Nov 08, 2019
Pelagic Rocks Cabo with its 2nd Annual Rockstar Tuna Tournament
Team PORQUE NO secures victory with 166.3 lb. Yellowfin Tuna
November 1-3, 2019 – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – Pelagic’s popular Rockstar Tuna Tournament made its mark on Cabo last week with an event packed with good times, rock-n-roll vibes, and large yellowfin tuna.
The Pelagic Rockstar Tuna Tournament is a team event with cash, trophies, and awards to well over $150,000. Awards and cash prizes are presented to anglers and teams for catching the heaviest yellowfin tuna during the two-day tournament, as well as optional daily jackpots for tuna, wahoo and dorado.
Target Species: Yellowfin Tuna; this one hooked on a plastic flying fish trolled from a kite rig
Amplified by the high voltage live tunes of Lady Electric Band, teams enjoyed tasty food from Baja Cantina Bar y Cocina in Marina Cabo San Lucas, who played host for team check-in, captains meeting, and kick-off extravaganza; as well as refreshing libations from premier sponsors Flor de Caña Rum and Heineken. The Pelagic super-raffle kept things rolling as several teams walked away with some premium gifts from the brand, including: AquaPak backpacks & duffel bags, high-end Pelagic Polarized sunglasses, End Game Fishing Gloves, Insulated Drink Tumblers, & much more.
The Pelagic retail tents were set up along the boardwalk and featured limited edition Rockstar Tuna Tournament apparel, including hats, tees, and performance fishing shirts.
Team 'Big Papi' getting into the Rockstar Tournament spirit
As the warm, Baja sun rose over the Pacific Ocean on day one of fishing, the tournament fleet lined up between Cabo’s famed ‘Lands End Arch’ and the Official Rockstar Tuna Tournament start boat – the infamous Baja Cantina Center Console. At exactly 7:00am, a single flare shot to the sky signaled captains to rev their vessel’s engines and throttle up towards the horizon in search of giant yellowfin as the Rockstar Tuna Tournament had officially begun.
A vivid Cabo sunrise (1) welcomed teams each morning as they made bait prior to the 7:00am shotgun start (2)
The official weigh station hosted marina-side by Gricelda’s Smokehouse was opened promptly at 3:00pm, at which time teams were asked to bring their heaviest tuna, wahoo, and dorado to be weighed and scored.
No stranger to the spotlight, it was 2018 Pelagic Rockstar Tuna Tournament and Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot champions, Chinito Bonito, who stole the show during the day one tournament weigh-ins. Besting the fleet with a beautiful 162.7 lb. yellowfin tuna caught by Davis Ahn on a rigged flying fish, Team Chinito Bonito swept all the daily tuna jackpots while sitting atop the leaderboard after conclusion of day one of the two-day tournament.
Team 'Chinito Bonito' takes an early lead with their day one 162.7 lb. yellowfin tuna
With sights set on pushing Chinito Bonito off the podium, the tournament fleet had high hopes and XXL tuna dreams going into day two of the Pelagic Rockstar Tuna Tournament. Radio chatter was lively prior to shotgun start with teams excited about the prospects of a closer body of fish that was moving with pods of porpoise on large shoals of bait.
Day two saw most of the fleet venture to the Pacific-side of Land's End to prospect the tuna scene offshore
The call for “lines out” signaled teams to stop fishing at exactly 3:00pm at which time the weigh station was once again opened to score team’s heaviest yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and dorado.
First to the scales was Wyatt’s Torch with a tuna that looked like it would contend with Chinito Bonito’s day one yellowfin. A crowd gathered as the team anxiously awaited the announcement of their contending tuna. When the scales finally rested, the 161.7 lb. yellowfin ultimately fell just shy of the mark but was a very respectable tuna that awarded Wyatt’s Torch third place overall in the tournament. Combined with multiple day two jackpots, the team collected winnings accumulating to $25,600.
'Wyatt's Torch' takes third place overall in the 2019 Pelagic Rockstar Tuna Tournament
Would anyone be able to dethrone Chinito Bonito?
In true dramatic form, the last team to make their way to the scales for the tournament was Porque No. As they marched their tuna to the weigh station, the crowd knew it was a large fish and could very well contend for first place. Upon being hoisted on the Rockstar Tuna Tournament certified scale, the weight was announced with elation from the team at 166.3 lbs. Earning first place overall as well as a day two jackpot, Team Porque No was awarded the championship trophy and a payout of $21,100.
'Porque No' secured the tournament championship with the largest tuna of the event at 166.3 lbs.
While Chinito Bonito did not claim first place, they did accept the largest payout of the event. Combined with their second place finish, plus a sweep of day one tuna jackpots, and a high-rollers day two jackpot, they were able to walk away with $67,700.
'Chinito Bonito' was awarded the largest tournament payout for their day one sweep of tuna jackpots
An awards celebration was hosted that night at Baja Cantina as winning teams were announced with trophies and prizes handed out.
Here’s how the rest of the numbers played out:
TUNA DIVISON
1st Place – PORQUE NO – 166.3 lb. Yellowfin Tuna - $21,100
2nd Place – CHINITO BONITO – 162.7 lb. Yellowfin Tuna - $67,700
3rd Place – WYATT’S TORCH – 161.7 lb. Yellowfin Tuna - $25,600
DORADO JACKPOT
TEJAS – 18.3 lbs. - $6,400
'Tejas' reeled in the double daily dorado jackpot
WAHOO DAILY JACKPOT
ESTRELLA DEL NORTE – 34.0 lbs. - $6,400
The wahoo daily jackpots went to 'Estrella Del Norte'
PELAGIC would like to thank all tournament participants and our generous sponsors for making this another incredible event south of the border. We hope to see you all again in November 2020 for the 3rd Annual Pelagic Rockstar Tuna Tournament!
Next up in the Pelagic International Tournament Series Tour: 4th Annual Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament – Marina Pez Vela [Quepos, Costa Rica] – January 10-12, 2020.
Please visit www.PelagicTournaments.com for full tournament calendar.
Check out additional photos from the tournament in the gallery below.