Last weekend January 29th through 31st saw the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout roll through Guatemala. The event was a great success and the fishing kept up right through the moon phase resulting in 525 sailfish releases from the 10 teams over 3 days of fishing. Great fishing and a great tourny though it was overheard from a few of the mates on the dock that the tournament should be renamed the "Si Sancocho".
Read on for the official tournament breakdown below our last few days report....
Straight after the No Sancocho we welcomed back Butch Barnhill and father and son team Bruce and Robert Shaw to Guatemala from the 1st through 3rd of February.
L-R, Robert and Bruce Shaw, Butch Barnhill.
The fishing kept on after the tournament and we had steady action through the day resulting in 15 releases from 24 bites, a nice "reintroduction" to Guatemala for the guys. Their second day out got off to a great start with steady sailfish action and a few big mahi's bursting into the spread as well, Bruce got himself this beauty and we had a bit of bad luck pulling hooks a few near the boat.
The sailfish were biting funky today resulting in a few more 'sancochos' than normal, still 21 releases from 34 bites meant an action packed day.
With so much sail action over the last couple of days the guys opted to work the edges looking for a blue marlin, we worked up the western edge of the pocket and out wide hunting with no success, inevitably we ended up back with the fleet just 18NM offshore where the sailfish bite was going off. Despite getting into the action late in the day we still managed 12 releases from 18 bites. A great trip for the guys and we look forward to seeing you back here soon!!
On Friday the 5th we spent the day with Mike Callahan, Chris Seabald and Jose Steadman, the bite had slowed a little so we worked the eastern edge looking for the 'bite'. It looked great out there with birds, small bonitos and dolphin everywhere, we had flurries of action including a great blue marlin bite for Jose that we had on for a while before the bad luck struck and the hook pulled. We raised 14 sails for the day and released 7 from 11 bites.
All in all the fishing this year has been great and continues to be right now, we have a couple of days in and are back out again and steady through the month. There are still some openings scattered through the coming months so get in touch for more details. Read on for the official tournament report....
Here is the recap of the 2010 No Sancocho:
Day one started out with high expectations………some heads hurting for the Opening Ceremonies party at Casa Vieja the night before, and those expectations were met with a total of 213 sailfish released on Day One. The seas were calm, the water was blue, and the sailfish were snapping. All day long the radio was abuzz with releases being radioed in to the Committee Boat. It was a dogfight all day between Decisive, Rum Line, and Yo No Cuido but when the dust settled it was Rum Line taking the Day Money with 32 releases, followed by Decisive with 31 releases, and Yo No Cuido (aboard Circle Hook) with 30 releases. Rum Line pocketed $5,800 in day money, Decisive knocked down $1,500, and the Circle Hookers aboard the Allure where able to spot the first whale of the tourney, so they took the $400 whale pot. Chris Sheeder put $400 in his pocket for Top Captain on Day 1, and Brad Philipps won $200 for second place. Here is how it looked after Day 1:
Rum Line 320
Decisive 310
Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300
Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200
Circle Hookers (Allure) 190
Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180
Los Menirosos (Canaso) 170
Club No Minor (Release) 150
Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150
Tenacious (Adios) 130
Day 2 the bite slowed down just a little for everyone. Teams were allowed to fish baits only, which awarded 10 points for a released sailfish until 12:00 noon. At that time, the fly became optional and a sail released on the fly was worth 20 points, with an additional 5 point bonus if the fish was billed and the fly successfully retrieved. It was as close as it could get for Day 2 pot money, however the Circle Hookers made a charge late in the day releasing 4 sails on the fly. When the lines out call came at 3:30 the Circle Hookers had held off Team Decisive and Team Rum Line to take $4,200 worth of day money with a total of 240 points edging Decisive who had 230 points, and Rum Line who had 225 points. Chris “Kiwi” van Leeuwen took home the Top Captain pot, and Philipps took home the second place Top Captain’s money. Team Decisive’s second place finish on Day 2 was worth $2,700. The overall lead saw Team Rum Line holding the top spot, but with a very, very slim 5 point lead over Team Decisive. Yo No Cuido was in 3rd, and Circle Hookers moved up one spot to 4th. Perhaps the biggest shock of the day was at the Gringo vs Guatemalan soccer game at the local school. We handed out clothes and toys to the local kids, and then had a heated soccer match that saw the Gringos tie the Guatemalans 2-2. The first time the Gringos have ever come close in this match. The standings looked like this after Day 2.
Day 1 Day 2 TOTAL
Team Rum Line 320 225 545
Team Decisive 310 230 540
Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300 140 440
Circle Hookers (Allure) 190 240 430
Club No Minor (Release) 150 185 335
Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200 120 320
Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180 120 300
Los Menirosos (Canaso) 170 110 280
Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150 100 250
Tenacious (Adios) 130 30 160
Day 3 many it boiled down to a two team race for the top spot and a two team race for third place. The boats headed out a little further than the previous two days. There was a $600 consolation pot on line today for the bottom 5 teams after Day 2 results. Day 3 teams had the option of fishing the fly, the baits, or a combination of the two. The fishing started out hot and Decisive and Rum Line were constantly calling in releases. It was a see-saw battle between these boats all day. At the 1:30 pm update given by the Committee Boat, amazingly both teams were exactly tied with 805 points. With two hours left, it was anyone’s guess who would win the top prize. Rum Line quickly called in a release to take the lead, but Decisive answered right back with a double…..one released on the baits and one released on the fly. It was a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the tourney. Decisive went on to capture the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout, and also picked up some hefty day money. They ended up with 370 points on Day 3, followed by Rum Line with 320 points. Their victory earned them $15,400 for first place in the Calcutta pot, and also an additional $5,800 in day money on Day 3. Rum Line took home $6,600 in Calcutta winnings, and also $1,500 in day money on Day 3. Canaso and Team Los Menirosos finished strong on Day 3 and took the Consolation Pot for $600. Yo No Cuido and the Circle Hookers finished in a dead heat for third. Philipps took home $400 for top captain on Day 3, and Haole pocketed $200 for second place captain on Day 3. For the tournament the ten teams released 525 sailfish on the baits, and 34 on the fly in the three day tourney. Decisive and Rum Line tied for the most releases on the baits with 73. Circle Hookers and Allure had the most releases on the fly with 9. At the award ceremony Sunday night at Casa Vieja….the cherished Rich Smith Memorial “No Sancocho” Game ball was awarded to my friend Antonio Valdez. What a deserving recipient. Also, each team had to contribute $20 per missed bite (sancocho) to the Sancocho Pot, and we were able to raise $5,800 for the local school to help pay for books and supplies to these kids, who would otherwise be left without. Congratulations to Team Rum Line for their second place finish….Jim Turner, Rick Murphy, and Juan Cruz Anon, and also to Captain Chris Sheeder. Congratulations to Team Decisive…..Steve Cothron, Scott Lund, and Harvey Steinhagen and also to the Captain of the Decisive Brad Philipps….Champions of the 2010 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout.
Final Standings looked like this:
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 TOTAL
Team Decisive 310 230 370 910
Team Rum Line 320 225 320 865
Circle Hookers (Allure) 190 240 230 660
Yo No Cuido (Circle Hook) 300 140 220 660
Los Mentirosos (Canaso) 170 110 305 585
Four Fat Boys (Intensity) 180 120 260 560
Reel Nasty (Finest Kind) 200 120 210 530
Club No Minor (Release) 150 185 165 500
Team Penguino (Pelagian) 150 100 140 390
Tenacious (Adios) 130 30 40 200
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