A pair of tournaments got Cayman’s competitive fishing scene reeling in big fish early.

Now local anglers are preparing for the biggest event of them all in the 2011 Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament.

The competition, Cayman’s biggest annual fishing event over the past 13 years, is scheduled to take place Thursday 19 May until Sunday 22 May. Anglers are slated to hit the waters around Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Registration is on Tuesday 17 May at the Westin Casuarina Hotel in Grand Cayman and at the Alexander Hotel in Cayman Brac. The awards ceremony is slated for Tuesday 24 May at the Westin.
After getting hooked up, anglers will make an extensive troll of Cayman’s waters hunting big fish. From there onlookers can get a glimpse of the day’s catches at the Barcadere Marina in George Town and the Carib Sands dock in Cayman Brac.

Four particular species fishermen will be looking to nab are billfish, yellowfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo. Of the quartet the tuna has produced some of the biggest catches in the tournament’s history.
Last year angler Julia Hursltone had the most kudos for the tournament’s heaviest catch: a 74.7 pound tuna in the 26 feet and over boat category.

Desle Francis, in the same boat segment, had the second biggest catch in the form of a 65.7lb tuna.
In 2009 the heaviest fish caught in the competition was a tuna weighing in at 74.2lbs in the 26 feet and over boat category. The same group also produced the second biggest catch: a 65lb tuna.
Anglers are split up into two groups according to the size of their boats. One section caters to large boats that are 26 feet in length and over while the other category features boats less than 26 feet long.
The pride and joy of catching a big one may be enough for most anglers but some great cash prizes certainly sweeten the deal.

Over US$200,000 is on offer for the fishermen. The heaviest wahoo, dolphin and tuna nab US$5,000 each. Any of those catches that break the Cayman Islands record gets US$10,000. The second heaviest catch in each category fetches US$2,000.

There is also US$100,000 on offer for the heaviest blue marlin caught that breaks the Cayman record.

The biggest incentive may come from the billfish release jackpot, a new initiative for 2011. The segment, which is strictly catch and release, requires at least ten boats to enter and pay a US$5,000 fee. Thus the pot is a minimum of US$50,000.

The team with the most release points earns the US$50,000. Second place takes US$7,000 and third place earns US$5,000.

Eligible billfish for the jackpot are blue and white marlin, spearfish and sailfish. Blue marlins earn the most as they are valued at 300 points each while the other species are worth 100 points.

A number of fishing enthusiasts from around the globe are expected to take part. Last year saw crews from the Republic of Congo, Canada and Honduras.

One big reason is that the tournament serves as a qualifying event for the International Game Fishing Association World Offshore Championship.

The major sponsors for the 2011 international tournament are the Cayman Islands Government, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Barcadere Marina, Butterfield Bank, Cayman Airways, Cayman National Bank, CICO rent-a-car, Guy Harvey, Harbour House Marina, Kirk Freeport, Queensgate Bank and Trust and Scotts Marine. The tournament has 34 sponsors in total. 

Entry fee for the tournament is US$500. For more information, e-mail fishing@candw.ky or log on to www.fishcayman.com