20th Annual LTHU Rancho Leonero Tournament
by Bob Blum
I would have to say that this year the fishing was slow. However, slow is a relative term. In three days 13 marlin were caught. In some places that would be considered pretty good, but two years ago over 80 marlin were caught and released and the year before that over 70. I don’t count last year since we were pretty blown out by Hurricane Blanca. Also, according to John Ireland, before the tournament , two or three wahoo were coming in every day. Only one wahoo
was caught during the tournament.
We also had a problem with the wind on two of the three days. We were still able to fish, but it would have been too uncomfortable to run 25 miles off shore where the tuna were. In the past the winners were the teams that caught the most marlin, but this year it was all about the in-shore fishing.
Team Hi Karate of Steve and Susan Crotty from Santa Rosa were the winners of the trip back to Rancho Leonero. Steve fished alone from a panga on the third day and caught, four roosterfish, a pompano, and four barred pargo to 20.4 lbs. The big pargo was also the day’s jackpot winner. Incidently, IGFA does not list a record for ba
rred pargo, so, if someone wants a world record, it’s there.
Second place went to Team Whisky Tango of Phil and Pam Bensimon of La Mesa. They also fished in-shore where Phil caught the only wahoo weighing 25.4 lbs. They won the gift certificates from Fisherman’s Landing Tackle.
Third place went to the So Cal Trendsetters composed of Dave and Scott Williams and Peter Macie from Bonita. They also got gift 
certificates from Fisherman’s Landing Tackle. All the winners also got custom trophies and all participants got a limited edition T-shirt.
We also had some special prizes this year. Rick Jensen or Sportfishing Financial donated $500 for the biggest dorado or wahoo. The check went to Phil Bensimon for his wahoo. Phil also won one of the daily jackpots.
Dave Brithwate of Statewide Stripes donated $500 for the largest tuna. That check went to Pat Fleming who came all the way from Laramie, Wyoming.
A special treat this year—we had a wedding. Tom and Rhonda Gruber spent Sunday fishing, and then came in and got married. They had a lot of family there, but everyone was invited. We all shared champagne and wedding cake. I thought it was terrific.
In spite of the relatively slow fishing, everyone had a good time. Most plan to return. Next years tournament will be June 3-7, 2017. Call Rancho Leonero at 800-646-2252 to make your reservation. Check www.rancholeonero.com for details or the “trips” page at www.letstalkhookup.com
