Team Cera Del Sol Wins First Place in 2024 Honduras International Billfish Open

A Belizean fishing team named “Cerca Del Sol” from San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, took first place in Honduras’ International Billfish Open tournament. The event was from February 29th to March 2nd in Omoa, Honduras. The team, led by boat owner Russ Samples, Captain Charley Westby, along with Victor Hernandez, Kevin Barker, Emroy Nunez, and Charley Westy Jr., won a trophy and a cash prize of $1,018,236 lempiras (approximately $84k bz) by registering the highest score in the tournament.
The International Billfish Open, organized by the “Club de Pesca del Caribe,” is Honduras’s largest sports fishing event. This tournament encourages sustainable catch-and-release sport fishing among all fishermen in the region.
Seven teams from Belize and 40 teams from multiple countries participated in the tournament. The San Pedro team was in Honduras for a week, preparing to compete in the two-day tournament. Every team had to head to sea as early as 7 AM daily and return to the weighing station by 5 PM.
On day one of the competition, San Pedro’s “Cerca del Sol” caught and released two Blue Marlins, taking the lead. On the second day, they continued leading the tournament and caught another beautiful marlin, making them the favorite team in the fishing tournament.
At the end of the competition, the different teams received awards, and “Cerca del Sol” was awarded the grand prize, bringing back a beautiful trophy to Belize and winning the biggest fishing event in Honduras. This was the first time a Belizean team won the tournament.
The tournament organizers thanked all the sponsors and congratulated all the participating teams. They also asked the teams and the public to stay tuned for upcoming fishing tournaments. The San Pedro Sun congratulated the “Cerca Del Sol” team for representing the country and island well at the international fishing tournament.