LSTournaments- Los Sueños Resort and Marina is home to the most prestigious sportfishing tournament series ever to take place in Costa Rica and Central America

Press Releases 2008

THE FIRST LEG OF THE 2008 LOS SUEÑOS SIGNATURE BILLFISH SERIES
JANUARY 9-12, 2008

ROUNDING UP THE MARLIN

Los Sueños became home for a few days in January to some eager fishermen and women who came together to put each other’s true angling talents to the test. A battle ensued for tournament champion of the first leg of the 2008 Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, presented by CABO Yachts. A total of 440 billfish were caught during three days of competitive action between 41 boats and 163 anglers. What really caught everyone’s attention though, was the marlin bite. Of the 440 billfish caught and released, 134 were marlin! This represents over 30% of the total catch - an astonishing rate that broke all Costa Rican records.

DAY 1- Defining Marlin Bite
Teams charged out of Herradura Bay at 6:30 am on January 10th, ready to challenge each other and really see how the bite of Costa Rica’s Central Pacific coast was shaping up. By 12 pm, 61 billfish had already been caught and released. Of the total catch that day, 21 marlin were released, legitimizing the dock talk that the marlin bite would separate the men from the boys.
At the end of the day it was Miss Behavin with 2 sails and 6 marlin at the top of the leader board. Lady Columbo came in second with 2600 points, 1 sail and 5 marlin, and Prime Time trailed by time with the same number of points and the same number of fish. Still, it was anyone’s game.

DAY 2- Marlin Bite Warming Up
By the end of the second day of fishing, all eyes were on Super Fly. They were at the top of the leader board with 3800 points, after having caught and released 3 sails and 7 marlin. Prime Time and Miss Behavin were tied for second with 3300 points (3 sails and 6 marlin each), but Prime Time managed to bump Miss Behavin down to third place by catching their last fish three and a half hours earlier.

DAY 3- Down to the Wire
The competition was down to the wire as of 4 pm on Day 3. Super Fly was almost guaranteed a first place finish, having reached 5100 points at 3:05 pm with a sail. The Bite was tied for points but trailing on time. In the last three minutes before lines out on the last day of the first leg of the 2008 Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, The Bite hooked up to a sail and fought it until 4:12 pm, when they released their last sail of the tournament for a total of 5200 points and the win! And the good news kept coming, The Bite angler Mariano Da, took the prize for top angler with 12 sails and 3 marlin for a total of 2700 points.

The Top Angler from each WBS sanctioned event will qualify to compete at the WBS Grand Championships in Los Sueños, Costa Rica, December 3-6, 2008.

At the awards dinner sponsored by CABO Yachts later that evening, Los Sueños President and CEO William Royster presented the winning teams with checks for their share of the tournament’s US$104,000 cash jackpot ($52,000 to first, $31,200 to second, $20,800 to third) and trophies featuring Bodo Muche bronze billfish sculptures. Each angler also received Costa Del Mar sunglasses. All 3 winning teams received a humidor with cigars provided by La Casa del Habano and a framed print from Rick Bogert. The first place boat also received individual trophies for the captain, anglers and crew.
Tournament participants enjoyed four days of dinner events and entertainment, including dockside cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The awards dinner on January 12th was amazing, with live entertainment – including ESPN personality Chris Fischer, from Offshore Adventures – a jaw dropping tournament show filmed and produced by Fischer Productions, open bars and fireworks.

As always, the Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series could not be what it is without the generous support of a long list of staff, volunteers, IGFA certified observers, and of course our sponsors: CABO Yachts; Contender Boats; Dockwise Yacht Transport; Viking Yachts; BLP Abogados; Caterpillar Engines in conjunction with Ransome Engines and Johnson Power Systems; Imperial; HMY Yacht Sales; Knight and Carver; La Casa del Habano; Rick Bogert; Scotiabank; Toyota; Blue Water Chairs; Bodo Muche; Costa del Mar; Costa Rica Dreams; Costa Rica Luxury; Durman Esquivel; Flor de Caña; Gray Taxidermy; IK Yacht Design; Marriott Hotels; National Car Rental; Northern Lights in conjunction with Luggar engines; Pacific Design; Riviera Yachts; Stewart Title; Vanmark; the International Game Fish Association (IGFA); and the World Billfish Series (WBS).
The Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series presented by CABO Yachts is sanctioned by the World Billfish Series (WBS). Anglers competing in the Los Sueños tournaments are automatically enrolled in the WBS and compete for points in the Pacific Rim Division.

Entries for the 2009 tournament series (January 21-24 and February 25-28 9) are now being accepted via the official series website. The total cash prize jackpot for the series is expected to exceed $300,000, and the boat with the highest combined score from the first and second tournaments will receive a guaranteed grand prize of US$50,000 from the tournament promoter, Los Sueños Resort and Marina.

For further information, please contact Ashley Bretecher, Tournament Director, toll-free 1-866-865-9759, ph: 011.506.2637.8886, ext. 1075, ph: 011-506-2630-4000 or via e-mail. More information on the tournament series can also be found online at www.LStournaments.com.