HAMILTON, Bermuda-- (July 19, 2020)-- Under bright skies and calm seas, the Bermuda Billfish Blast first day of fishing kicked off this year’s Bermuda Triple Crown Billfish Championship. Team Auspicious with Captain Edward “Cookie” Murray was on the bite releasing three blue marlin to win the day and lead the tournament with 1500-points. Owner Joe Rahman did the angling on the first two fish with angler Kevin Stafford having the honors on the final fish of their day. Team Miss TJ was making memories with owner Paul Rodrigues at the controls watching his fourteen year old son PJ catch two blue marlin including one that looked to be around 500-pounds giving the team 1000-points and second place position. Team Just A Dog with owner Mike Farrens at the helm got on the scoreboard with angler Chase Farrens releasing a blue.
The teams were under way again on the second day of fishing with lines in at 8:30 but the fish didn’t wake up until mid-day. Uno Mas scored their first points with a white for angler Drew McDowell. They followed up with a blue release for angler Maria Smith and finished the day with another blue release for angler Drew McDowell to win the daily and move into second place with 1100-points. Other teams scoring their first points were Legacy with a blue release for angler Jeremy Gibson and a blue release on Bree for angler Don Boys. Auspicious maintained their lead with 1500-points and Miss TJ sat in third heading into the final day.
The final day of fishing started early for Just A Dog releasing their only blue of the day thirty minutes after lines in. This was enough to earn Just A Dog the daily level one release jackpot and third overall release jackpot. With an hour to go in the competition Miss TJ was on again with PJ Rodrigues in the chair. The successful release gave Miss TJ 1500-points, earning top angler and top junior angler honors for PJ and moved them into second place. But that position was short lived with Captain Brooks Smith calling in a hook up for team Uno Mas with only twelve minutes remaining in the competition. The blue marlin release by angler Marie Smith gave team Uno Mas 1600-points, first place honors in the Billfish Blast and top lady angler for Maria Smith.
Final Standings
Uno Mas – First Place Team 1600-points
Auspicious – Second Place Team 1500-points
Miss TJ - Third Place Team 1500-points
Just A Dog - 1000-points
Legacy - 1000-points
Bree – 500-points
