2008 WCBRT Winners from Team "Get Over It" Take Home a Check for $143,500 USD! 2008 TOURNAMENT WINNERS World Championship Billfish Release Tournament

The 4th successful WCBRT event saw international teams competing against some of the locals best teams. 27 IGFA observers attended the event with the WCBRT putting them up in the Tesoro Hotel and then competing on the 4th day of fishing for the Observer Tournament. A tournament first saw two observers on each boat each day covering the bow and stern during multiple releases which was a success and all teams were very pleased with having two observers onboard. The event was filmed and covered by Marlin World TV’s very own Paul Watson who was flown out by the WCBRT and Big Cat Productions team Danny Krisic, Clay Shourthouse (Video) and Suzan Krisic (Photographer) Opening the Event was The Billfish Foundation President Ellen Peel and Dr Russ Nelson who addressed the teams at the Captains Meting with an update on the Norma 029.

DAY ONE FISHING - Taking the lead day one was local Cabo San Lucas Team Get Over It – Drew Andrews with 19 striped Marlin releases for the day and taking home the USD $ 40 000.00 daily jackpots. They were followed by Team Spartacus at Sea with 13 releases and Team Bad Company with 10 releases.

DAY TWO FISHING - Fishng was slow for the day but local Team Get Over It still managed to release 14 fish to continue to dominate the lead and win the day 2 USD $ 40 000.00 daily jackpots with Team Tiger Spirit releasing 10 and Team Spartacus at Sea releasing 8 fish

DAY THREE FISHING - The two leading teams continued to find “the bite” in their pursuit of striped marlin as both to be slower fishing for most teams however Team Get Over It dominated the final day with 24 releases and taking the 3rd day jackpot of USD $ 40 000.00 earning them the first place and the World Championship Billfish Release Title. Team Spartacus at Sea had 13 releases followed by Team Bull Rider with 9 releases. Team Get Over It also received the Top Angler Award at the banquet.

DAY FOUR OBSERVERS TOURNAMENT - The Observer Tournament was supported by several gracious teams who kindly donated their boats, time, crews for the observer tournament, a special thanks to Team Tiger Spirit, Team Protocol, Team Caliente, Team EZ Duz It and Team Reelaxe for taking the observers out. Fishing was incredibly difficult in rough seas for the observers, green cold water and 40 knt winds blowing by 10.00am. Team Reelaxe observer John Johnson from Florida had already released 2 marlin by 10.00 am giving him 1st Place in the observer event even after Team Reelaxe elected to return to port and call it a day whilst other teams continued to battle the weather.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
1st Place Team - Get Over It - 57 Releases and USD $ 143,500.00
2nd Place Team - Spartacus at Sea - 34 Releases and USD $ 14,200.00
3rd Place Team - Tiger Spirit - 27 Releases and USD $ 11,300.00
1st Place Observer on Team Reelaxe - John Johnson out of Florida
2nd Place Observer - Dan Anderson
3nd Place Observer on Team Tiger Spirit - Steve Gornel – Australia

Tournament statistics were 200 releases for 12 teams an average of 16,6 fish per team.
Special Thanks go out to Team Tiger Spirit, Team Bad Company and Team Reelaxe for donating all their winnings to the Billfish Foundation.

The WCBRT event would like to thank the International Teams from Brazil, Italy and Australia for their participation and all our Partners and sponsors for the World Championship Billfish Release Tournament, The Billfish Foundation, Minerva’s Baja Tackle, Pacific Coast Sportfishing, Melton International Tackle, No Worry’s, King Sailfish Mounts, Pisces Sportfishing, Roffs, Eagle Claw, Berkley, Quick Rig, Marlin World TV , Capitan Del Niño’s Childrens Charity.

MAY 17th -21st,  2008
Tournament Dates: May 17th - 21st, 2008
Captains Meeting and Registration: May 17th
Fishing Days: May 18th, 19th, and 20th.
Observers Tournament: May 21st 7:00am - 3:00pm
Awards: May 21st, 7:00pm

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BILLFISH RELEASE TOURNAMENT RULES
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION KITS AND REGISTRATION FORMS

DOWNLOAD THE 2008 TOURNAMENT INFORMATION & SPONSORSHIP KIT
DOWNLOAD THE SPANISH LANGUAGE VERSION (version espanol)
DOWNLOAD THE 2008 TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION FORM

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2007 TOURNAMENT WINNERS
The teams releasing the most billfish over the three days were  Team CHIQELIN and Team BAD COMPANY tied with 33 released marlin each and the tie breaker was determined by time, putting Team Chiqelin in 1st Place and lead by Team Captain Lance Keller and Mike " The Beak " Hurt. Team Chiqelin released a total of 33 marlin during the event earning a first place cash prize and daily jackpots of USD $ 160,762.00. Team Chiqelin also received 3 daily release category awards of USD $ 500 each for the release category. Team Chiqelin graciously donated the USD $ 1,500.00 to The Billfish Foundation Norma 029 Fund at the awards banquet. All State, municipal, federal taxes and checks were paid and presented first at the awards banquet and then all teams were presented and paid immediately following the event .

The WCBRT's cash payout is the highest cash payout for any striped marlin money tournament in the world. Bad Company's top angler Peter Groesbeck also took top honors for top angler of the tournament with an impressive 21 released fish.

Second place team with 33 released marlin was Team Bad Company with Team Captain Steve Lassley earning them USD $ 11, 400.00. At the awards banquet, Team Bad Company graciously donated their total winnings of USD $ 11,400.00 to The Billfish Foundation Norma 029 Fund. 

Third place team with 30 released striped marlin was Cabo San Lucas local team, Team GET OVER IT  earning them a USD $ 77,730.00 which included the second day's daily jackpots for the most released fish. For a complete recap of the event, please see our PRESS page.

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THE PREMIER ALL-RELEASE CIRCLE HOOK MARLIN TOURNAMENT IN CABO
All circle hook. All release. That's the only way to ensure the future of marlin and billfish fisheries as well as to preserve recreational and tournament fishing – not only in Cabo San Lucas and the Baja peninsula but worldwide. Everyday, thousands of marlin, sailfish and other billfish species are killed, most by commercial fishing boats – longliners that have little if any concern over the plight of marlin or other “incidental catch". Billfish and other marine species are caught in miles and miles of J-hook-rigged lines or indiscriminate gill nets. Countless other marlin and billfish are taken as trophies by uninformed anglers – a large number of which compete in billfish tournaments that require a weigh-in to determine the winners. While the negative impact that these anglers and tournaments have upon the fishery is nowhere near that of commercial fishing fleets, they are in a position to inspire change. Change not only in the attitudes and tactics used by sports fishermen, but also within the commercial fishing industry. By refocusing attention on the destructive methods used and how simple changes in techniques can minimize loss we hope to set a new precedent - Responsible, Conservation-Based Tournaments and a renewed effort to enforce Responsible Commercial Fishing.

In the spirit of Competition, Sportsmanship and Conservation, the world's top anglers have united to present one of the richest and most prestigious billfish tournaments ever held. The World Championship Billfish Release Tournament (WCBRT) is set for May 27th through May 31st at the beautiful Cabo Villas Beach Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

With the mandatory use of circle hooks in an all-release format, WCBRT offers a new class of billfish tournament. The inaugural event has already attracted anglers from worldwide ports of distinction. The 2007 WCBRT is a qualifying event for the IGFA Offshore Championship and will include a Junior World Championship Division. The mission of the WCBRT is to promote competition, sportsmanship and the advancement of billfish conservation in a manner that will insure healthy billfish populations and exciting fishing experiences today and for future generations.

OUR BILLFISH CONSERVATION GOALS
• Raise awareness of the need for billfish conservation.
• Support responsible billfish conservation management and science programs by donating  proceeds to The Billfish Foundation
• Release all hooked fish with as little injury as feasible.
• Advance the use of conservation-friendly equipment and fishing methods.
• Promote good sportsmanship by setting positive examples for young anglers.
• Provide youth angling and educational opportunities related to billfishing.
• To associate with responsible sport fishing entities, event services & related industry businesses.
• Demonstrate that billfish conservation pays.
• Support the local Los Ninos del Capitain Childrens  Charity.
• The WCBRT is a non profit event.