The organizers of the annual Casa de Campo International Blue Marlin Classic, dubbed as “The Reel March Madness” because of the incredible blue marlin action that takes place offshore of Marina Casa de Campo from February to May, officially announced the dates for the 2017 edition of this elegant event from March 16th to the 20th. Many of the top name boats that fish the Caribbean Circuit are expected with new slip reservations at the Marina coming in every day. For those who want to participate but cannot bring your boat, there are several top-notch boats available for charter with highly experienced crews (contact for details below).
The event is not only well known for its fabulous blue marlin action (85 blue marlin released in 3 days at the 2016 event, plus it once again ranked as one of the Top 10 Billfisheries of the Year), but also for the fun filled activities that are scheduled on shore, such as Happy Hours at the docks after fishing, the Fiesta in the night after the second day of fishing, activities on the Lay Day like the Sporting Clays competition in the morning, and in the afternoon the now infamous and grueling Donkey Polo match, culminating with the Awards Banquet on the night of the third and final day of fishing.
Tournament Director Rick Alvarez of International Billfish Tournaments, Inc. pointed out that:
“We are particularly characterized in the Dominican Republic thus far because we actually donate part of the proceeds to reputable Dominican underprivileged children’s charity foundations. In the case of the Blue Marlin Classic, the Patronato Oriental – Hogar Del Niño has received generous donations each year from our event. Other distinctive features are that we bring a group of international Certified Observers so each competing boat has an observer aboard every day of competition to prevent rule infractions and identify species before the fish are carefully released to swim away and reproduce. We also give a cash award to the crew that applies the most tags to the fish for conservation and scientific studies.”
The Casa de Campo Blue Marlin Classic continues to grow in participation and notoriety each year uniquely generating a substantial amount of press in both print and electronic local and international publications adding to the image of the sport, to the popularity of the fabulous Marina, and to the growth of an important segment of this highly specialized type of sport tourism. “Add social media to the equation and it is no wonder that since we started these international-style events three other new tournaments have been added in the Dominican Republic,” Alvarez concluded.
More and more visiting boats are staying in the Dominican Republic for longer periods of time with Marina Casa de Campo experiencing a record number of visiting boats during the 2016 Fishing Season. This no doubt translates into a greater socio-economic impact to the area that creates good jobs. Jose Gonzalvo, Marina Casa de Campo General Manager, confirmed “the presence of high end sport fishing boats for an average of 3.5 months of the year, consuming local goods and services, yields a very considerable sum of revenue for the local economy.”
Blue Marlin Classic Tournament
When: March 16th – 20th, 2017
Where: La Marina, Casa de Campo
Contact: (809) 523-2111
For a full list of upcoming events visit: www.TODO.fm
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