Using the best four fish, Shine On out of Key Biscayne wins the first leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Challenge.
Hosted at the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost, Leg 1 of the Bahamas Wahoo Challenge attracted a number of competitive teams, according to tournament director Tony Albelo. Leg 2 of the tournament will be at Port Lucaya on January 12-16, 2011 and the third leg will be March 3-6 in theBahamas. Each tournament is an individual competition, but also adds points to the overall series. Teams can compete in one or all three legs.
“Shine on came in with 116.15 pounds and Airborne in with 115.30 pounds, followed by Hit That with 42.2 pounds. The difference between first and second places was less than a pound,” said Albelo.
“There were some great fish to be caught and to be fishing from one of the sport’s legendary big game fishing resorts made for a highly memorable experience,” said one team member.
Leg 1 marked the return of this legendary sportfishing outpost to tournament fishing, according to Big Game Club officials. Upping the ante this spring, Guy Harvey and his Outpost crew, in partnership with the IGFA, will host their inaugural Bimini Billfish Tournament at the Big Game Club on May 18th, the first in a series of Outpost tournaments to be held at the club throughout the year.
The Bimini Big Game Club has played host to numerous major sportfishing tournaments for more than half a century. Closed for two years, the Club re-opened this summer as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina following completion of a multi-million dollar renovation that included all guest rooms, opening of the new Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill and launch of the Outpost Outfitter, a retail experience featuring Guy Harvey sportswear, fishing supplies and gifts.
Bimini’s location along the legendary Gulfstream (a ‘river’ of warm water) location is at the apex of a superhighway for migrating fish and acts as a kind of sushi conveyor belt carrying abundant food to the local fish. Deepwater game fish include marlin, tuna, sailfish, wahoo and swordfish, while big grouper, barracuda and schools of snapper can be found on the reefs. Bimini’s flats are home the fishermen’s favorite prey, bonefish and permit. With more than 50-record-setting catches in the waters around theisland, Bimini has earned its title of Sport Fishing Capital of the World.
About Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina Founded as a dinner club in 1936 in Alice Town, the island’s cultural hub, by Nassau entrepreneur and bon-vivant, Neville Stuart, the Big Game Club has over the last 74 years hosted world-class fishermen, major tournaments, international celebrities and tens of thousands guests looking to bask in the unique “Islands in the Stream” mantra made famous by author Ernest Hemingway who lived and fished in Bimini in the mid 1930s.Today, the Big Game Club’s Outpost concept is designed to take the resort beyond that of a – fishing lodge (though admittedly a majority of visitors will be there for the world class fishing) to create an eco-destination attracting both fishing and diving enthusiasts while focusing on adventure travel, sustainable tourism and marine conservation. Celebrated artist and conservationist Guy Harvey along with his Guy Harvey Outpost organization recently announced plans to team with renown dive authority Neal Watson to offer “top of class” dive centers at Guy Harvey Outpost resort properties. Their first dive center will open December 1st at the Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Resort & Marina. The Big Game Club, which is located on the main navigation channel in Bimini Bay, currently features a 51-room resort and a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 linear feet in length. A full service fuel dock will be operational by Spring 2011. There are Phase II plans that will include a Guy Harvey Theater, guest lecture series and interactive sessions with Dr. Harvey and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NOVA Southeastern Oceanographic Center and day trips to the Bimini Biological Field Station’s world-famous shark lab.
| Location: | Alice Town (North Bimini’s Southern Tip) |
|---|---|
| Marina Facilities: | 75 Slips |
| Regular Rooms: | 35 |
| Penthouse Suites: | 4 |
| Cottage Rooms: | 12 |
| Restaurants: | Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill |
| Pools: | Freshwater |
| Other Activities: | Outpost Outfitter Shop, Deepsea Fishing, Flats Fishing, Diving, Snorkeling, Shopping, Sightseeing, Sunset Cruises, Picnics |
By: John Bell
