Capt. Bob Lewis Billfish Challenge
March 1ST & 2nd, 2008

• Miami, FL
• 44 Boats
• First Leg of the Contender Boats Libertad Challenge (3 tournament series)

Day one dawned with good conditions. Gary Lawson’s Boat Center team was off to a good start with 4 quick fish. The rest of the fleet started picking away and by the end of the day Mike Kornahren’s Advanced Roofing team finished with 8 fish to lead the outboard division. In the inboard division, with a few minutes left in the day, the Miss Britt I captained by Jim Mulchy caught 3 out of a quad to jump Ovi Vento’s Rockstar team with 9 fish. On the Miss Costa we were more in the middle of the pack (we didn’t want to upset anyone by catching too many too quick).

Day two brought equally nice weather and the fishing was still good. At the end of the day, in the Overall and Inboard division, the Miss Britt I prevailed with 7 for the day and 16 releases for the tournament. Second place went to the 4 Aces captained by Joe Turner with 12 releases for the tournament, the owner Peter Adrian took Top Angler honors with 9 releases. Gilbert Fiorentino’s Uptight captained by Neal Orange Sr. took 3 rd place. In the Outboard division, the Rockstar rose to the top with 10 releases followed by the Advanced Roofing team with 9. The Money Shot ended up in 3rd with 9 releases also, the Night Prowler ended up in 4th as well as winning the biggest fun fish category with a 50 lb. dolphin, Bob Lewis’ son Jimmy finished in 5th place with 7 place on the Kite Hunter. Top Lady angler was Paige Owens, Top Junior was David Mills and the Top Amatuer boat was the C & C owned and operated by K C Crook.

This is the first leg of the Contender Libertad Challenge which is the longest running and most sought after series title in south Florida sailfishing. The standings for the top 10 are:

1. Miss Britt I - 16
2. 4 Aces - 12
3. Uptight - 11
4. Rockstar - 10
5. Advanced Roofing - 10
6. Money Shot - 10
7. Mango Moon - 8
8. Miss Costa - 8
9. Night Prowler - 7
10. Weez in the Keys - 7

Aboard the Miss Costa we didn’t catch enough to end up on the “A List”. (I think it was somewhere around the B or C list). We had a great time and no one got hurt! Bob was the first captain that would put up with me as a teenager, so win, lose or draw, I always enjoy fishing the tournament that honors his memory. Next year’s event will take place on March 5th -8th. I hope you can join them:

www.billfishchallenge.com