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

GIFT Tournament - Jan 25th - First Practice Day

Today was our first and only practice day. As usual the waters off Quepos are calm. I play my iPod on the way out. We get on the fish and manage one release for the day. It was great to be back on the boat with Jose and Marco and to be fishing with my friend Kerwin. Glenn got back into the swing of catching billfish and worked the deck well with minimal instruction from Marco. We feel good about our chances this year and look forward to the start of the tournament tomorrow.

The captain' s meeting at El Gran Escape re-connects us with our old friends, some of whom we haven't seen in a year. Stanley is in his usual form... Everyone's off to bed early with anticipation for tomorrow. Us as well.

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Jan 24th - Travel Day 2

Well we finally made it to Quepos after a long day of travel. We've now hooked up with my tournament partner, Kerwin, who's as ready to get started as we are. Casa Carolina looks great and Lizbeth is there to greet us as we arrive. After lunch, some pool time and a short nap we head on do to El Gran Escape for dinner and a visit with our friends Marsha and Christel and our fishing friends. Tomorrow is the first practice day. I'm sure we're destined to mediocrity!

But, just the same, the Frenzy continues...

Jamie

GIFT Tournament - Jan 23rd - Travel Day

Well, Glenn and I are stuck in the Atlanta airport for the day as we missed our flight from Atlanta to Costa Rica. The cause of this was being held in Columbia for two hours on the tarmac due to "ground stoppage" in Atlanta. Glenn and I have done about all you can do in Atlanta's airport and not get into trouble. Our flight to CR leaves at 6:50 and we'll overnight in SJO. Kerwin is already there. Tomorrow we'll fly over to Quepos.

The Frenzy continues ...

Jamie