Offshore World Championship at Pez Vela Marina makes big waves

Another big international billfish tournament is now history! Over four days, April 29-May 2, forty-five regional tournament-winning teams from 23 countries converged on Pez Vela Marina in Quepos for the 20th annual Offshore World Championship.

The big question: would the Brazilian stranglehold on the event be broken? Last year, crack billfishing teams from Brazil swept the top four places, fishing with some of Costa Rica’s top sportfishing charter captains.

This year, however, top honors went to a team from the USA. Oregon Tuna Classic finished first with 6100 points, followed by another US team, and then one from far-away Mauritius.

Top captain was José Hernandez on the 43ft Frenzy out of Pez Vela with 5257.6 points, nipping Captain James Smith on the 42ft Dragin Fly out of Los Sueños Marina with 5100, and Captain Mardonio Obando on the 38ft Raven out of Pez Vela with 4700.

Overall the 45 teams released 636 billfish (608 sailfish, 25 blue marlin, one black marlin, and two striped marlin – just over 14 billfish per team) along with 20 dorado, which were also counted in the scoring. Numbers were a bit lower than usual, but that happens sometime. Overall, it was a great event, and congratulations to everyone involved.

Elsewhere, it’s been fishing as usual. Anglers up in Tamarindo with Captain Randy Wilson on his 38ft Talking Fish released three blue marlin 250, 300 and a whopping 800+pounds! And anglers with Gerald Ruiz on the 22ft Rainbow Runner, also out of Tamarindo, caught some sailfish, dorado and yellowfin tuna, toppped off by this huge wahoo.

Anglers on the 22ft Rainbow Runner out of Tamarindo caught this prized – and tasty! – wahoo

It’s now FAD time: mutli-day overnighters at the FADs 40 and more miles off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast to fish for marlin and sailfish. Just before the tournament, Charlie Atwood and his group released five blue marlin and 11 sailfish in one-and-a-half days at the FADs on the 37ft Cazador with IFGA award-winning Captain Bobby McGuinness out of Golfito on Costa Rica’s South Pacific coast.

Contact us now if you want fish for marlin and sailfish at the FADs this summer, or want to target other fish species you can catch in Costa Rica. We will point you to Costa Rica’s top sportfishing destinations, and hook you up with its world-class charter captains. Get ready for an unforgettable sportfishing adventure!