| Tournament Wrap Up |
By Catherine Krantz
Fintastic’s 3rd Annual Total Tag & Release Billfish Tournament came back to Zihuatanejo, Nov 15, 16 & 17th and for me it was an event not to be missed. I have gone out on the boats with this tournament all three years. The first annual Fintastic tournament back in 1999 was the first upcoming event, the first ever issue of Another Day in Paradise publicized. I got these guys to give me a press pass and let me ride around on the tournament boats like I was some real reporter, back when the magazine was a messy 8 page newsletter with enough typos to make even a remedial speller blush. But not me, I waved my press pass around and got to spend 3 days on the best boats in the fleet and pretended to be a sportswriter. I even introduced myself, as such, to the ESPN film crew and told them I was a “magazine publisher”, while furtively glancing around to make sure no one actually had a copy. Lucky for me, no one did have a copy, and I was believed (if not awed and respected, at least they let me keep the press pass!) So Fintastic came back and even brought along a few familiar faces, i.e. The famous Ken “better late than never” Ellis and the soon to be famous Roland “gotta think up something really good for him” Ramirez, and as always these die hard fishermen from Texas kicked butt. They’ve got this knack for sweeping the jackpots. Even when they don’t place (and so far they never have) they still manage to rake in even more than the first place teams, just by winning enough of the Daily Team and Daily Angler Awards.
Some would say, and I won’t mention any names
, that the reason these excellent fishermen have never placed is because they always invite me out on the boats with them. Hmm, just because I spent two days the first year without a single sailfish and no one I’ve ever ridden with has won… does not mean I am bad luck. (Fishermen superstitions, or more importantly— what I have to say about them, is a “whole ‘nother” topic that will be explored in great detail sometime later...) As for the curse of Catherine, I will have you know that on the day I was out with Ken & Roland they caught 5 sailfish, 2 in one hour and they did not do better than that any other day, even when I was not with them…so there.
At any rate, tournament fishing, and especially when it is a guilt free Tag & Release effort, is a lot of fun and the fishing has been fabulous lately. Camaraderie, exhausting days, bragging over cold beer and lots of fish tales to take home is what its all about. With so many great fishing spots in Mexico, Zihuatanejo is fortunate to be one of the best and fortunate still to be hosting tournaments of recognition. Zihuatanejo has long been a fishing town and we’re lucky to have so many great fishermen who come back every year. Enthusiastic sportfishermen and dedicated conservationists are what brought Tag & Release Tournaments to Zihuatanejo and Tag & Release is what will keep them coming back. So, Have fun—Go fishing and remember to release the fish.
December 2001
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