Cabo San Lucas – For just over a year Club Tepeyac de Caza, the host club for the 85th International Light Tackle Anglers Tournament, prepared for the arrival this week of fishing teams from as far away as South Africa. Strictly following IGFA rules and fishing no more than 30 pound test, an ILTTA tournament demands the best out of local crews and anglers alike.
The 85th celebrated four fish days with 13 3-angler teams hailing from Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, Guatemala, Venezuela, Maryland, Mexico and the International Women’s Fishing Association team from Maryland, Florida and Dominican Republic. Anglers rotate boats and positions (from long rigger to flat line to long rigger) never fishing with their teammates but contributing to their team’s cumulative score each day. While the Top Team wins the coveted ILTTA Big Belt award, anglers also fight it out for Top Angler honors.
With an eye on Cabo’s famed striped marlin bite anglers came prepared as well for a bit of weather forecasted for the region. The local fleet at Pisces Sportfishing held host to ILTTA and the unexpected wind made light tackle fishing even that much more of a challenge. At the awards banquet the Tournament Director, Eduardo Vaudrecourt, announced 108 releases including 2 Blue Marlin, 10 Sailfish and 96 Striped Marlin.
Day One anglers released 31 billfish with Caliente coming out as Top Boat and Juan Carlos Torruella of Puerto Rico Light Tackle Anglers scoring 300 points on time to take the lead in the top angler category. Teammates Orlando Soto and Jose Rodriguez Santana each added 200 points and secured the Daily Top Team for PRLTA.
The wind on Day Two laid down just enough to make fishing a bit more comfortable. Keep Fishing Venezuela made their move up the leaderboard with an early bite by Roger Galindo, Rafael Martinez and TJ Schultz scoring a total of 400 points; Club Nautico de Guatemala #2 stayed right on their heels at 300. Angler Dave Martin of South Africa (fishing the event with Lighthouse Point Saltwater Sportsman Association) made the most of his shots and put 200 points up for the Daily Top Angler spot. Hot Rod stayed in the bite with 400 points and earned Top Boat of the day.
In keeping with ILTTA tradition, the third day of the week is designated as the official Lay Day and allows the anglers to spend time together on shore. Dr Roy Dean, who founded ILTTA in Acapulco over 8 decades ago, always believed in the power of fishing to bring people together. Today, ILTTA pays homage to Dr. Dean by remembering his credo – “It is always better to make a friend than catch a fish”.
Day Three dawned early for the anglers and most were truly grateful for the convenience of the Pisces dock location adjacent to the host resort. Tiburon pulled off a banned day with the help of angler TJ Schultz who put up 300 points for Keep Fishing Venezuela and Rodrigo Guzman who added 200 points to the Club Nautico de Guatemala #2 team score. Galindo and Martinez added 100 points each and helped secure the daily for the Venezuelans. Meanwhile, Wade Martin hailing from South Africa and fishing for Texas Tournament Anglers, followed his father’s lead and took advantage of a steady pick for 400 points and the daily angler honors.
With the winds coming around, it was anyone’s game going into the final day of fishing. The bite picked up for the fleet overall and Juan Carlos Torruella made the most of it adding 400 points to the PRLTA score and securing the top angler of the day and the week with a total of 800 points. Angler Javier Pira added one more fish to his score but TJ Schultz got there just moments ahead and earned the Third Place Angler on time. Wade Martin held fast to the Second Place Angler spot with 600 points on time. Bill Collector 4 won the daily with 5 fish but it was Bill Collector 3 that managed a steady creep up the leaderboard throughout the week to earn Top Boat accolades with 1200 points.
Additional releases by Martinez for Keep Fishing earned the Venezuelan team Second Place overall and points scored by Guzman and Pira combined with releases by teammate Niels Erickson earlier in the week secured Third Place honors for the Club Nautico team #2 from Guatemala.
The “Big Belt” is a replica of the traditional Mexican fighting belt hand crafted from leather and silver. Attached to the belt are silver plaques with the names of winning teams over the years. The original Big Belt was retired after 50 years and hangs in the offices of the IGFA where it is a prized reminder of the tenacity of competitive sportfishermen. Puerto Rico Light Tackle Anglers teammates Juan Carlos Torruella, Jose Rodiquez Santana and Orlando Soto proudly held with Big Belt high when presented with this Top Team honor. The belt will stay with their club until the next ILTTA tournament which is slated for Puerto Rico in November of 2027.
Photo credit: ILTTA
L to R: Eduardo Vaudrecourt (Tournament Director) Jose Ridiquez Santana, Orlando Soto, Glenn Gavit (ILTTA Treasurer) Juan Carlos Toruella, Gabriel Rivas (ILTTA President)