Presidential Challenge News 1-3

[Fishing Report]

Fifteenth Anniversary Season Kicks Off!
Historic Milestone for Presidential Challenge

Now celebrating its 15th consecutive year of sportfishing, competition and conservation, the Presidential Challenge will once again offer our anglers another action-packed tournament season in 2011.



The year starts with the always-popular Presidential Challenge of Costa Rica on March 24-27, 2011, to be held in the beautiful and laid-back north-central Pacific destination of Playa Carrillo. It's been widely reported that Carrillo offers the best shot at a billfish "Grand Slam" in the entire Pacific region, making it a perfect location for the tournament. Combine the excellent fishing with great weather, a fun, comfortable host hotel and some terrific after-fishing parties and it's a winning combination! There are also several top charter boats that are still available but they will go fast and are booked on a "first come, first served" basis. We have started taking entries for this event so please don't delay, register early!



The next stop on the series will be the brand-new Presidential Papagayo Cup, hosted by the Marina Papagayo in northern Costa Rica, June 22-25, 2011. With a new format and offering some substantial prize money for the participants, it's sure to be a hit with the top tournament crews in the Pacific.





Peninsula Papagayo features a Four Seasons Resort as well as all the amenities of the four-star Marina Papagayo--it's a great location for a world-class tournament. Several top charter boats are still available for the tournament and private boats are always welcome for this event, which will also offer a Perpetual Trophy to the team garnering the most points between the PCCA Costa Rica and Presidential Papagayo Cup tournaments.




The fall season will see the series moving to the island nation of Aruba with the Presidential Caribbean Cup, slated for October 20-23, 2011. Aruba is an outstanding destination for this event, with all the amenities plus fantastic billfishing opportunities that have thus far remained below the radar of the sportfishing community.



Finally, we'll wrap up the year in Guatemala with the always-popular PCCA Guatemala. The 2010 event saw a record number of billfish released by the fleet so the fishing there is just as good as ever. It will also wind up the competition for the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler and Costa Grand Champion Team awards, so it's an event that's not to be missed for any PCCA team.



For more information on any of these Presidential Challenge events, please visit www.preschallenge.com.


Congratulations to the Winners!
A Salute to the 2010 Grand Champion Teams and Anglers



While 2011 marks the start of another exciting year in the race for the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler and Costa Grand Champion Team series, we wanted to take this opportunity to offer a heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the 2010 series.



The Costa Grand Champion Team award is perhaps one of the most difficult honors to achieve in the world of sportfishing: teams must compete in different countries while consistently performing at the highest levels in order to be successful. This year's top team proved they were well up to the task at hand, starting the season in Costa Rica before moving on to a brand new fishery in Aruba, where they excelled. Then it was time to lay the cards on the table in Guatemala, where a slow first day's showing nearly cost them the title. But like true champions they rebounded to win the series title of Costa Grand Champion Team for the 2010 Presidential Challenge. Please join us in congratulating Team OBX/Decisive in their victory!


(L-R): Craig Johnson, Dell Dembosky, Decisive Capt. Brad Phillips, Mike Viveiros and Ebby Hall. Not shown: team members Gary Tarpley and Mike Huling.


In second place, missing the top award by just 100 points was the Southern Pride/Hattaboy team, tough competitors in any tournament in the world of sportfishing.

(L-R): Southern Pride Capt. Chris Garner, Circle Hook Capt. Eddie Bairez, Ted Smith and Tucker Colquhoun, runners up in 2010. Not shown: team members Gerard Aliseo, Russ Petranto and Mariano Dal Maso.






Finishing in third place with a solid showing, the Sea Angel team.


(L-R): Austin Angel, Arturo and Francisco Moreno, Greg Voell and Capt. BC Angel.



Each team by rule had to compete in at least two of the three events in 2010--Team OBX/Decisive fished in all three, as did the Southern Pride/Hattaboy, while Sea Angel elected to fish only in Costa Rica and Guatemala.



In the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler standings, Mike Viveiros was not to be denied. After competing for many years in the Presidential series, 2010 finally smiled upon him. Winning top honors with 4,050 points, Mike competed in every PCCA tournament in 2010, proving that consistency will often overcome adversity in the end.


Left: Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler Mike Viveiros
Right: Runner Up Grand Champion Austin Angel



Making a strong late-season run up the leaderboard was Austin Angel. Facing a slight handicap by missing the Aruba leg, Angel nonetheless perservered in both the Pacific tournaments, amassing 3,100 series points to take second.




Finally, another veteran PCCA angler, John Price (left) wound up in third place in the Eagle Claw Grand Champion Angler standings with 3,050 points.



Congratulations to each of the anglers and teams fishing the 2010 Presidential Challenge series!