The 24th annual World Cup Blue Marlin Championship (World Cup) on July 4th is just days away. Anglers are gearing up from the west coast of Africa to Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Some of the best anglers and captains in the world will be competing in this "one winner takes all" event.
It is not to late to register on line to fish this exciting tournament. Participants can register at www.bluemarlinworldcup.com with a credit card. Registration fee is $3000. The winner last year from Bermuda took home $343,000 for his 728 lb blue marlin. The marlin was caught on a Black Bart Lure, the official lure of the World Cup (www.blackbartlures.com). The team landing the biggest blue marlin over 500 lb wins the pot. There is no second place. The winner will also be offered a fishing trip of a lifetime for up to five guests at Ascention Island in the mid Atlantic. Accommodations will be on a 115 foot luxury mother ship with 3 days fishing on the sleek 61 foot WILD HOOKER game boat. Contact worldwidesportfishing@gmail.com for more details of the trip.
The Big Blue Challenge is a separate, optional pool with a $5000 entry fee. In 2007, no angler that was entered in the Big Blue Challenge caught an eligible fish and the fees were returned to the anglers less tournament expenses.
Registered teams will fish for one day only (July 4th) from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM in their time zones. Catches are called in to World Cup headquarters in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The number is 954 566 2813 where several phone lines will be open. There will also be real time catch updates posted at www.bluemarlinworldcup.com during the event. Anglers fishing in later time zones such as Kona, Hawaii will be able to find out what has already been landed in places like Angola, Madeira or Bermuda. If a qualifying marlin has been landed, teams will know what they have to beat.
This year, so far, boats have registered to fish from Angola, Portugal, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Azores, Bermuda, Bahamas, St Martin, Mexico, Hawaii and Vanuatu. In the past, winning marlin have been caught in ten different locations around the world and some of those locations are not covered by registered teams in 2008.
The official scale of the World Cup is the Scale Master II Duel Range Tournament Fishing Scale. This compact and accurate scale weighs to 2000lb and is carried by many tournament boats and used by many tournament directors. See www.iwsscales.com.
For complete information including application form, rules and a list of past winners and locations, go to www.bluemarlinworldcup.com or call Tournament Director, Mike Leech at 954 566 2813. Email: m7oceans@aol.com and fax # 954 566 3059 | 
