16th Annual Mikelson Catalina Classic Marlin Tournament Day 1 Results

The 16th Annual Mikelson Catalina Classic Marlin Tournament got off to an incredible start on Monday morning. Forty-eight boats took to the water with a wild shotgun start from outside the Avalon Harbor and past the tournament control on the EPYC's Pacific Provider. The fleet was greeted by a grease like slick ocean surface which was perfect for high speed running. Most boats headed north and went straight to the northern edge of the tournament grid where they had left off fishing during the Zane Grey Invitational a week before. Other  crews opted to head offshore and others went around the south end of Catalina Island, though most seemed to end up in that same area off the west end. A few crews held back from the mayhem and took a relaxed approach but the majority were at full throttle as they headed to their chosen grounds.

The action didn't take long as the C-Bandit had gotten the first release within two hours of the start and there were many that were hooked up within an hour of the seven a.m. start. The action seemed to be consistent through the early morning with boats getting quick releases and setting up to catch more, knowing that while releases were good for points towards the Release Award it was that one big fish that would tip the scales and win the big prizes. Several boats got releases within the first two hours including the C-Bandit, Bad Company, Gambler, Sea Dancer, After Midnight and Reel Nice and Easy. That was all well and good, but it was the experienced team on the Gambler that hooked a second fish quickly and brought it aboard for the first marlin to be destined for the scales on the Green Pier in Avalon.

The next hour of the tournament was filed with action as crews dialed in on the fish and found what was described as fantastic fishing with feeding striped marlin tearing across the surface. Right at the beginning of the third hour it was the Puritan XI that brought a fish over the gunnels for a trip to the historic Avalon Tuna Club's scale. Another half a dozen boats added their names to the scoreboard by releasing fish before 11:00 rolled across the clock face. Team Everglades started it off with a release at 10:07 but were quickly followed by the Code 3, Good Karma, Bad Company, Sharks Parlour, and Exta Sea. The Surly Mermaid got the third fish to be boated just before the turn of the hour, though it would come up just two pounds shy of the tournament minimum.

The next hour was arguably one of the fastest with the C-Bandit bringing a marlin on board for a trip to the scales in the first ten minutes and the Mizpuh, Gambler, Cazador, Reel Nice and Easy, Ahi Nui, and Surly Mermaid adding releases to the scoring. The noon hour was comparatively slower though there were 18 releases marked down by Tournamtent Director Rod Halperin and the End Of The Line added the fifth capture of the day right at 12:30. The Puritan XI decided that they would bring their fish into the scale during the noon hour before heading back to the grounds and landed a 171.5-pound stripe on the historic scale to take the early lead, just making it over the tournament minimum by a single pound with a 166-pound marlin.

Two more boats were able to convert hook-ups into releases before the clock struck one as the Cazador put up another successful release and the Scrambler went two for two on a double hook-up to be the third boat to reach the two release mark. The Chaser broke the ice as the afternoon rolled on by releasing a fish at 1:06 and things were quiet for fifteen minutes before the Gambler added a second capture to the pair of releases that they had already gotten in the books. The Reely Hooked III was next to call in with a release and was followed by the Scrambler who converted both sides of another double hook-up into releases. The Cazador went next with their third release of the day and the After Midnight got their second just before two o'clock.

Team Everglades was the only boat to release a fish during the 2:00 hour but the Gambler amazingly turned their fifth fish into their third capture just before 2:30. Action slowed for a short while but the Salt Shaker got their big chance and boated a fish at 3:12, the Mizpuh got a release at 3:42 and the Ace High landed a fish at 3:55 to close out the hour. Team Bad Company who took the top spot in both of the previous Catalina tournaments got a release at just after 4:00 and was at the beginning of a big flurry in the last hour of the contest's first day.

Hot Tuna got a release at 4:41 and the After Midnight also got one at the same exact time. Five other boats hooked up before the 5:00 lines out call but it wasn't until 5 p.m. on the dot that tournament control got the first news as Angel and the Bad Man captured a fish while they were still fighting another at the same time. They would eventually get the release on the fish at 5:25 and in the meantime it was the Scrambler who got a release at 5:11. Buck Fever got a release at 5:30 and the Good Karma added a release at 5:48 to finish the day though they would have boated the fish if they had been given a chance.

At the scales, after the Puritan XI and the Surly Mermaid got the weights on their fish, it was the Salt Shaker who came up to bat and pushed the mark to 178.5 pounds to move ahead of the End of the Line. The C-Bandit brought a nice fish to the scale but fell short with a weight of 161 pounds as did the Ace High who ended up with 156 pounds. The Gambler crew was like rock stars as they brought three striped marlin to the scales which all surpassed the minimum length of 84 inches. The smallest was 161 pounds, the second largest was 188.5 pounds and the Gambler's largest was a stout 192 pounds and left them with the largest fish of the day and in the lead with one more day to fish. Ending the day on the water and at the scales was the Angel and the Bad Man who brought in a fish that was long enough but fell short at 158.5 pounds.

The totals for the day were 36 striped marlin released and another 10 that were boated and brought to the scale. While there is a release division, the big money is for the largest weight and the Gambler has set a mark that will be tough to beat. Tuesday's run starts at 6:30 a.m. and with such quality fishing it won't be a sure thing until after the 3:00 p.m. lines out call and quite possibly the last chance for boats to weigh fish before 5:00 p.m. Many comparisons were made between Monday's fishing and that of famous destinations like Magdelana Bay in Mexico. The Gambler has the two largest fish seen thus far while Salt Shaker and End of the Line both have got top spots on the leaderboard.

Coverage will be presented live once again from the water and the scales at www.catalinatournaments.com or www.sportfishermen.com with live streaming VHF audio and webcam along with full results and statistics also. The lines in call will be at 6:30 a.m. and lines out is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. before the crews head to the famous Avalon Casino for the awards banquet to wrap up three amazing tournaments.

Photos and blow by blow coverage can be found here:

Click Here for Live Webcam starting at 6:30 a.m. PST

Weighed Fish

Gambler - 192 pounds
Gambler - 188.5 pounds
Salt Shaker - 178.5 pounds
End of the Line - 171.5 pounds
Puritan XI - 166 pounds
Surly Mermaid - 163 pounds - DNQ
Gambler 161 pounds - DNQ
C-Bandit - 161 pounds - DNQ
Angel and the Bad Man - 158.5 pounds - DNQ
Ace High - 156 pounds

Releases
Scrambler - 5
Cazador - 3
Bad Company - 3
After Midnight - 3
Gambler - 2
Reel Nice and Easy - 2
Mizpah - 2
Team Everglades - 2
Good Karma - 2
C-Bandit - 1
Sea Dancer - 1
Code 3 - 1
Sharks Parlour - 1
Exta Sea - 1
Ahi Nui - 1
Surly Mermaid - 1
Chaser - 1
Reely Hooked III - 1
Great White - 1
1Hot Tuna - 1
Angel and the Bad Man - 1
Buck Fever - 1