San Pedro’s Catch N Bills team proudly returned to the island with the second-place trophy after competing in this year’s Belikin Blue Water Classic fishing tournament. The event took place at Old Belize in Belize City from October 25th to 26th. The island team secured the title of sub-champion in this annual competition and won $15,000 and an original painting by Ernest Garcia.
The yearly tournament began on Thursday, October 24th, with a captain’s meeting followed by a briefing about the contest. A total of 22 boats (teams) participated in the event. The next day, the competition kicked off with a Bimini start at 6 AM. The first day of fishing was quite successful, with several wahoo, dorado, and tuna brought to the weighing station.
On the first day, Captain Richard Zetina from Catch N Bills reported catching four Wahoo and one Kingfish. The unofficial results for that day indicated that nine teams were on the scoreboard. The teams and their points were as follows: Knot Too Sure with 16 points, Donzi with 22.5 points, Hunter B and Coming In Hot, both with 24 points, Just One More from San Pedro with 27.5 points, Keila with 61 points, Catch N Bills with 105 points, Mad Storme with 134 points, and JollyMon leading with 138.5 points.
On the second day, fishing began at 6AM without a Bimini start, and all boats were required to return to Old Belize by 4PM. Zetina noted that the fishing conditions were challenging due to the weather. Despite the difficult conditions, the teams pressed on in the competition, determined to achieve better results. The San Pedro team, however, only managed to catch three wahoo, which was sufficient for them to secure second place in the tournament.
After all boats had returned and points had been tallied at the end of the competition, a ceremony was held to honor the top five winners. In fifth place, with 27.5 points, was Team Just One More, followed by Team Keila in fourth place with 61 points. Team Mad Storme took third place with 154.5 points. Team Catch N Bills, with 164.2 points, claimed the second place and sub-championship. The grand prize winner, with a total of 231 points, was Team JollyMon. The champions also received awards for Top Angler and Top Female Angler and a prize pot of $30,000.
San Pedro teams have a strong history of success in this mainland fishing tournament. In 2022, Team Amber Marie from Belize Pro Dive Center won the competition. Team member Jessie Smith received the Top Angler award, while Raymond Tyree was recognized for catching the Heaviest Tuna, which weighed 14 lbs.
The tournament is organized by the Belize Game Fish Association, a non-profit organization comprising fishermen and women in the country, in partnership with Belikin Beer. The organizers thank all participating teams and sponsors and look forward to another successful tournament in 2025.
