GHOSTS OF TOURNAMENTS PAST

The water color offshore in the tropical Atlantic falls between rich cobalt blue and iridescent indigo. Wherever that water pushes over the right bottom topography, and at just the right temperature, plankton gathers, baitfish feed, tuna and dorado feast, and blue marlin gorge. With them, as inevitable as the relentless push of the Gulf Stream, come sport-fishing enthusiasts, resort marinas, and blue marlin tournaments.

And just as that fertile water fades, it is replaced by new in the circle of life. So too have many of the greatest fishing tournaments—the ones that are still regaled, still remembered, and greatly missed. Let’s take a look at four that are arguably the greatest blue marlin tournaments of all time—and ones that will likely never be fished again—through the eyes of the crews who fished them.

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS OPEN/ATLANTIC BLUE MARLIN TOURNAMENT

ST. THOMAS, USVI

The North Equatorial Current drifts westward across the open Atlantic Ocean until the east-west 100-fathom curve turns abruptly just north of St. Thomas for just a dozen miles before continuing westward again. On this fabled crosscurrent North Drop, marlin come in large numbers, eager to feed during the full moons of summer.

In the mid-1960s, Laurance Rockefeller sponsored two charter boats to entertain guests with big-game fishing at his Little Dix Bay and Caneel Bay resorts in the Virgin Islands. Jimmy Loveland, who grew up fishing on his father Stu’s charter boat docked at Miami’s Pier 5, was among the first of those skippers.