Now in it’s fifth season, the Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament in Quepos, Costa Rica, had 67 teams and 364 anglers fishing for a whopping $971,500, the largest purse in the tournament’s history. Fishing was up to the usual high standards as well, with 877 sailfish and 39 marlin released over two days of competition.
Capt. Eddie Wheeler and the Cabana team earned a hard-fought first-place victory with 34 sailfish releases and 3,400 points, sweeping all five levels of daily jackpots on the first day and setting a blistering pace for the rest of the fleet to match. They won $296,440 along with the grand champion award, a custom Pelagic-themed Fender electric guitar. Cabana is a 64-foot Spencer.
Game Plan, a 60-foot B&D captained by John Brennan, placed second with 26 sailfish and three blue marlin, good for 3,500 points. Chris and Laura Jessen on Fish Tank landed in third with 34 sails and 3,400 points. Vaquero and then Dragin Fly rounded out the top five.
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In the small-boat division, Rockstar won with 15 sails and two marlin, scoring 2,100 points in a 32-foot Regulator that’s part of the Pelagic fleet at Marina Pez Vela. The team on Gamefisher II placed second with 11 sailfish and one marlin, good for 1,400 points.
Pelagic’s Colin Sarfeh, the event’s tournament director, graciously thanked the Marina Pez Vela staff for their hard work, as well as the teams who participated, all helping to make this event the largest and richest in Central America.
