By Pete Gray

If you missed our 21st Annual Lou Duchene Memorial Palmas de Cortez Tournament, you missed a good time.  We did have quite a bit of rain, which certainly made it challenging, but definitely kept everyone much cooler! The east cape is carpeted in green due to the wet summer and fall.  It has a very tropical look. I have never seen it this green, nor have any that live there. Fishing was good but not great.  There was an abundance of billfish, but most of the tuna were small, and there were virtually no dorado.  Still, with cool weather and flat seas, it was a pleasure to be on the water.  This was the first time we offered cash prizes.  $750 for the largest tuna, courtesy of George Weir Asphalt in Escondido. There was also $750 for the largest wahoo or dorado courtesy of Statewide Stripes in San Diego.  We also had a jackpot for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place captains totaling $500.

Thank you to Ellie Duchene and her gang for the great show of support in memory of our friend Lou. Thanks to Mark and George Weir from George Weir Asphalt and Dave from Statewide Stripes for their generous donation. Thank you to Justin Roper from Makaira Pulling Lures for the incredible tournament jigs.  Thanks too to Mark and John for their help with the tournament.  Also thanks to Rick Jensen from Sportfishing Financial for being a part of the tournament.

Every one of our listeners is invited to participate in next year’s fun and festivities.  It is a great time of year in the east cape, and you should join us! Our 22nd annual tournament will be October 6-10, 2016.  Call Eddie or Shannon and reserve your favorite room and boat if you have not done so already.  Be sure to reference the Let’s Talk Hookup group, as we have a block and special price set aside for you. It is a very popular time, so please make your reservations early! 800-77-WAHOO

Here is the run down on the winners and the points:

1st- Lou’s Tomodachi- Curt Itogawa, Gary Mouritzen and Dave Rehrer.  Day 1- 1 marlin and 1 sail released. Day 2- 4 marlin released  for a total of 280 points

They won the return trip to Palmas de Cortez to defend their title next October!

2nd- No Sabe Nada- Tom Gruber, John Plemons, Jim Simonsen, Billy Gruber, Rhonda Ito-  Day 1- 16.5 pounds of tuna and 1 marlin release. Day 2- 2 marlin and 1 sail release for a total of 226.5 points

3rd-Trudgers- Bob Benson, Anthony and Michael- Day 1- 59 lbs tuna, 1.5 pargo and 1 marlin release.  Day 2 49.2 pounds tuna and 1 marlin release- total of 210.8 points

4th- Cuatro Amigos Pescando- Jim and Mary Francella, Jim Cavanaugh and Jeff Cosgrove- Day 1- 2 marlin and 1 sail released. Day 2- 1 marlin released- Total of 180 points

Congratulations to Team Nini- Woody and Linda for the largest Wahoo 31.7 pounds- $750 from Statewide Stripes

Congratulations to Team Eclap- Greg and Jordan Smith for the largest Tuna- 29.3 pounds- $750 from George Weir Asphalt