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With three days of great weather in early May, the 58-boat fleet fishing out of Marsh Harbour caught and released 191 billfish—45 blue marlin, 92 white marlin and 60 sailfish—in this year’s edition of The Shootout: Production vs. Custom.
The competition was fierce on the final day, with boats vying for the lead until the last moment. When “lines out” was called, Capt. Stetson Turney and Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 secured the top spot with 2,450 points, thanks to four blue marlin, five white marlin and one sailfish release. Second place went to Lo Que Sea with 1,900 points; in third was Gina Lisa with 1,750 points.
At the awards banquet held at the Abaco Beach Resort, Catch 23 was awarded the Ed Pang blue marlin trophy and a $280,000 check. Cloud Nine won the last daily and the non-sonar category, earning a $150,140 check. No qualifying blue marlin were weighed.
Michael Jordan was presented the top angler prize for his catches, which included three blue marlin and one white marlin. Gavin Gonzales won the top junior angler award with three white marlin, and Nicole Scotti received the top lady angler award for her three blue marlin releases.
Read Next: The Colorful History and Bright Future of the Custom Shootout.
Bayliss Boatworks claimed bragging rights for the custom boat builders, bringing the lifetime tally in the Shootout to six wins for custom boats and three for production boats.
