Wednesday’s slightly slower bite didn’t stop the Revenge from releasing two blue marlin–one the lucky first fish of the day–during the second day of fishing in the 48th annual July Open Billfish Tournament (JOBT), fished out of St. Thomas. These two fish earned the 58-foot Revenge top boat for the day. In addition, combined with its first day’s release of both a blue and white marlin, a total score of 1800 points catapulted the Revenge to the top of the leaderboard. The boat’s angler, Jon Jennings, released all four fish, moving him into the Top Angler slot.
“Mike (Capt. Mike Lemon) managed to find us a couple on a slow day,” said Juno Beach, Florida-based Jon Jennings. The two blues caught today aboard Revenge were a nice size. “The first was around 400-pounds and the second around 300-pounds,” said Capt. Mike Lemon. “We caught them both between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.”
The afternoon proved slow fishing aboard the Revenge. “We were starving for fish after lunch,” joked the boat’smate, Dean Dunham.
The two top boats yesterday went fishless today, which dropped their standings on the scoreboard, but not too far.
Black Gold, with 1500 points, is second; Reel Tight, with 1000 points, is in third.
St. John-based charter fishing boat Mixed Bag II, a Luhrs 40 Express, is the top placed local boat in fourth place with 1000 points thanks to two blue marlin releases today.
“We got one early, one mid-day and missed one in the afternoon,” said Capt. Rob Richards. “Tomorrow, we’ll get out there, do all the right stuff, get in there and wait for our turn.”
Fishing continues and concludes Thursday with lines in at 8:30 a.m. and lines out at 4 p.m. Up for grabs are not only the Best Boat award, but the prestigious Capt. Johnny Harms ‘Give Him Line’ Trophy for the angler who releases the most billfish first. The awards ceremony will be held at 8 p.m. at the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Clubhouse in Red Hook. For more information, visit: www.vigfc.com.
