GIFT Tournament - Day 4 - Frenzy Wins!!!

The Frenzy Team

For the second year in a row the Frenzy team wins the GIFT Tournament. The team's 4 day total of 19 releases put the team on top. After a challenging start with only 2 fish on day 1, we managed to catch 4 on day 2, 5 on day 3 and 8 on the last day.

Day 4 began with us plying some beautiful blue water about 40 miles off the coast of Quepos. We picked at the fish all day long, starting with a hungry small sail about 9 am. Shortly after that we hooked up a double header with Kerwin masterfully making quick work of his fish while mine headed for Nicaragua. We caught the double header thanks to Jose's boat handling skills and a lot of reeling on our part.

A hot sail tailwalks towards the Gamefisher II

Despite our lead going into the last day, Kerwin and I watched the clock and nervously listened to the radio for catch reports. As we released fish after fish we knew things were looking good for us. We missed a couple of bites that would have been good to catch but thankfully we didn't need them. In the end we caught 8 for the day and a total of 19 for the tournament. I won the Bill Barnes award for Outstanding Angler.

Marco watches while Kerwin grinds it out with the last fish of the tournament

Marsha and everyone at El Gran Escape really worked hard to put on a terrific tournament. All the anglers were commenting on what a good time they have had this week. As I have already said, it was so nice to be able to back into a slip and enjoy some post fishing dock time. Thanks again to he guys at Marina Pez Vela.

And a special thanks to the crew of the new Frenzy 43. Captain Jose did a superb job of finding the fish and positioning us each day as the body of fish moved with the moving water. Mates Marco and Glenn worked together to manage the cockpit and expertly tease fish to the boat. A "high five" to my fishing partner Kerwin who spent the week tying leaders and making sure all the technical aspects of our effort were in place. His last fish for the tournament was well over 100 pounds and took a lot of patience and skill to catch. There is no crew I would rather fish with. Pretty work guys!!!

Now it's time to head back to the US for a week before returning for another crack at those sails and to catch some of the whopper dorado we had to pass up all week.

The Frenzy continues...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Day 3 - Frenzy maintains the lead.

Today was a good day for the Frenzy 43. We managed to pick at the fish all day and catch 5 out of 7 bites. We missed an opportunity on a double header but that's fishing. We have the lead going into the final day so we'll see where we are at 4 pm tomorrow. It's been a great week with a fair sailfish bite and some marlin seen and hooked. Tres Hermanos had a marlin on at 1 pm and still on at dark tonight. Not sure if they caught it or not. We will find out at the dock in the morning.

On the 35 Frenzy II, Lee and Stanley raised a small blue that failed to bite. Unfortunately not much other than that. They are still in second place.

Tonight we had appetizers at El Gran Escape that were provided by Marina Pez Vela. Though not open yet, the marina has allowed us to dock the boats there during the tournament. That has really added a lot to the fun of the tournament. Thanks Harold and Co.

Thank goodness tomorrow is the last day...

The Frenzy continues...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Day 2 - Frenzy takes the lead

After two days of fishing the Frenzy boats are in 1st and 2nd place. On day 2 Kerwin and I got some good bites and manged to catch 4 taking our total to 6 and putting us in first place on the Frenzy. On the 35, Stanley hooked a nice 200 lb blue marlin but pulled the hooks.

We'll see what Day 3 brings as we are at the halfway point in the tournament!

The Frenzy continues...

Jamie

GIFT 2010 - Practice Day 1

As the alarm rang at 5:30 am I awoke to the sound of a howler monkey outside my room and was quickly reminded that I am in Costa Rica and there is no need to get up and let the dogs out!

Kerwin and I are here to defend our title as winners of last year's GIFT Tournament. Last night we saw many of our old friends at dinner at El Gran Escape. Today is our first day of practice on the new FRENZY, the 43 Maverick express. In fact it's the first day fishing for this boat. Our good friends Lee and Stanley are fishing the Frenzy II and they are very capable of winning this tournament on my old boat.

An update will be posted after fishing today.

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Update: So we went out and dragged teasers for a while. We raised 3, got 1 bite but pulled the hooks. Then about 1 we blew out a transmission seal and had to come home. They are working on it today so we should be good to go for the start of the tournament tomorrow. I am happy to report that the air conditioning works very well on the new 43!!!

Lee and Stanley caught a nice dorado so we ate good last night at El Gran Escape. Thanks guys!

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Day 4 - We Win!!!

After 4 days of fishing Team Frenzy wins the 9th annual Gray International Fly Tournament. My fishing partner, Kerwin Steffen, won the Outstanding Angler award! We only had 3 sails for the day and managed to hold off a late rally by our friends Steve and John on the Sea Lady. The day was filled with a lot of excitement as most boats reported multiple marlin raises and some hookups. We had two in the baits but no bites. This tournament produced the most marlin anyone has seen in a long time. Our totals for the 4 days of fishing are: 40 sailfish raised with 11 releases and 9 marlin raised with 1 released. I'll update this post with some photos later today.

Kerwin and I could not have won this tournament without the great teamwork of our captain Jose and mate Marco. These two guys work great together and keep their heads about them even when marlin come crashing the baits. We have fished with Jose and Marco for a number of years and look forward to many more years together.

This year, as for the past two tournaments, Captain Glenn Wilson, from Georgetown, SC's Defiant Sportfishing, joined the Frenzy team as a mate. He is a gifted fisherman and fit right in with Jose and Marco and was a huge part of our success.

We sure can't forget Willy Jimenez, Frenzy's operations manager, who keeps it all glued together. Great job Willy!!!

Our friends at El Gran Escape, Marsha and Christel, as usual hosted a fabulous event. They and their staff worked tirelessly to make sure everything went smoothly. Thanks so much for everything you and your staff did for all of us!!! Now about that bar bill ...

Right now Kerwin and I are headed up to Jaco to check on the progress of the 43. Photos to follow.

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Jan 28th - Day 3

Wow what a day!!! Kerwin caught his first marlin on fly. In only 30 minutes Kerwin caught and released a blue marlin of about 200 pounds. High fives all around!!! Kerwin's marlin put us in 1st place for the 3 days with 13 points. We're 3 points ahead of Stanley and Lee. But, it's fishing and everything can change quickly so we'll just have to stay focused. Shortly after Kerwin caught his fish I got hooked up to a marlin but the tippet broke only 3 minutes into the fight. We sure could have used those extra 500 points.

Photos will be posted later and some fantastic video will be posted as well. But now we're off to El Gran Escape, our favorite watering hole, for some appetizers and cold drinks.

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Jan 27th - Day 2

Well today we didn't shine our best but still managed 3 sailfish. That put us tied with our friends Lee and Stanley. The highlight of the day was hearing that Stanley had caught a marlin. He's a great friend and a great angler so the catch was no surprise. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tonight for dinner Kerwin, Glenn and I are having some of the anglers up for dinner. We even have an electric piano for Stanley to play. Our housekeeper is a fantastic cook so dinner will be fabulous and the leftovers tomorrow for lunch will be much enjoyed!

Check out Larry's shoes!

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Jan 26th - Day 1

Today we raised 15 sailfish and 4 marlin. Hard to believe we raised 4 marlin in one day but we did. We managed to release 5 sailfish which put us into 2nd place. It was a beautiful day on the water. Lots of bird life, bait pods, dolphin, etc. The team worked well together. Kerwin did his job on two particularly tough fish. We're excited about being in 2nd place but have our work cut out for us tomorrow.

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

Leaving for Costa Rica in the morning

Tomorrow morning we leave for Costa Rica. My fishing partner, Kerwin Steffen, and I will each board a plane from opposite ends of the country and fly to San Jose, Costa Rica then on to Quepos for the GIFT Tournament. As regular followers of our blog know, the fishing has been outstanding this year so all teams will have high hopes of winning! Follow us through the practice days Saturday and Sunday as we warm up then during the tournament. I hope to post many photos and some video during the week. It is always an exciting time!!!

The FRENZY continues ...

Jamie