LBU and I were joined on our team by Southern California businessman Chris Allen and South Florida marine biologist Chuck Olson. Both of these anglers have had great success catching a variety of salt-water game-fish, particularly those with long pointed noses. And Bobby and I have caught Billfish in nearly all of the renowned marlin grounds world-wide. With this line-up and the famed skipper Captain Freddy Rice at the helm of the Sea Baby III we were confident that we were destined for glory once again.

Just like the previous two years we got hooked up shortly after the start of fishing on the first day. This time though it was a small fish that we tagged and released within five minutes. Over the rest of the three day tournament we had only one other marlin strike and that was a fish of about 350 pounds that never got hooked. Although we caught some mahi-mahi and small tuna we did not have a chance at another marlin and were unable to defend our title. The winner was a fish over 650 pounds and second place was taken by a 575 pounder. Even third and fourth place were won by fish larger than the biggest one we saw during the tournament.

We may not have won again but we had a great time. Jody Bright and his Tropidilla Productions put on a wonderful tournament with many superb functions and an excellent collegial atmosphere. If you can't win you might as well enjoy yourself!