Calendar of IGFA 2007 Offshore World Championship Qualifying Tournaments

Sponsors of the IGFA Offshore World Championship

2008 Tournament Rules

Reglas del Torneo 2008

Update #1

Update #2

Schedule of Events

Congratulations on your participation in the most prestigious bluewater sportfishing event in the world –The Ninth Annual IGFA Offshore World Championship. We have 63 teams participating in the 2008 championship being held in one of the world’s most exotic locations, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This premier destination welcomes international travelers to the very tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez in the shadow of the famous Cabo Arch. IGFA qualifying events were held in 38 countries and territories plus 14 states.  Please check out www.igfa.org/tour.asp for continuous team updates.

With the Championship dates of May 11 - 16, 2008 quickly approaching, the following update will assist in your final preparations. If you need some information please do not hesitate to call. Our staff is committed to excellence in both customer support and service.

Once again we are proud to hold the Championship at the breathtaking Hotel Finisterra. If you have not made your reservations at the host hotel, you should know that they are almost sold out. For reservation assistance, please call the Baja Resorts Sales Office at 800-347-2252, 1-520-529-4529 US number, fax: 520-529-4549 or email: Yvette@bajahotels.co.  Please identify yourself as a participant in the IGFA Offshore World Championship.

For your convenience, box lunches are available from the Hotel Finisterra. These lunches are $11 USD and may be pre-ordered during angler registration on Sunday, May 11, 2008. The lunches will then be ready in the Finisterra lobby for pick-up in the morning before heading to the dock to fish.

For round-trip transportation IGFA is proud to offer Trans Cabo as the Championship transportation partner. If you have not yet secured your transportation reservations, now is the time to do so. Trans Cabo will have transportation waiting for you at San Jose del Cabo airport with Championship exclusive rates of $26 USD round trip transfer. If you take a taxi, it will cost you more than $80 U.S. It is extremely important that you make prior arrangements with Trans Cabo to pick you up at the airport.  Due to new Federal regulations, Trans Cabo will only be able to transport those who are pre-registered.  They must have the exact number of persons and their names at time of pickup at the airport. Trans Cabo is the premier destination transportation service in the Baja. These transportation professionals will welcome you to Cabo and can meet all your personal transportation needs. For reservations please contact Trans Cabo at 1-866-403-5987 or visit their website by clicking here.

Sunday, May 11 at 11:00, adjacent to the registration tent, IGFA Representative Minerva Smith of Minerva’s Baja Tackle will be conducting a pitch bait seminar with two of Cabo’s most experienced local Captains.  The seminar will last approximately two (2) hours and will give the anglers a good idea of how to fish in Cabo. Marlin are often seen tailing on the surface at which time a live bait may be cast to them, or dropped back in front of the fish.  Live bait is purchased from bait boats after the team leaves the dock each morning.  In order to assure live bait for all, the rules limit each boat to purchase an equal number of pieces of live bait. This will be determined at the mandatory rules briefing and boat draw on Sunday.  Dead bait is allowed and is normally available on the dock before loading onto the boats each morning. This is the angler’s prerogative and not a tournament responsibility. All circle hooks must be 0 degree offset. All live and dead bait must be fished on circle hooks.

Following IGFA rules and IGFA Offshore World Championship rules are the responsibility of the anglers. There will be a daily random selection of Observers for the Championship.

Before team members receive their fishing licenses, all participants must sign a liability waiver. This must be done before the end of team registration on Sunday May 11, 2008.

Buses to the API Dock are available each morning in the lobby of the Hotel Finisterra beginning at 5:30 am. Please be punctual if you want this service. The API Dock is a three minute walk (downhill) from the lobby.

Team photo opportunities will be held adjacent to registration.  We suggest you wear your team shirts. This is an excellent keep-sake from the fishing trip of a lifetime!

A Bloody Mary cruise and photo opportunity for non-angling guests aboard a party boat is available to watch the shot gun start on the first day of fishing.  You can sign up for this during the team registration on Sunday.  The boat will depart at 6:30 a.m. near where the teams board their boats.  Don't miss it!  You will get close to the famous arch and may even spot a sea lion or two.

Suggestion to teams with more than four (4) anglers.  Why not have the "extra" team members that day sign up for the Roosterfish Tournament?  The Roosterfish Tournament is Tuesday, May 13th from 7:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.  Fishing will be from pangas for up to three (3) guests, with Cabo’s finest Captains.  Be sure to register for this fun event.  The cost for the panga is $350 and includes fishing license, bait, tackle and water.  Registration is on Sunday, May 11th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  14 kt enameled roosterfish pendants from KD & G Sea Life Masterpieces will be given for first and second place most roosterfish released and first and second place longest roosterfish released.  IGFA staff will be on the dock to collect your catch reports and awards will be presented at the Dubious Achievement Award dinner party on Thursday night, May 15th.

The optional day-trip to Todos Santos on Wednesday, May 14th is also a very enjoyable activity.  The cost is $100 per person, and includes transportation from the Hotel Finisterra in an air-conditioned motor coach on a scenic route and lunch at the famous Santa Fe Restaurant in Todos Santos.  Plan to depart at 8 a.m. and return by 4 p.m.  Great shopping opportunities abound in this quaint, artist town.  Space is limited, be sure to sign up early.

A reminder if you are bringing your own tackle, the tournament-required line is Momoi Hi Catch IGFA 30-lb class line fluorescent yellow.  There will be plenty on hand at Minerva's Baja Tackle, a short walk from the Finisterra, or call your local retailers for Momoi line prior to arrival. Tournament officials will be monitoring all fishing lines daily.

For practice fishing days and the finest sport fishing in Cabo year-round please contact:

Picante Sportfishing: 011 52 6242474 Email: jini@picantesportfishing.com
Minerva’s Baja Tackle: 011 52 624 1431282  Email: Minerva@minervas.com
Pisces Sportfishing:    011 52 624 1431288   Email: pisces@piscessportfishing.com

Please keep our great partners in mind when you’re making your next purchase: Secretaria de Turismo de Baja California Sur, Costa Del Mar, Hotel Finisterra, Guy Harvey Inc., Shimano,  Picante Sport Fishing and Yacht Sales, Cabo Yachts, K D & G Sea Life Masterpieces, Hook & Tackle, Momoi Hi-Catch, Murray Products, AFTCO BlueWater, Bodo Muche, Minerva’s Baja Tackle, Señor Greenberg’s, IWS Scales, King Sailfish Mounts, Pompanette, Pisces Sportfishing, Corona and Modelo S.A DE C.V. Mexico, Don Tyson, Trans Cabo, Eagle Claw, MoldCraft Products, Inc. and API Dock. 

Everyone at IGFA is looking forward to a great championship week in Cabo.  If you have any questions, please contact Lesley Arico, Offshore Tournament Coordinator at larico@igfa.org or telephone 954-924-4222.

See you in Cabo!

Click to see the Schedule of Events

All social functions including the awards party are informal. We encourage participants to wear team shirts and jerseys. Rain is merely a rumor in Cabo, averaging less than nine days of precipitation a year.

Tournament Rules & Information

A team shall consist of a minimum of two (2) anglers, and a suggested maximum of six (6) anglers representing their qualifying tournament.  At least one (1) person on the team has to have been on the first place team of the tournament they are representing.  Only four (4) anglers may be registered anglers for any one fishing day and only these four anglers will be allowed on the boat.  In the event there is a fifth or sixth angler, anglers may be rotated daily.  In the event anglers need to be rotated in, the team must deliver a list of anglers to the Tournament Director prior to the start of fishing, indicating who the anglers are for that given day.  Mexican regulations require that everyone on the boat have a fishing license.

All teams must participate in the boat draw.  Teams will fish on a different charter boat each day.  In the event a boat is disabled, a replacement boat will be rotated in for that day.

Registration:

At least one member, preferably the captain from each team, must register at the tournament registration desk at the hotel prior to the tournament; registration location will be at the Hotel Finisterra from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm on Sunday, May 11, 2008.  Any team failing to register at that time must inform tournament headquarters ahead of time to pre-register prior to the registration date.

Briefing & Boat Draw:

The tournament briefing and boat draw will be held from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm on Sunday, May 11, 2008 at the Hotel Finisterra patio.  Immediately following is the Kick-Off Party.  It is mandatory that one member of the fishing team be present at the briefing and at the boat draw.

Scoring:

Billfish
Any blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, sailfish, spearfish, or swordfish, regardless of weight, released in accordance with the IGFA Tournament rules shall be awarded the following points:

Blue or Black Marlin/Swordfish/Striped Marlin              300            
Sailfish/Spearfish                                                  100

To be counted as a released fish, the leader must be wound to the rod tip or the leader touched by the mate or member of the team.  The hook or hooks must be disengaged from the fish or the leader cut as close to the hook as possible.  The hook/lure, leader and double line for each caught fish must be turned in for verification by tournament officials. A single leader/lure may be used to catch multiple fish.  However, in the event that a fish is broken off and terminal tackle is lost, that fish and any others caught using that leader/lure combination will be disqualified.   Fish release forms must be completed and delivered to tournament officials on the dock.

If a fish is dead or nearly dead when landed, and there is no chance for survival, the fish can be boated and the team receives the points for the fish as a released fish.  Any dead fish is the property of the tournament and will be donated to a local charity.  If an angler catches a potential world record billfish, that fish may be boated and weighed at the official IGFA weigh station.  If it is heavy enough to be a world record in the line class on which it was caught, the same points will be awarded as if the fish was released.  If, however, the fish is not heavy enough to be a world record, no points will be awarded and the fish will be disqualified.

WEIGHED FISH:

Points per pound will be awarded on the basis set below for any fish which exceeds the minimum size limit in the following categories:  yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, wahoo or dorado.  Minimum size limit is 25 pounds for each of these species.  Catch limit per species is two (2) per day, per team for tuna of either species, wahoo and dorado.  Teams will be awarded one (1) point per pound for qualifying weight fish.

Fishing Days & Times:

All boats fishing in the tournament must depart from the designated starting point in front of Cabo San Lucas Harbor.  The start and stop signal will be announced on the radio.  Do not start fishing until tournament officials declare “lines in” on the radio.  All fish must be hooked by the time of the stop fishing signal each day.  If, in the event a fish is still hooked up at the call of stop fishing, the angler may keep fighting the fish until fish is released, boated, or lost.  Tournament radio control must be notified when a team is hooked up, or the fish will be disqualified.  The fishing days are Monday, May 12, Tuesday, May 13, Wednesday, May 14, and Thursday, May 15, 2008.

The fishing hours are:

7 am Start fishing
3 pm Stop fishing

All teams must return to API Dock not later than 6 pm or catches will be disqualified.  Exception:  If fish is called in before lines out and is still being fought at the time of lines out.

General Issues:

IGFA equipment and angling rules apply with one exception:  

Mates or other non-team members are not permitted to pitch baits to fish.  Because many fish that are caught during the tournament are sighted and pitched to, we suggest that teams practice casting baits in advance of the tournament.

Fishing Line:  All catches must be made on Momoi Hi-Catch IGFA 30-lb class line in fluorescent yellow only, the official line of the IGFA Offshore World Championship.

Teams are responsible for ensuring that IGFA rules are followed.  Teams are encouraged to check tackle, leaders, hook arrangements, and line prior to the start of fishing.  Boats are required to have 30 lb rods and reels on board with official tournament line.  We encourage anglers to bring their own rods and reels and be sure to have the official Momoi line.

Only fish caught on rod and reel will qualify.  Live bait may not be passed between boats after start of fishing each day.  Live bait and dead bait must be rigged with non-offset circle hooks only.  Circle hooks may not be offset.  Lures may be rigged with conventional hooks.  Teams may purchase live bait prior to the start of fishing.  Live bait is subject to availability and a predetermined amount of bait may be purchased per day.  This will be announced at the Rules Meeting/Boat Draw.  Fishing for bait prior to the start of fishing is prohibited.  No lines in the water prior to the start of fishing.

Each angler must complete a Daily Catch form, which is supplied in the tournament bags at registration.  The form must be completed and turned in at the end of the fishing day.  No form, no points!  The angler must furnish, upon request, the lure, leader, rod, reel, and terminal tackle with which the fish was caught.

The Rules Committee has the right to investigate and act upon any incident occurring during the tournament.  They shall have the right to disqualify any capture following examination and measurement of tackle and equipment used on the boat.  Any protest, concerning the validity of any catch, must be filed in writing, signed by the team captain and hand delivered to the Rules Committee not later than 7 pm the day of the catch.  The decision of the Rules Committee is final.
           
Radio Control will operate on a VHF Channel to be announced.    No CB's will be used.   All hookups must be called in and acknowledged by radio control.  If a tournament boat is out of range, the hookup must be relayed via radio.  No exceptions.
           
All registered anglers and guests participating in the tournament enter voluntarily and at their own risk.  In consideration for the IGFA's acceptance of his or her entry, each registered angler and guest hold harmless and indemnify the IGFA Tournament, its officers, managers, directors, agents, sponsors, donors, the city and county where the event is held, and any other persons connected directly or indirectly with the operation of the tournament, from and against any and all liabilities.

Tipping:

Tipping of captains and mates is expected and is the responsibility of the team.  Suggested tip for boat per day is $100 (US) to $200 (US) and should be handed directly to the Boat Captain.

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