Panama City Beach - Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament
Perhaps the larger boats had larger expectations on Saturday, but the result was the same as the previous night. Until 9:50 p.m. that is. Two tuna came to the Bay Point scales within 15 minutes of one another. The first blew away the previous first-place tuna and the second one topped them all. Peter Bos’ 119.5-pounder took first place in the category and netted him more than $36,000 in the 26th annual Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament. The boat he was aboard, Legendary, was one of the last inside the channel, but it only increased the drama for the fish that was caught on Friday.
"We didn’t think we would win because we’ve caught bigger fish before," Bos said. "All the talk was about people catching smaller fish, but we had no idea where it would end before we got here. Bos’ tuna beat out Paul Murdoch, who weighed in a 90.3-pounder just 15 minutes earlier. Murdoch’s tuna easily bested the previous first-place 51.3-pound tuna caught by Jared Roberts on the Mollie.
Not to be outdone, August Redding took first place in the dolphin category with a 32.1-pound catch. Redding and the Dreams Wake 2 was the next-to-last boat to weigh-in.
Most of Saturday was much like Friday outside of the final surge. The seas were rough. The fish weren’t biting and the ones that did were smaller than normally brought into the Bay Point Invitational. There also were no blue marlin to be seen, despite the weighed category being reinstated this year after a one-year absence. The lure of Big Blue drew the crowds, as it was announced at 9 p.m. that no one else would be admitted to Bay Point due to safety reasons. It was only the second time in the 26-year history of the event that the gates were closed to Bay Point spectators earlier than around 11 p.m.
Friday’s 40/40 Shootout featured only one tuna. The same was true on Saturday for nearly four hours. Roberts and the rest of the anglers on the Mollie doubted that a 51.3-pound tuna would hold up. They were right.
"No matter what, with a fish like that you never think it will be there in the end," Roberts said. "We’ll be living on a prayer here until the end of the night."
Roberts’ prayers weren’t answered, however. Grant Nicholson’s were.
Fishing aboard Life is Good, Nicholson came in at around 8:30 p.m. with a wahoo and dolphin. His 33-pound wahoo stood up to win first place. His dolphin was knocked out of first by Redding.
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