The Billfish Story: Swordfish, Sailfish, Marlin, and Other Gladiators of the Sea

CHAPTER 4 Anatomy of Tournaments

61 For over two hours, angler Andy Thomasson aboard the Citation had struggled with a blue marlin that refused to surface, opting instead to bulldoggedly hunker down, but Thomasson’s determined efforts ultimately brought the marlin to the gaff. As Captain Eric Holmes related, “When we finally saw it, we couldn’t believe it.” And back at the dock, the monster-sized fish tipped the scale at 883 pounds, a new record for the annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. The crew aboard the Citation was ecstatic; that marlin earned them over $1 million in prize money during the 2010 tournament. But that dream fish proved fleeting; three days later, the tournament directors unanimously agreed to disqualify Citation’s catch. Had the angler or the crew violated a rule of the International Game Fish Association, the overseeing angling organization that sets the rules for ethical angling and sportsmanship, which most tournaments adhere to? The big marlin had been tail wrapped—the fish became entangled in the fishing line, but that unfortunate event, which probably prevented the marlin from surfacing, did not disqualify the catch. The culprit? A North Carolina fishing license, or more precisely the lack of one. Peter Wann of Alexandria, a mate aboard the Citation, did not have in his possession the requisite license when the marlin was caught. (The tournament rules explicitly state that “the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will require a recreational fishing license for anyone participating in fishing aboard a vessel.”) He had purchased a license online at 5:51 p.m. while on his way to the weigh station, but the fish was boated at 3:15 p.m. A thirty-dollar mistake—the cost 4 Anatomy of Tournaments 62 chapter four of a nonresident fishing license—ballooned into a very expensive lesson in tournament fishing. As Thomasson ruefully said, “We didn’t do anything wrong. But one of our people did. He failed to get a fishing license, but we didn’t know it. He told us he had it. He didn’t. They’re taking it away, everything. The fish is disqualified. We’re disqualified. That’s the end of it.” Tournament Fever The first billfish tournament on record in the United States was initiated and sponsored by Zane Grey in the Florida Keys. While not strictly limited to billfish—awards were also given for the largest bonefish and king mackerel—the tournament would specially recognize the longest sailfish caught during the fishing season (December 14 to April 15) on nine-thread (twenty-seven-pound test) line. Zane’s brother, R.C., also donated a rod for the largest sailfish caught over sixty pounds on a six-ounce tip and twelve-thread (thirty-six-pound test) line. Buttons were awarded for various catches: bronze for sailfish over forty pounds, silver over fifty-five pounds, and gold over sixty-five pounds. The idea of awarding buttons stems from Grey’s days at the Tuna Club, which routinely offered ornate buttons for outstanding catches. A yellow button , for example, with an emblem of a swordfish on it was given to that angler who caught the fish on light linen line, and a gold button was for a swordfish caught on heavy line. The act of going head to head with other anglers in a formalized tournament setting to determine who could catch the biggest fish would spread rapidly since Grey’s early foray into competitive fishing. On May 26, 1950, thirty-six boats motored out of Havana harbor in search of big marlin. One of those boats was the Pilar, owned by Ernest Hemingway, who participated in this first tournament, representing the International Yacht Club de La Habana. A group of anglers put forth the proposal of naming the tournament after Hemingway, in acknowledgment of his big-game angling accomplishments and sportsmanship . Hemingway not only agreed but also won the cup for the first three tournaments. During the early 1960s, the tournament was suspended due to tensions between the United States and Cuba, culminating in the Bay of anatomy of tournaments 63 Pigs invasion. In 1963, the tournament resumed, but only on a national basis, and was run that way until 1977. In 1978, the tournament directors changed their policy, allowing for international participants to enter. Today, the Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Tournament is still going strong, making it one of the granddaddys of big-game saltwater tournaments in the...