The III Open International Deep Sea Fishing of Gran Canaria closes with a historic final day

 

Excitement until the last minute in a final day in which four boats were tied with two captures and their corresponding releases of the long-awaited 'Blue Marlin', the greatest sprinter in the Canary waters. José Miguel Barbosa's 'Faelo' won by being the fastest to achieve both pieces. It is followed by the 'Blackfin' by Emilio Ley and the podium is completed by the 'White Marlin' by Roberto Cabrera and with John Wordsworth at the helm, who signed a dream comeback with two pieces on the last day.   

 

The International Open closed an edition to remember in which more than 30% of the participating fleet managed to add at least one catch and subsequent release of a blue marlin. “It has been a day of great tension and emotion, because we had our two captures from the first day and today, without being able to add up, we have been paying attention to the radio, to all the captures and releases of the other boats, which has It was very exciting until the end. Every time the radio came on, our hair stood on end, but in the end we were lucky and won. In the end it is a matter of luck, we were the first to catch two copies of Marlin and that is why we have the victory,” said the skipper of 'Faelo', José Miguel Barbosa.  

 

 

 

 

 

José Miguel Barbosa's 'Faelo' started the final day in the lead, with two specimens of Blue Marlin on its account after being the only one among the 39 competing boats to manage to capture and release two pieces of the coveted Picudo. Another nine skippers left the ports of Pasito Blanco, Puerto Rico and Mogán tied with one piece, which is equivalent to 400 immediate registration points. In this situation were the 'Gara' by Luis Pérez Gálvez and Gara Guerra, the 'Blackfin' by Emilio Ley; Phillip A. Cross's 'Wild One'; Rodger Thomas Burston's 'Reel Escape'; the ´Corali Primero´ by Luis Peñate; Wim Moens' 'Run Away'; Jesús Urriza's 'Philgood'; and Ignacio Pérez's 'Naiss' reach the last day with options for victory.       

 

The abundance of fishing on the first day of competition, with ten catches and five bites and as many unsuccessful attempts, raised expectations for this last day, since the most veteran participants claimed to not remember an edition with so much fishing in the last three decades. . The first to join the party on the final day was Jorge Ramos Pérez's 'Shock Wave', barely an hour after the starting gun. However, the judges of the test did not validate it due to an error in the process of bringing the catch closer to the boat. Shortly after it was the 'White Marlin' that announced its first prize. Roberto Cabrera's boat began its spectacular comeback. The 'Gara', shortly after, reported a capture and release, with images of a Picudo specimen with ease for gliding. After an hour of fighting, crew member Gara Guerra managed to seal the capture and place herself in second position, since in the event of a tie, the fastest boat to accomplish the feat wins. However, a new technical error invalidated its success. The committee announced its decision to the Gara Guerra team and they responded by accepting it in a gesture of enormous sportsmanship that gave them applause and recognition from the rest of the participants for their exemplary attitude. 

 

The next to join the party was Emilio Ley's 'Blackfin', a history of the competition with three wins to his name and a career that dates back to the first edition of the Pasito Blanco contest. The 'White Marlin' reported a new catch with John Wordsworth as the creator of the catch and consolidated its comeback to achieve third place in this edition. Finally, Salvador García's 'Big Eye' was the last to join the party, winning his prize just a few minutes before the closing of the Open.  

 

In addition, the participants highlighted the large size of all the Blue Weevil specimens sighted, as well as the weight, so that many claimed to be among the largest pieces of the season.   

 

It should be remembered that the type of fishing in the contest, true to custom, is carried out by trolling, using artificial samples or live or dead bait mounted exclusively on circular hooks. Pieces are captured, marked and released, strictly following IGFA rules. The Pasito Blanco contests were pioneers in Europe in the prohibition of removing Blue Marlins from the water, even before the regulations required it, because the philosophy was always that the catch remained alive in the sea.

 

The third edition of the Open International Deep Sea Fishing Gran Canaria, heir to the traditional Pasito Blanco Fishing Contest, ended with its traditional dinner at La Punta Yacht Club, a space where the awards were distributed and the event closed with a concert by the Gran Canaria band 'Ultima Llave'.