Reel Cast Wins the 24th Annual Los Cabos Billfish Tournament
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – The participants in this year’s Los Cabos Billfish Tournament enjoyed perfect weather and a great bite at the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. The fleet of 53 teams caught and video-verified 138 billfish, including 91 striped marlin, 26 blue marlin, 19 sailfish and two black marlin. A total of $862,350 in cash was awarded. Team Reel Cast, a 48-foot Cabo with Capt. Zach Morrow, mate Hiram Ruelas and teammates Bill Pino, Doug Berg and Javier Ruelas earned 1,225 points from one weighed 500-pound blue marlin caught by Bill Pino, one blue marlin, five striped marlin and two sailfish—all released—to win the 2022 Los Cabos Billfish Tournament. The team’s blue marlin, caught on the second day, earned all levels of the Daily Marlin Jackpots and first place in the Largest Marlin Jackpots, a total of $354,000. They also took home an invitation to compete in the 2023 Costa Offshore World Championship.
Team El Suertudo, an 80-foot Weaver with Capt. Greg Distefano, mate Oswaldo Ortega and teammates Guy Yocom, Scotty Walker, Jeff Richardson, Bruce McDonald, Alan Ortega and Alfonso Ortega scored 1,000 points from two blue marlin and 16 striped marlin releases to place second in the tournament. El Suertudo picked up a Daily Release Jackpot and First Place Overall Release Points Jackpot, earning a total of $94,800. Team Salty K, fishing aboard a 78-foot Garlington and led by Capt. Keith Hilton, mate Ryan Thurner and teammates Harry Okuda, Bryan Zulka, Antonio Colorado and Ed Noonan scored 925 points from three blue marlin and one striped marlin release to place third in the tournament. Salty K added a second-place Overall Release Points Jackpot to win a total of $48,900.Team La Chingona, a 46-foot Viking with Capt. Antonio Bojorquez, mate Luis Gonzales and teammates Milinda Smith, Richard Bradbury Jr., Jeff Zimmerman, Kirk Russell, Sergio Aviles Cota and Marcos Aviles Cota started the tournament in a big way weighing a 349-black marlin caught by Cota to win the Day One Daily Marlin Jackpots and third-place Overall Marlin Jackpots, winning a nice check for $189,810. Team Stella June, a 46-foot Jarrett Bay with Capt. Evan Salvay, mate Darian Silva and teammates Ivan Van Ortwick, Jakob Gonterman, Jazz Moorhead, Hugo Pino and Paco Ruis landed a 389-pound black marlin on the second day, caught by Moorhead. The team earned second-place Overall Marlin Jackpots of $80,190.
The Los Cabos Billfish Tournament is just one of the big-game tournaments in the Bonnier portfolio, which also includes the Bermuda Triple Crown, Scrub Island Invitational and Costa Offshore World Championship.
About Bonnier: Bonnier is an outdoor adventure company that fuels passion for fishing, boating, sailing, motorsports, hunting and travel. Bonnier has the nation’s leading portfolio of experiential events and iconic media brands in the marine category and an extensive series of nationwide motorsports and hunting events. Bonnier is the publisher of Salt Water Sportsman, Marlin, Sport Fishing, Boating, Yachting, Cruising World and Sailing World, produces the award-winning TV series SFTV, and hosts world-class fishing tournaments, sailing regattas and educational events across the US and in Mexico, Bermuda, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Australia and the Virgin Islands. Bonnier is owned by Sweden-based Bonnier AB, a globally operating conglomerate with more than 200 years in publishing.
Marlin Celebrates 40th Anniversary
In April 1982, the inaugural issue of Marlin was published, dedicated to the idea of “establishing in the eyes of the world that billfishing is the greatest sport in the world today.” Four decades later, the “magazine for the billfisherman” is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Marlin was launched in the spring of 1982 by Bill McLellan and Lee Stevens. The publication aimed to be a prestigious voice within the global offshore fishing community. By any measure, it has achieved that status. Today, Marlin is part of Bonnier Corp’s extensive fishing media and event portfolio which includes Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Offshore World, Salt Water Sportsman Seminar Series, Offshore World Championship, Bermuda Triple Crown, Los Cabos Billfish Tournament, and Scrub Island Invitational. Forty years later, Marlin continues to provide the same high-quality content that offshore fishing enthusiasts have come to expect.
While it began as a quarterly, Marlin is now published seven times per year. It also has an educational component, Marlin University, an immersive, on-the-water classroom where world-class anglers teach the most exciting and cutting-edge techniques to catch billfish.
The brand will celebrate its anniversary throughout 2022, including a feature story about the magazine’s history in the February issue.
“I’m proud to continue the legacy of this brand with such a great history as we head into 2022 and beyond,” says editor-in-chief Sam White.
The magazine is not the only notable anniversary that Marlin is commemorating. Publisher Natasha Lloyd recently celebrated her 25th year with the brand.