Los Sueños Signature Series Triple Crown – Leg 2 2016
February 2016
Story by: Art McDonald
LOS SUENOS SIGNATURE SERIES – LEG 2
February 25-28, 2016
Picture yourself fishing one of the multiple Sailfish Tournaments in South Florida – you are one of 43
boats fishing..…. and at the conclusion of the 3-day event, you had tallied a whopping 28 releases. I’ll
bet you would be ordering the Dom Perignon and trying to figure out how to spend your winnings.
Well, if you were in Los Suenos, Costa Rica fishing on the second leg of their Signature Series, you would
have finished DEAD LAST!!!!!!!!!!
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better (the last 2 years saw world record numbers of fish
released on a 3-day Tournament) – IT DID! A mind boggling 2,754 billfish (only one Marlin (think he was
lost)) over the 3 days(8 hours) with 43 boats participating. Put simply, that amounted to an average of
114.8 released fish PER HOUR; 1.91 fish PER MINUTE, and a released billfish EVERY 32 SECONDS. A
total of 1,103 were released on day 1 – breaking the single day record!
Now… here’s the kool part…..the First Place Boat, Agitator, scored 8700 points (87 Sailfish) – Second
Place went to Pelese with 8600 Points (86 Sailfish) – Third Place went to Sea Angel (86 Sailfish), and
Spanish Fly took Fourth Place – also with 86 Sailfish. A mere 2 MINUTES separated 2nd, 3rd, and 4th!
Each day the Daily Prize Winner was determined by an average of only 3 minutes!!! This just goes to
show the outrageous importance of a qualified Observer on board to not only identify the species, make
sure no rules are broken, but to record the precise time of release. Lots and lots of $ ride on the
expertise of the Observer!
IGFTO was represented by 8 Observers – Kim Hermanowski, Tracey Preston, John Mayer, Terry Cleary,
Tony Pallone, Rodney Hinton, Michael Sampsel, and Art McDonald. Days were long (arrive at the
marina at 5:00 AM isn’t for the faint of heart) but each day anticipation was high with such an
outrageous bite. When there are billfish dancing on top of crystal clear, flat, seas…… time goes by so
quickly. Witnessing the release (off times doubles, triples, and quads), logging the times, etc., kept
everyone extra busy. Certainly, a cold frosty beverage – compliments of the Tournament, was a
welcome respite after scorecards were turned in. As usual, Ashley Bretecher and her assistant, Tina
Mueller, as Tournament Directors, did an outstanding job………. They’re the BEST!
Tropical Los Suenos Costa Rica with all its innate beauty, coupled with some of the finest fishing boats,
anglers, and crews makes for a perfect setting. Add in the incredible amount of Billfish opportunities
and competitive outcome, with history setting results…………could it be any better? THAT’S what we
said last year………. And it WAS. Who knows what will happen next year….. but you can bet, I’ll be there
– wouldn’t miss it for the world!
RIGHT TEASER – RIGHT TEASER – LEFT TEASER – LEFT TEASER – THERE’S ONE ON THE DREDGE - WE’RE
ON – A QUAD!!!!!!
See you there in 2017!
