72 hours from departure for the Black Tail Invitational and all eyes were on Hurricane Earl’s path. On the verge of cancelling the tournament, we got a report that the storm had missed Punta Allen and it was time to go! Our thoughts were with everyone who had been affected by the storm.
On the practice day, several nice fish were caught. It looked like we could be in for some decent weather during the tournament. During the rules meeting that evening, Nick “The Coz” Ozimek asked a question, “What do we do if we catch a permit that has already been tagged?” Nick was told not to tag the fish again and take down all of the tag information. The chances were slim that a Permit recapture could happen. The next day, Nick landed his biggest permit to date and it had a tag in it! What are the odds? Click here to read the full story of the Permit Recapture!
The twist of having to remove 1 of the 4 fishing days from their score during the tournament played a big part in this years event. Several people caught fish on their days off and consequently, they were not able to score their fish!
Alejandro Vega Cruz “Sandflea” ending up fishing the first 3 days. He took the 4th day off. On the each of the first three days he landed 1 fish. With 472 points, was anointed the Grand Champion along with his guide, Tony.
Mike Ward and Jorge Angulo Tut landed 2 fish on their second day of fishing. Totaling 333 points earning, Mike and Jorge were crowned Runners Up!
Brendan Roberts and Juanito landed 3 fish in their first 2 days of fishing. Earning 288 points and a 3rd Place finish. One of their fish was not large enough for bonus points and they were not able to catch Mike and Jorge.
Mike Dawes and Jose Ucan Brice won the big fish award landing a permit of 28.5 inches.
Through the Black Tail Invitational tournament, 2017 will be the 4th Annual, anglers and guides have been able to tag over 75 permit (with one recapture). Total donations of $12,500 have been gifted to the Bonefish Tarpon Trust Jon Ain Memorial fund for Permit Research in Ascension Bay and the surrounding areas. Obviously, this would not have been possible without the help of our sponsors.
A special thanks goes out to all of our sponsors: Thomas & Thomas, Costa Del Mar, Yeti, Fishpond, Simms, Airflo, Orvis, Tarpon Club Isla Holbox, Adipose Boatworks, Fly Vines, Mountain Khakis, 12 WT, Hatch Outdoors, Live Water Properties, F3T, La Pescadora Fly Fishing Lodge, Silver Sage Garden Centers, Big Red Tool Box, and Two Ocean Builders.
Thanks again to all of the sponsors, anglers, and guides that participated. A special thank you to Lily Bertram for all the help and organization!
