FresnoBee.com: Outdoors: Anglers' big fish lands some big bucks

Four locals reel in $35,000 at tourney.
By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee
Four central San Joaquin Valley anglers did exactly that last month and still garnered more than $35,000 in prize money at the Bisbees Black and Blue Marlin Tournament in Cabo San Lucas.
Robert Garavello and Javier Alabart, both of Fresno, teamed with Hanford's Carl Nelson and his son, Todd, to take second place in the catch-and-release division of the world's richest off-shore fishing tournament.
Organizers awarded $3.3 million in total prize money, including more than $1million each to the top two teams. The contest concluded Oct. 29.
"It really isn't about the prize money," Alabart said. "It's about the honor of finishing in the top six among 185 boats from around the world in a tournament of this magnitude."
Fishing aboard Carl Nelson's 40-foot Riviera, "Ofishall Business," the team landed four blue marlins over the course of three days. The largest weighed approximately 275 pounds while the rest were in the 150-pound range, Garavello said.
All four fish were released in accordance with tournament rules, which penalize teams for bringing fish that weigh less than 300 pounds back to harbor.
Fish in the catch-and-release division are judged by taking a picture with a disposable camera provided by the organizing committee. Cheaters are weeded out through extensive polygraph tests.
"With this kind of prize money, there's no messing around," Alabart said.
Although techniques differ, marlins typically are caught by top-water trolling at 9-10 mph. While some teams use live bait, most employ electronic lures that make clicking noises underwater and cost as much as $300.
Since the boats don't typically carry scales, the only way to determine a fish's approximate size is to measure their length and girth and plot that information on a chart.
Speaking by cell phone from Maui, Garavello described marlin fishing as many hours of inactivity broken up by moments of frenzy.
"You're waiting, waiting, waiting," he said. "Then all of a sudden you hear the reel scream — that's what they call it, screaming — and everything comes alive.
"The adrenaline rush is second to none with all team members going to their stations to clear away the other lines so the angler can fight his fish."
Todd Nelson was the designated angler aboard "Ofishall Business." Tournament rules stipulate that once a fish hits, only the angler is allowed to touch the rod, reel and line.
Marlins are known to fight their captors for up to 2 hours.
"It could be a $1million fish or it could be a Filet O' Fish," Alabart said. "You never know until you get it near the boat."
Team members, which included San Diego skipper Alex Edwards, plan to try their luck again next year.
"Unlike some other teams, we didn't recruit any local talent from Cabo to show us where the big fish are," Carl Nelson said. "It's really gratifying when you do it yourself."
Of the 305 billfish caught during the tournament, 95% were released, according to www.bisbees.com. The largest fish was a 531-pound black marlin.