Not only is The Bahamas, especially Abaco, famous for being a premier destination for boaters and for hosting some of the major world-class fishing tournaments, but some of its anglers have been proving themselves as among the best in the sport anywhere in the world.
Bahamian angling team Jeff Waugh of Nassau and Philip “Boot” LeBoutillier of Hope Town, after slipping from first into third place on the third day of the world-famous Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT), made a spectacular recovery on Friday, the last day of fishing, to win the 46th annual event at Kona, Hawaii by 13 points. Team Bahamas, as they were called in the tournament, beat out 24 other international angling teams to win the prestigious event.
According to a HIBT press release, “Forty-five hours of fishing over five days, 25 teams catching an impressive 105 fish and Team Bahamas wins … Friday’s final day of fishing kept captains, crews, teams and volunteers scrambling to keep pace with the 30 fish caught.”
Jeff Waugh, according to the release, caught two Pacific blue marlin on Friday aboard the Tara II to vault Team Bahamas up from third place to the top spot. Both fish were tagged and released with an estimated weight of 150 pounds each. Earlier in the tournament, Waugh had boated a 562-pound marlin. Another two marlin were tagged and released by Waugh and teammate LeBoutillier, bringing Team Bahamas’ five-day final tally to five marlin caught for 2,150 points.
The Malindi Game Fishing Club of Kenya, which had snatched the HIBT lead from Waugh and LeBoutillier on Wednesday, ended in second place with 2,137 points.
This was the first time Team Bahamas had competed in the tournament. The other tournament teams came from countries as diverse as Australia, Papua New Guinea and Japan, in addition to the United States of America.
“Friday was a fantastic day of fishing ﾗ one for the books,” said HIBT founder Bob Fithian. “In one fifteen-minute period, five teams shouted hook up. Earlier in the week we thought we’d surpass the 100 fish mark and we did ﾗ 105 fish caught!”
By RICHARD FAWKES, Freeport News Reporter
