Madera anglers win international tournament
Courtesy of David Vargas
Madera fishermen, from left, Shane Evans, David Rossi, the Madera fishermen’s boat captain, Clay Salters and Jacob Coronado celebrate with the first place check after winning the 66th annual international Marlin and Fishing Tournament in November.
A team of anglers from Madera participated in the 66th annual International Marlin and Fishing Tournament in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and came away with the championship.
The team of David Rossi, Clay Salters, Shane Evans and Jacob “Chip” Coronado entered the contest with prize money going to the top three heaviest fish within each category — marlin, tuna and dorado. Additionally, there was a catch-and-release category for the most sailfish caught over the three days of the tournament.
There were approximately 50 teams entered in the tournament and each team left the port between 1 and 2 in the morning on each of the three days and traveled about 70 miles into the Pacific Ocean where the best fishing grounds were.
Any fish to be considered for the competition had to be returned back to the port each night by 6 pm. So almost more than anything, the fishing tournament was a test of endurance.
Day 1 started off good for the Madera anglers when they brought in the second heaviest marlin of the day. By the end of the third day, their marlin was knocked off the leaderboard by two others putting them out of the running.
However, the tide changed for the Madera group when they brought in the heaviest tuna of the tournament on Day 3, which gave them the win in that category.
Additionally, they also landed three sailfish over the course of the tournament, which was enough to also win that category.
According to those who have participated in this tournament over the years, winning first place in two of the four categories was almost unheard of, so the fact that the Madera Anglers did that should definitely be a source of pride for all residents in Madera.
The MadTown Anglers have organized a team that has participated in this tournament for the last 15 years and they plan to defend their titles in the 67th annual tournament next year.
