days, the tonsoffishcaught in the tournament feeds
the local retirementhomesandorphanages, and
Wayne’sconservation fundhassentadozen local
Cabohighschoolkids tocollege tostudymarine
biology, allexpensesand tuitionpaid in full.
Thisyear,during therun-up to the tournament,
Wayne takescenterstageright in thecenterofCabo
andspeaks toagatheringcrowdof locals, tourists
andmore than900entrants.Themassivescaleused
toweigh the300-plus-poundbillfishflankshis lift.
“We’reat115 teamsandcounting!”heannounces
a fewhoursbefore theentrydeadline.This isa
cash-only tournament, and the lastof the60-,70-
and80-footfishingyachts, eachonewithasticker
price in themillions,makes itsway into themarina
and then toTriciaBisbee,who’shelpingWaynecol-
lect theentry fees.AsWayne’ssister, she’salsooneof
hisbusinesspartners.LikewiseareWayne’sson,Blake,
andhiscousin,Carey,bothofwhomaremillingabout
thecrowdandmakingsureeveryone is ina jovialmood.
And that they’reexcited tofish.
“Hehassuchacharisma,”Triciasaysasshewatches
herbigbrotherwork thecrowd.She’ssellingBisbee
shirtsand jacketsandobservinghow thecrowd is
naturallydrawn toWayne.Similarly,he feedsoffof
theirexcitement.TheBisbeesknow thatyouwon’tbe
watching theBlack&BlueMarlinTournamentonCBS
anytimesoon,butWaynehasmanaged tobuildabrand
that isnow thegoldstandard infishingcircles, and
anevent thathelpeddevelopCaboSanLucas into the
internationaldraw that it is today.
Inall35yearsof theBisbee, this is thefirst time it
waswonbynot justano-namebutfiveno-money,
working-classno-names. “Abunchofbums from
Ontario,Canada,”by theirownadmission.
JasonLangen, a33-year-oldsheet-metalunion
worker fromThunderBay,Ontario (withavery thick
Canadianaccent) loves tofish.OfcourseonLake
Superior,whereheusuallydoeshisangling, a10-pound
walleye isconsidereda trophy.Butheandabuddywent
toCabo forafishingvacationa fewyearsback, andhe
caughtastripedmarlin.That feelingmadehimwant to
fish forbigbillfish.HewatchedeveryYouTubevideohe
couldfindon theBisbee.Onceproperlyeducated,he
roundeduphisbuddies. “Wewerethesecondpeopleto
payour$5,000 fee,basicallyassoonastheyopenedthe
call toentry,”hesays. “Iwantedto lockus in
somy friendscouldn’tpullout.”
Allfiveblue-collar tradesmenponied
upa totalof$20,000,flew toCabo,hireda
fishingcharterandsetoff forgloryremi-
niscentofHemingway’sSantiago.And just
like in
TheOldManand theSea
,Jasonand
hisbuddies fought theirfishwithgustoand
valor.They landeda500-poundmarlin,
whichhadenoughmeaton thebone towin
the title.Theyenteredwith thebaremini-
mumentry fee, so theirhaulwas$356,000.
Still, thatwasmore thanenough topayoff
all theirmortgagesbackhome.
“Wewere localheroeswhenwereturned to
ThunderBay,”Jasonsays. “Wewereon the frontpage
of the localpaper.Guys likeusaren’tsupposed towin
theBisbee.”
But inactuality, theyare.Fishing, evenbig-money
sportfishing, is thegrand levelerofmen.FiveCanadian
roughnecks ina$4,500charterbeat thebigboys in$4.5
million80-footoceancruisers.
AndWayneBisbeewashappy.
ADAMPITLUK
is theeditor-in-chief of
AmericanWay
.He is
also the author of
StandingEight
and
Damned toEternity
.
CLOCKWISE
FROMTOP
LEFT
:
boats jockeying
for positionat the start;
thewinning teamand
their 500-poundfish
AMERICANWAY
APRIL2016
75
