royalty,norofamanwho just72hours fromnow is
going toawardover$4million—cash— inprizemoney.
Rather,he looks likeaworking-classmachinist.
He’sastrongman, thickasabrickwithchiseled
forearmsandcalves.At51yearsold,Waynehasfished
bodiesofwaterallover theworld.He’scaughtmonsters
of thedeep,not just thebrilliantlycoloredbillfish
(thegeneralbiological term forpredatoryfishwitha
spear-likebill)buteverything from
Abalistesstellatus
inAustralia tobarracuda inBermuda.Asastaunchcon-
servationistand the founderofBisbee’sFish&Wildlife
ConservationFund,whichdoesconsequentialwork
withAfricanWhiteRhinos (see thesidebaronpage74),
Bisbee’sPopeye-esquephysique isa testament toa life
that iscommitted to theoutdoors, arodorariflenever
too faraway.
His father,Bob, came to theBajapeninsulaof
Mexico in the1960sseekingavacationescape from
hisnativeSouthernCalifornia.Back then,CaboSan
Lucaswasamosquito-infestedmarsh.But thebluffson
Mexico’sBajaPeninsulawere toweringandsweep-
ing,producingviews thatweren’t found1,000miles
northover theU.S.border. In1982, afterfishingCabo’s
cobalt-coloredwaters foroveradecade,Bob thought it
wouldgetpeople to thispartofMexico ifheoffereda
$10,000cashprize for thebiggestbillfish.Heheld two
tournaments thatyear.Sixguysshowedup to thefirst.
Wayne,whowas inhighschoolat the time, remembers
manning the familystore inNewportBeach,California,
for thefirstsevenyearsof the tournament.
“Ikindof inherited this tournament,whichreally
wasn’tsupposed to lastmore thana fewyears,”he
recalls.Therewereotherfishing tournamentsaround
theworld,butnone inCabo,whichwasaccessible to
mostof theworldbecauseof itsproximity toAsia, the
westernUnitedStates,CentralandSouthAmericaand,
thanks to thePanamaCanal, theeasternUnitedStates,
theCaribbeanandEuropeaswell.
“Iplayedsoccerat12yearsoldon theshorelinewith
the localkids,”herecalls. “Thisplacewasnothingbuta
hiddensecret forSoCalguyswho liked tofishandhang
out.”SowhenBobretiredbut theentry-feecheckswere
stillcoming in,Waynebecame theheirapparent torun
theshow, aswellas themaestro taskedwithgrowing it.
Therewasnomarketingbudget.Nobusiness
model.Nostaff.Waynereliedonhis familyover the
“Theamountofcharity
andphilanthropythe
tournamenthasprovided
tothepeopleofCaboSan
Lucashas, in fact, grown
thispartofMexico.”
WANTTOBEA
PARTOFTHE
EXCITEMENT?
The2016Bisbee’s
Black&BlueMarlin
Tournament is inCabo
SanLucas,Mexico,
fromOct. 18 to22.
Visit
Bisbees.com
for
more information.
CLOCKWISE
FROMABOVE
:
spectatorspartying
before theBisbee’s
Black&Blue; watching
theaction fromafar and
upclose;Wayne’sown
marlinmagazine;
enjoying sunset;
festivities thenight
before thebig tourna-
ment; the large lures
needed tocatchmarlins
AMERICANWAY
APRIL2016
73
