the same time with blue marlin in the area of the North Drop. The waters of the Virgin Islands have produced 15 world-record marlin catches, including the former all-tackle 1,282-pound blue marlin caught by Larry Martin on August 6, 1977.
This tournament has been won more on skill than luck, which the crew of Revenge and Lady Lou can attest to after each winning more than four years in a row. Winning this event would put you on top of the sportfishing world. Miami anglers Sam and Jon Jennings, fishing on the Revenge with Capt. Mike Lemmon, managed an incredible feat by releasing 162 blues in just 72 days on the North Drop that same year and still hold the Virgin Islands’ record for most blues released in a year.
Besides all the fishing fun, the great fishing tournament director Capt. Jimmy Loveland does an excellent job of hosting some of the most elegant events. There is a full moon party on the beach at the Ritz Carlton that makes this an unforgettable experience. On the rest day, you can take a ferry over to the neighboring island of St. John’s, with its pristine beaches and quaint shops. This island paradise gives you breathtaking scenes on every corner of the meandering hills of the island.
Virgin Island’s angler Chuck Senf started the USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament in 1972. Senf and fellow sports fishermen created this tournament as a vehicle to spread the word about the great Blue Marlin fishery in the Virgin Islands.
In addition, the money generated by the tournament was donated to benefit the Virgin Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, one of Senf’s favorite charities. The USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament has since been informally known as the “Boy Scout” Tournament.
Over the next several years, as the originators of the tournament became less active, a new generation of volunteers took over (in the early 1980s) and infused it with fresh ideas. The major goal of the tournament during this transition time was to create a competition that would attract both the local fishermen and the visiting anglers from the continental U.S.
Concurrent with the transition in the tournaments leadership, was the ABMT’s development of new requirements. In 2003, the 31st year of operation, the minimum requirement was raised to the weight of a “Potential World Record.” If a boated blue marlin weighs enough to become a new world record, the angler is rewarded the same number of points as a released fish. If the fish under weighs, no points are earned.
To construct a tournament that the Florida, as well as local fishermen, would be sufficiently enticed to enter, required a precise set of rules. In addition to the basic International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules, the tournament director began writing a special set of regulations which would tighten and expand on those proffered by IGFA.
Today, the tournament has a new set of goals. This time, it intends to operate a series of tournaments named The Bermuda Triangle Series. The purpose is to lure in the best anglers in the world. To most, winning the “Boy Scout” is a life’s goal.
The “modified release” format is a scoring method that allows anglers to either boat or release their catches. Subsequently, the USVI Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament became the first fishing event in the world to release blue marlin. Since the development of its modified release format, there have only been three blue marlin put on the dock. What amazes most, is the fact that the minimum weight requirement for 25 years as just 400 lbs. With each tournament averaging 130+ blue marlin (avg. size 280 lbs.), it’s obvious that the anglers and crews do not want to kill the fish weighing more than 400 lbs. Much of the success is due to the use of highly competent observers.
In the 2006 USVI Open Boyscout, anglers released 144 blue marlin on 37 boats with 15.63 minutes average fight time on a 50-lb test. The top angler for the 2006 USVI Open was Luis Infanzon on Mojito who is next year’s director of the San Juan International Billfish Tournament. The top boat was Bandolera.
If you’re a hardcore angler and want to experience the best of the best, I would highly recommend fishing this Superbowl of all fishing tournaments, and if you bring your family along, they can experience a little piece of heaven on Earth. For more info, go to abmt.vi.