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 Greetings!
Wow ... it seems like we just completed a tremendous, record setting BBC season and here we are getting ready to open registration for BBC 2012.
A fundamental ingredient of the BBC's success over the past 38 years has been the Series' continual responsiveness to the 'likes' and 'dislikes' of the participants in such matters as angling rules, benchmark minimum lengths and tournament locations. Since its creation in 1993, the BBC's 'Steering Committee' has been the ideal sounding board for fellow anglers and crew members to express their views about the Championship and convey their thoughts about improving the tournaments and stimulating greater participation.
This issue of The Teaser outlines changes to the BBC rules, tournament venue and tournament format for the 2012 Championship series. These changes are an excellent example of the Steering Committee's awareness of the need to maintain (as much as possible) a level playing field for all who participate in the Bahamas Billfish Championship.
Registration forms for BBC 2012 (the BBC's 39th season) will be available online in mid-October. There will be a BBC e-Update sent when the online registration is available and announcing the money saving opportunity for 'early bird' entry fees.
I welcome your participation in BBC 2012 and look forward to seeing you in The Bahamas in April.
Tight Lines
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2012 BBC Schedule & Host Resorts
Guana Cay Championship April 24 - 28, 2012 (Orchid Bay Yacht Club & Marina) Cape Eleuthera Championship May 8 - 12, 2012 (Cape Eleuthera Resort & Marina) Harbour Island Championship May 22 - 26, 2012 (Romora Bay Resort & Marina) Marsh Harbour Championship June 5 - 9, 2012 (Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina) Treasure Cay Championship June 19 - 23, 2012 (Treasure Cay Resort & Marina)
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Tournament Format & Rule ChangesTournament Format Change Captain's Choice Lay Day - All teams will fish any three (3) out of the available four (4) fishing days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday). Ribbons must be picked-up each fishing day between 6:00 am and 8:00 am from the Committee Boat. Angling Rule Changes (Changes in BOLD) Lines in the water at 8:00 am - Lines out of the water at 4:00 on all fishing days. To qualify as a "released fish" the leader must be brought within the grasp of the mate or the end of the leader must be wound to the rod tip. A 'Billfish Release Affidavit' must be completed for each billfish released and presented to the Committee Boat between the hours of 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the same day the fish is caught. These hours can be extended if a team was fighting a fish and reported to the Committee Boat prior to "lines out of the water." New Angling Rules Teams fishing the Bahamas Billfish Championship may not include any individual who has been paid to be a captain or crew, fish a rod, feed fish and/or bring a fish to the boat in the last three (3) years. All boats participating in the Bahamas Billfish Championship tournaments must have a valid Bahamas Fishing Permit with a Bahamas Fisheries sticker affixed thereto. To download a complete set of the 2012 Bahamas Billfish Championship Angling Rules click here. Back to Top
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Anglers, Crews & Teasers
By Captain Skip Smith
What is the difference between an angler and a 'paid crew' angler? What are the advantages? I have heard this from quite a few people, "Once you win money, aren't you a professional angler?" There are many boat owners that are lucky enough to fish a couple hundred days a year. They get more opportunities than any mate. They get really good and get to compete quite often in numerous tournaments. But then again, when someone picks up the whole tab, that makes them an 'owner angler.' As 'Jimmy L.' says, "Once a crew member is retired for the three years, he still knows how to ride a bike." But tournaments have to start putting a definition somewhere. There are many other tournaments using this three year rule and they are having very few problems (most tournament directors' goals are to have 'very few problems'). One of my reasons for endorsing the no paid crew angling rule is that when an 'owner angler' keeps getting beaten by a 'crew angler' of another boat, that owner either quits fishing tournaments or they may just sell the boat and let the crew go. Either way, everyone loses ... less money in the tournament and more competition for the captain and crew jobs. Click here to read Skip's complete article about Anglers, Crews & Teasers. Back to Top |
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As The Propeller Turns ...
What you may have missed at BBC 2011 ...
A total of 275 billfish were caught during BBC 2011 - 135 blue marlin; 85 white marlin; 55 sailfish - Of the 135 blue marlin caught, 22% (30) were caught by the top three finishers - Zues, Wave Paver and Chasin Tail ... A Bahamian curly-tailed lizard boarded the Hatteras 60 via the power cord and rode with Jeff Donahue on the bridge console for an entire day of fishing ... Jim Connor served egg sandwiches at the MarineMax Morning Eye-Opener ... Mama Who won the hors d'oeuvres competition at Cape Eleuthera with a delicious Louisiana crawfish dip ... At the Harbour Island Championship, angler Dave Albury on Double Dog told Brenda Fletcher, "It is bad luck to take a picture of a 'Conchy Joe' sitting on the dock at the end of a day" - Little did he know what was to come ...
Lisa Verbit and John Domenico of Bank of America/US Trust were quite adept in getting rides to fish during the Harbour Island and Treasure Cay Championships - After keeping late hours the night before, they showed up on time, enthusiastic, and ready to go! ... You cannot beat the ambiance and buffet presentation of Coral Sands to finish out a week of fishing in Harbour Island ... Vanessa Darling of ISR and Casey Sinclair of Smith-Merritt Insurance kept a celebrity lookout going in Harbour Island, but missed seeing Lenny Kravitz.
A welcome treat - Platters of conch fritters served on the docks at Orchid Bay at the end of each fishing day ... The comical bartending competition at Nipper's that included aerial tosses of Bacardi bottles and offers of bribes to the judges in the form of exotic cigars - Bam Boo and Blue Heron tied for first place - The judges, Alton Herndon, Don Jones, Rob McDougal, and Seth Flippen from Bertram and Allied Marine all escaped without injury and volunteered again for next year ... Bob Osborn won the Classic BBC T-shirt Contest with his Treasure Cay Championship shirt from 1996 - the year the Weekend Hooker caught the 1030 lb. blue that was the former Abaco record holder.
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Dolphinfish Research Newsletter
Sportfishing Groups Support Research
The Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) relies on private donations to finance its studies on dolphinfish. There have been severe cutbacks in funding for marine fisheries research at both  state and federal levels. Today there is not enough government money to do the work needed on the stocks of fish identified as overfished, leaving little chance for money to support work on a fish stock like dolphin not considered to be in trouble.
Sports fishing organizations and tournaments have come to be major supporters of the work being conducted by the DRP. Not only are these clubs and tournaments providing substantial financial support, they are also collecting important biological data on dolphinfish harvested and encouraging anglers to tag small fish. This year eight sports fishing clubs and three privately sponsored fishing competitions (not club sponsored) have provided support for this important research work.
Jason Solano, general manager of Milliken's Reef Restaurant in Port Canaveral, Florida, joined with Dave Heil of Winter Park, Florida, a noted tournamentdirector, to hold a sports fishing tournament to raise money for the DRP.
To read the complete Dolphin Research Newsletter, click here
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