The 2010 Bermuda Triple Crown Billfish Championship series saw a fantastic bite for the 50 different teams that participated in at least one of the Triple Crown events. The series awarded a record $970,730 in cash and $85,000 in prizes over the three-event series. During the eight days of fishing, the fleet caught and photographed 188 billfish, composed of 139 blue marlin, 48 white marlin and one spearfish. The qualifying blue marlin that were boated included a 537, 560, 666, 691, 749 and 858-pounder. During non-tournament fishing days, three granders were caught, including a 1005, 1012 and 1024-pounder.
To fish the Triple Crown, visiting boats must run at least 680 miles to reach Bermuda. Considering the quality of the crews on the private and charter boats in attendance each year, with the average blue marlin weighing 450 pounds and some reaching the grander range, this is the most challenging and competitive billfishing series in the world.
The first-time visiting team aboard Click Through, a 68-foot Wanchese sport-fisherman from Pensacola, Florida, won the 2010 Bermuda Triple Crown Billfish Championship, scoring 4,466 points. Owners Keith and Josie English competed in all three legs, made good decisions, stayed very consistent and took advantage of their shots throughout the series. With Capt. Mathew Mauldwin, mate Courtney Stanley, teammates Mike English, Steve Brown, Ruston Rood, Jason Lewis and Lopaka Robello, Click Through boated a 666-pound blue and released seven blue marlin, one white marlin and the only spearfish of the series.
Click Through started the series with two blue marlin releases worth 1,000 points and a third-place finish in the Bermuda Billfish Blast. They sat in third position after the Blast, trailing Weez in the Keys with 1,200 points and Que Mas with 2,700 points. They followed that performance with three blue marlin releases and one white in the Bermuda Big Game Classic, winning a daily release jackpot and adding another 1,700 points to their score. Going into the final leg, Que Mas was leading with 3,900 points, followed by Weez in the Keys with 3,800 points and Click Through in third with 2,700 points.
The bite continued for the Sea Horse tournament, with many teams coming from the middle of the pack to challenge the leaders. One of those teams was Sea' duce, which scored 2,500 points to win the Sea Horse and finish third in the Triple Crown with 4,200 points. Que Mas, the Blast winner who led the series for most of the tournament days, couldn't muster up the one more fish they needed and ended up finishing second with 4,300 points. The Classic winner, Weez in the Keys, continued their roll but were derailed by a bad decision to take a fish that ended up being undersize, costing them the championship and landing them in fourth position with 4,124 points. All three of these teams were only one fish away from winning, making it a very exciting finish. But in the end it was the hard-charging team on Click Through that did everything right by adding two blue marlin releases, one spearfish release and a boated 666-pound blue in the Sea Horse to win the coveted Bermuda Triple Crown Billfish Championship with 4,466 points.
The BTC championship team on Click Through, including the captain, mate and five high-point anglers, will each receive one of the best prize packages of any billfish series: Each will be given the coveted Vanmark Jewelry Triple Crown Billfish Champion ring; a bronze blue marlin sculpture from Geoffrey Smith; a blue/white marlin trophy from King Sailfish Mounts; championship apparel; sunglasses; fillet knives from Old Harbor Outfitters; a Triple Crown painting from Steve Goione; special Triple Crown lures from Mold Craft and Fathom Offshore; and one-year subscriptions to Marlin, Sport Fishing and Salt Water Sportsman magazines. The team also received a beautiful BTC Championship step box from Release Marine, a lovely gift set from Bacardi International and an invitation to compete in the IGFA Offshore World Championship. The top five 2010 boats all had a shot at the crown, but Click Through ultimately took the title during the best fishing season every recorded in the six-year history of the series. The Bermuda Billfish Blast winner Que Mas scored 4,300 points and finished second; late- charging Sea Horse-winning team Sea' duce finished third with 4,200 points; Bermuda Big Game Classic winner Weez in the Keys finished fourth with 4,124 points with third place; and Classic finisher Blank Check rounded out fifth place with 3,500 points.
SERIES STANDINGS
Rank / Team
Points
1 Click Through
4,466.00
2 Que Mas
4,300.00
3 Sea' duce
4,200.00
4 Weez In The Keys
4,124.00
5 Blank Check
3,500.00
6 Ovation
3,300.00
7 Artemis
3,000.00
8 Freedom
2,900.00
9 Wound Up
2,758.00
10 Triple Play
2,749.00
11 Off Piste
2,700.00
12 Reel Hot
2,200.00
13 Paradise One
2,200.00
14 Sea Toy
2,000.00
15 Over Budget
1,900.00
16 Bree
1,900.00
17 Pink Impression
1,900.00
18 Mama Who
1,891.00
19 El Cazador
1,700.00
20 Mako
1,700.00
21 Reel Lax
1,700.00
22 Uno Mas
1,700.00
23 Queen of Hearts
1,700.00
24 Challenger
1,600.00
25 Treasure Isle
1,500.00
26 Ms Knox
1,200.00
27 Overproof
1,200.00
28 Chaos
1,100.00
29 Sea Scorpion
1,037.00
30 Foreign Exchange
1,000.00
31 Offshore Lady
1,000.00
32 Unreel
1,000.00
33 7th Wave
1,000.00
34 C-YA
1,000.00
35 Certifiable
700.00
36 Touchdown
700.00
37 Reel Addiction
700.00
38 Fish Cakes
700.00
39 Blue Chip
560.00
40 Mattanza
500.00
41 Lonestar
500.00
42 Last Chance
500.00
43 Mega Bucks
500.00
44 Margin Call
200.00
45 Kerry-D
-524.00
