BIG Rod Cohen with his first sail on the fly.
The fishing here has been red hot this past week. On Thursday Chris Bean and friend Rod Cohen of Texas came down for Thanksgiving dinner and a day of fishing on Friday 27th. We had a great day out and by 11.00am we had released 16 sailfish from 24 bites. With 16 under the belt the guys were keen to mix it up and try the fly, things slowed down somewhat though they both managed to release their first bills on the fly from several cover-ups and double hook-ups on the long wand. We raised 42 sails for the day.
This past week boats were releasing up to 50 sails and there were a few blue marlin around as well. Guatemala fishing as we love it!!
We fished Jim Turner and friend Juan from Argentina prior to the Presidential Challenge the week previous and the fishing was tough at best, lots of green water and few fish, first day out on the 18th we raised 8 sails though most were tough to tease in to the fly, we did manage to get Juan his first sail on the fly though, getting 1 from 2 bites. The next day was even slower raising just 3 sails and releasing 1 from 2 bites again, Juan boated a nice sized dorado also. This was the day prior to the Presidential Challenge and things were looking tough, though things can change here in a day like that, and the Presidential turned on. We were unable to fish the tournament this year though here is the report of another successful tourny here in Guatemala, the fish seem to turn on as soon as Joan Vernon comes to town......
THE PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE OF GUATEMALA
PRESENTED BY
INGUAT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Team Casa Vieja Tops Event; A-Fin-Ity Holds on to win Costa Del Mar Grand Champion Team With Angler Davis Clapp Winning the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler Honors.
The final leg of the 2009 Presidential Challenge Conservation Series officially wrapped up in Guatemala Nov. 19-22, 2009; the last tournament of the season proved to be one of the most exciting in PCCA history.
After an exceptional kickoff party sponsored by La Reunion and INGUAT, the country's national tourism agency, the Presidential Challenge of Guatemala Presented by INGUAT kicked off to typically warm and seasonal Guatemalan conditions. The fleet spread out in search of productive fishing grounds well beyond VHF radio range, so it wasn't until the boats returned to the dock were the Day One results determined. The tournament staff was pleasantly surprised with the results, which included 44 sailfish and two blue marlin.
Team Decisive took off at 8:52 a.m. when Craig Johnson released a sailfish aboard Capt. Brad Phillips' Decisive; a short while later, Dell Dembosky pulled a blue marlin out of the hat and the team never looked back. Team captain Mike Viveiros is fresh off a second place finish in the IGFA Offshore Championship representing the 2008 PCCA of Guatemala.
Team Ol Salt, fishing on the Finest Kind with Capt. Ron Hamlin, added a blue marlin for angler Sammy Castellano to the team score to put them into second. The Casa Vieja team had a steady day, releasing 10 sails to move them into third place.
Day Two of the Presidential Challenge of Guatemala Presented by INGUAT began at 8:30am. It was another day of radio silence as the fleet returned to the area where the fish were yesterday, some 50 miles offshore.
By the end of the day, Team Decisive had maintained the lead by adding 14 more sailfish to their score. Davis Clapp and Team A-Fin-Ity made their move also accumulating 14 releases but it was not enough to get them into the top three. Jim Turner led his Casa Vieja team fishing aboard the Rum Line up into second place by releasing a nice blue marlin. Ol Salt kept in the top three with anglers adding four sails to their total.
Jim Turner's blue marlin put him at the top of the angler leader board on time over Dell Dembosky. Dell's teammate, Craig Johnson, held a firm grip on third place angler.
But the final day of the PCCA Guatemala always has surprises-no doubt it will be a challenging day for all anglers, especially with the appearance of marlin in the area.
The PCCA Guatemala is famous for exciting finishes. This year was no exception. The bite started off early and teams called in several doubles and triples. At 1:30 p.m, Team Casa Vieja pulled ahead of Decisive for the lead. When the dust settled and scorecards collected, Team Casa Vieja had pulled off the victory. Ol Salt, fishing on Finest Kind, had a great day and held on to third place in the Costa Del Mar Team Division.
The winner of the Baptist Health International Angler Division was Jim Turner, fishing for Team Casa Vieja. His blue marlin on Day One put him on his way to the win. In a hard-fought battle, Dell Dembosky finished in second place fishing for Team Decisive. The Third Place angler position went down to the wire. In the end, Dell's teammate Craig Johnson slid into the third place angler slot.
For the third year in a row Team A-Fin-Ity won the coveted COSTA DEL MAR GRAND CHAMPION TEAM by the narrowest of margins over Team USA, as only one fish separated these two very competitive teams. Ol Salt fished all of the PCCA events to take third place overall. Again, it was a narrow one fish victory over team Decisive/OBX.
The EAGLE CLAW GRAND CHAMPION ANGLER for 2009 is Davis Clapp. Mike Viveiros was the second place champion, while Dan Pimental squeeked into third place with a scant 50 point victory over Mike Topp.
On behalf of the staff from all four PCCA 2009 events the tournament organizers would like to thank everyone for their support this year. The PCCA series events have raised thousands of dollars for conservation through angler and sponsor participation, even in a difficult economy. The Billfish Foundation is forging ahead in their efforts to unify billfish management in Central America-the tournament strongly urges all participants to become members and support these conservation measures around the world. On behalf of the PCCA Guatemala participants, the series will donate $5,000 to support TBF's vital conservation measures in Guatemala and throughout Central America.
A big congratulations to team Rum Line on a helluva comeback in this year's Presidential.
