Bermuda Feature

Bermuda's angling competitions attract top fishermen from all over the world. The Bermuda Blast tournament over the July 4 weekend coincides with the World Cup—where anglers across the globe compete to land the largest fish on the planet between 8 am and 4:30 pm. Each year more and more boats descend on Bermuda over the holiday weekend, with the winners having been pulled out of the island's waters three times since 2002. The biggest local tournament is the Bermuda Big Game Classic with many of the World Cup fishermen sticking around to take part in the three-day festival. The dates vary depending on when the weekend falls, but it's usually around July 15. The lure of monster marlin in excess of 1,000 pounds keeps them coming for the third leg of the Bermuda Triple Crown, the Seahorse Anglers Club tournament, the following week. Marlin season is what a lot of Bermuda's sport fishermen live for. "It's the biggest, baddest fish in the ocean—there's no feeling like landing a marlin," explains Sloane Wakefield of Atlantic Spray Charters. The Bermuda Sport Fishing Association at 441/295-2370 is a good source of information about tournaments.