Fish Travel Eat

Stories about Fishing and Other Relative Truths

tuna

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2023: A Banner Year for the MONGO Offshore Challenge

2023 was a banner year for the MONGO Offshore Challenge-- 2 divisions, 163 teams, 16 states, 3,000-plus anglers and some giant fish.

The 2023 MONGO Offshore Challenge was a banner year. What began four years ago as an intimate celebration of the Gulf Coast Sportfishing community, has grown into the world’s largest multi-month big game challenge. In 2023, the MONGO celebrated its 4th anniversary in style—with great fishing in two divisions that span contiguously from the rigs of the Gulf Coast to the offshore canyons of New England.

The MONGO Offshore Challenge not only showcases the incredible fishing of the Gulf and East Coasts, but celebrates the people, businesses and community that comprise the sportfishing industry in the United States. The MONGO’s network of anglers (more than 3,000), boats (162), states represented (16), and composition of sponsors make it perhaps the most expansive bluewater tournament in the world.

2023 MONGO Stats

The MONGO Offshore Challenge is a celebration of fishing. The tournament’s unique set up is purposefully designed to promote accessibility, participation and cooperation.

In 2023, the MONGO’s Gulf and East Coast divisions combined to host a total of 162 participating teams. Tournament boats hailed from 16 states—from Texas to Massachusetts– ranging in length from 21-92’. A season-long, biggest fish wins affair, the MONGO’s 153 days of fishing opens the competition to boats of all sizes and crews of all experience levels.

Searching for the biggest blue marlin, swordfish, tuna, wahoo and dolphin, tournament boats logged more than 4,000 MONGO trips in 2023. A boat-based tournament, the MONGO allows any angler registered in the trip log to take part in the tournament. In 2023, the MONGO hosted an incredible 3,000 anglers.

The MONGO Offshore Challenge partners with many of the sportfishing industry’s best and brightest.

What’s more, you can fish the MONGO while fishing other tournaments. In fact, the tournament accepts weights from over 70 of the Gulf and East Coast’s premier billfish and tuna tournaments.  Once you catch a MONGO, you can weigh it any of the more than 40 partner marinas up and down the coast.

When it was all said and done–with hundreds of boats and thousands of anglers fishing over 153 days- large cardboard checks and MONGO trophies were headed to some of the most storied docks on the sportfishing landscape. Here’s a breakdown.

Gulf Division Winners:

Blue Marlin: 723.7 pounds. Purse: $136,000
Mahi: 59.8 pounds. Purse: $32,300
Captain Dennis Bennett, owner Chris Hatcher, Salt Shaker. 58’ Viking. Baytown Marina, Destin, Florida.

Swordfish: 292.9 pounds. Purse: $51,000
Captain Mike Kubecka, Reel Rush. 33’ Americat. Matagorda, Texas.

Tuna: 224.4 pounds. Purse: $73,950
Wahoo: 77.2 pounds. Purse: $21,250
Captain Bill Staff, Sea Spray. 65’ Resmondo. Orange Beach, Alabama.

East Coast Division Winners

Blue Marlin- no qualifying fish weighed. $62,000 rolled into 2024 East Coast Blue Marlin Division
Swordfish- no qualifying fish weighed. $3,500 rolled into 2024 East Coast Swordfish Division

Yellowfin Tuna- 125 pounds. Purse: $16,000
Wahoo- 61 pounds. Purse: $11,600
Captain Jay Watson, owners J. J. Johnson and Dave Pirrung. Wide Spread, 52’ Crown Boatworks, Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Manteo, North Carolina.

Bigeye Tuna- 246.4 pounds. Purse: $6,000
Captain Willie Zimmerman, Ro Sham Bo, 65’ Guthrie. Ocean City, Maryland.

Mahi: 60 pounds. Purse: $6,300
Captain Jack Graham. Afishionado, 50’ Holton. Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Manteo, North Carolina.

MONGO Profiles: Stories of the winning fish and the winning crews

Central to the charm of offshore fishing are the people who are involved. Wherever you find passionate bluewater fishermen, you’ll find comradery and tradition. While the ways in which this passion and tradition are celebrated may vary a bit by region, there are a couple of things that never change.

For more on how the MONGO has forever changed the offshore tournament landscape, check this out.

The MONGO Offshore Challenge is built on two universal truths:

  1. Everyone loves to catch giant fish.
  2. Behind every great fish, lies a great story.

2023 was full of both—giant fish and great stories. Here’s some perspective from a couple of captains who doubled up, each winning two categories of this year’s tournament.

A Gulf Coast Double Header

Captain Dennis Bennett and the team aboard Salt Shaker, a 58’ Viking based in Destin, Florida, won the Gulf Coast division’s blue marlin and mahi categories. Each of these fish were not only good for a giant cardboard check from the MONGO, but for a payday in other tournaments as well.

The Salt Shaker’s 723.7-pound blue marlin won both $136k in the MONGO and $293,000 in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. The MONGO dolphin cashed checks in two tournaments as well– breaking the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic’s dolphin record on the way to winning the MONGO.

When describing his year, Bennett expresses gratitude, perspective and humility. “It’s pretty rare to catch a fish that big… to be part of a tournament was a pretty special deal,” Bennett explains. 2023 was Bennett’s fourth year fishing the MONGO. He has competed in both the Gulf and East Coast divisions.

The MONGO’s collaborative, inclusive layout imparts numerous benefits to those who participate. Not only can boats like the Salt Shaker compete in the MONGO and other tournaments simultaneously, but the MONGO makes every day on the water a tournament.

Bennett explains, “We make lots of pre-trips for tournaments. Chris (owner of the Salt Shaker) enjoys fun fishing. There’s always a chance to win some money on a big fish,” he says. “At any given moment we can have a tournament-winning fish. It’s really a cool format… everybody’s involved.”

An East Coast MONGO Meat Slam

Captain Jay Watson is no stranger to high profile east coast tournaments. The 2021 Big Rock champion, the Wide Spread fishes Pirate’s Cove, the Boat Builders and many others. Based out of the world-famous Oregon Inlet Fishing Center in Manteo, North Carolina over the past two seasons, Watson and the Wide Spread have won three East Coast Division MONGO categories.

In 2022 Watson won Mahi division nearly by accident. “I caught a nice dolphin. I wasn’t going to weigh it. We had it on the fillet table. I decided to take a picture of it for Jeremy (Capt. Jeremy Cox, co-founder of the MONGO),” Watson explains.

The dolphin weighed 41.2 pounds. As it turned out, it was the largest dolphin caught by a participating boat. “The fish won $24,000 by a pound. I caught it on the first day of the tournament… It held up for 152 days.”

You’ve got to be in it to win it.

In 2023, Watson won the tuna and wahoo categories. Watson caught the winning wahoo while plug fishing for blue marlin. The wahoo ate a lure as they were pulling them in to head back to the dock.

He caught the winning yellowfin while fishing with Scott Sommers, a freelance mate who was filling in for Watson’s normal crewman. The next day, Sommers caught the MONGO-winning 60-pound dolphin while filling in for Captain Jack Graham’s regular mate aboard the Afishionado. Sommers caught tournament winning fish on back-to-back days, fishing on different boats, filling in for two separate normal mates.

The 2023 winning dolphin caught aboard Captain Jack Graham’s Afishionado.

Watson enjoys fishing the MONGO and believes the tournament to be a good fit for the sportfishing industry on the East Coast. “The MONGO is really good for charter captains.  A charter captain can catch one good fish and say, ‘I beat everybody at the Fishing Center,’” Watson explains. “The MONGO is good for everyone.”

“A lot of my tournament guys chartered me to specifically fish the blue marlin in the MONGO. It’s exciting that the money rolled over,” Watson says. “If I have a charter client that wins the MONGO, I give them a free trip. It’s an extra bonus—try to win something and get a free trip. The MONGO provides a competitive advantage to charter guys who fish it.”

The three-time MONGO winner provides quite a bit of perspective about his excitement for the tournament’s future. “I might be the only guy to have won the meat slam in the MONGO,” Watson says. For his dolphin in 2022, he won more than $24,000. Watson took home nearly $30,000 more for his winning fish this year.

“We caught a good tuna. But there were hundreds of bigger wahoo and mahi caught on the east coast by boats who weren’t in the MONGO,” Watson explains. “It’s proof that you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

Captain Jay Watson, WideSpread. Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.

Fish the 2024 MONGO

In 2024 the MONGO will celebrate its fifth anniversary. What started as an intimate celebration of the Gulf Coast Sportfishing community has grown to become the world’s largest multi-month big game challenge. With east coast blue marlin and swordfish money rolling over, the tournament’s excitement builds.

There are as many reasons to fish the MONGO as there are fishermen who fish it. Here’s a few of our favorites:

  1. You can fish the MONGO while fishing other tournaments. In fact, the winning Gulf Coast blue marlin won the MONGO and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. The winning Gulf dolphin won the MONGO and broke the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic’s dolphin record. 
  2. East Coast Division: 2023 Blue Marlin and Swordfish Money Rolls Over. Somebody is going to win a bunch of money. As Captain Jay Watson of the Wide Spread explains, “You’ve got to be in to win it.”
  3. You’ve got to be in it, to win it. The MONGO’s minimum weights are such that every fish weighed is a good one. The winners are the tournament boats who weighed the largest fish in each division. In many cases, there were fish weighed by non-tournament boats that could have won the MONGO had they registered.
  4. Entry fees set to promote participation, not to break the bank. Entering many offshore tournaments requires a small fortune. The MONGO’s entry fees are set to promote participation. For many captains, you’ll burn more fuel in two trips (or have a larger bait tab) than it costs to enter the MONGO.
  5. Biggest, single fish wins. By competing for the largest single fish in each category, anyone can win the MONGO.
  6. Make every trip a tournament. The MONGO makes tournament fishing accessible to many people who might not otherwise get the chance to participate. For the tournament billfishing crew, this means the opportunity to win money any day on the water. For the charter angler, this means the opportunity to compete in a high stakes, high profile offshore tournament in a way that is not otherwise possible. 

To register for the 2024 MONGO Offshore Challenge, please visit: https://www.mongooffshore.com/

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Places to Eat Before You Die: The Runaway Grill

Quepos is a magnet for sailfish, blue marlin and yellowfin tuna-- and for the people who love to catch them.

The Runaway Grill at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica is a place to eat before you die. The restaurant combines tradition, place and Pura Vida with great food.

Traditions are one of fishing’s greatest charms. The quest to catch fish and enjoy adventure leads groups of like-minded people to congregate in some of the most beautiful places in the world.

Perhaps no place better exemplifies this fishing wanderlust than Costa Rica. A tropical wonderland, Costa Rica is inhabited by some of the friendliest, most welcoming people in the world.

It is little wonder that Ticos coined the phrase “Pura Vida” to describe what goes on their corner of paradise.

Line up of cold Costa Rican beer. Not a bad way to cap a day offshore.

Over the past three decades, the world has taken note of the abundance of gamefish in Costa Rica and the charmed lives of its residents. The result has been large scale migration —from short-term tourists to longer term ex-pats (and everything in between).

Villages that were once anonymous fishing towns are now internationally known destinations. Costa Rica’s international transplants have integrated with the warm Tico hospitality.

The result is a regional charm all of its own.

Great fishing not only led people to visit Costa Rica, but to invest in building infrastructure. One place that ties together tradition and investment is the Marina Pez Vela in Quepos.

The Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica.

The Context of Place

The Runaway Grill is a wonderfully appointed restaurant located in the Marina Pez Vela. With a view overlooking the marina (and its fleet of sportfishing boats), just thinking about the place makes you happy.

A walk through the Runaway Grill is a tour of Costa Rica’s fishing legacy.

Were the Runaway to be located somewhere in the States, it’s offerings might be described as something of a fishing-infused, modern take on the sports bar. When considering the effect of time and place, however, the Runaway embodies much more.

Quepos is a wonderfully charming village in the central region of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. The area is a magnet for sailfish, blue marlin and yellowfin tuna– and for the people who love to catch them.

For most of the area’s history, it was a quaint fishing village. Like much of Costa Rica, Quepos’ relative obscurity as an international destination began to change in the 1980s.

Costa Rica’s trademark. The best way to define the phrase is to spend some time in Costa Rica.

Evolution Through Fishing

Word of gamefish aggregations in its waters began to spread in the 1980s. What started with a few of sportfishing’s most intrepid pioneers—the likes of Captains Bubba Carter, John Lagrone, Skip Smith and others—soon turned into steady sportfishing pilgrimage.

Early pioneers loaded their boats with barrels of fuel and everything else needed for self-sufficiency and headed south. These captains produced a pile of world records and catch rates never heard before.

Through time, more boats and more great fishing led to more visitors and more great fishing.

Boats from all over the world now spend time fishing in Marina Pez Vela.

Through time, visitors brought with them investment in the infrastructure necessary to support fishing and tourism.  Most notably, marinas, hotels and restaurants. 

The Runaway Grill

One of the early American transplants to Costa Rica (Marsha Bennett), opened a restaurant in Quepos. For years, the Gran Escape served as something of an anchor in the burgeoning fishing scene around Quepos.

A great place to talk fishing over burgers and beer, the Gran Escape was a watering hole for many pioneers. After all, every fishing village needs such a place…

Walking up to the Runaway Grill you’re greeted by a blue marlin.

After decades in town, the Marina Pez Vela brought the restaurant—and its legacy— onto its premises. From pictures from the early days to the hats hanging from the ceiling, the Runaway Grill (as the restaurant is now known) links Costa Rica’s present with the many legends whose adventurous spirit laid its groundwork.

Inclusion is an important part of what makes the restaurant so special. Not only is the Runaway Grill connected to its history, it is intimately linked to the fishing community.

Some of the sportfishing fleet.

The place is a melting pot of traditions, cultures and food in a way that is uniquely Costa Rican. The place is a clubhouse for people who love fishing and Pura Vida—regardless of socio-economic background or origin.

For ex-pats who have lived in Costa Rica for a long time, the place serves comfort food. For the locals of Quepos, it is a place to enjoy a night out.

Everyone is welcome.

Poke Nachos

Poke nachos… in all of their glory.

From its menu, to its pricing and the diversity of its clientele, the Runaway Grill is committed to inclusivity. Eating here makes you part of something.

It is an invitation to not only experience Costa Rica but to immerse yourself in the culture of fishing. From owners of seven million-dollar yachts to visiting captains to local fishermen and their families…. todo el mundo está invitado.

When the Runaway Grill relocated to the Marina Pez Vela it updated its menu to add a touch of sophistication. Tuna Poke Nachos illustrate the metaphor.

Tuna Poke Nachos are where Asian influence meets fresh Costa Rican yellowfin tuna. It’s where poke meets nachos…

Everybody is welcome.

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Costa Rican Yellowfin Tuna. Cut into cubes. Bloodline removed.
  • Carrots—cut into slivers
  • Avocados
  • Jalapenos– raw, sliced
  • Cucumber—cut into cubes
  • Wasabi Mayo
  • Sriracha
  • Eel Sauce
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Poppy Seeds
  • Green Onions—diced
  • Won ton chips (You can make them yourself by frying or baking won tons or egg roll wrappers)

Process:

  1. Mix cubes of tuna with eel sauce, sesame and poppy seeds, and avocado chunks.
  2. Layer mixture into won ton chips. 
  3. Garnish with carrots, cucumber chunks, and green onion. 
  4. Wasabi mayo and sriracha can be drizzled onto the nachos or kept to the side.
Adventure awaits. You never know quite what you’ll see…

Though this recipe will provide you a reasonable facsimile of the Runaway’s nachos , you should really plan a visit to the restaurant for yourself. 

The experience, ambience and tradition of the place can be replicated—at your house or anywhere else. 

chef working on fish
In search of more tuna inspiration? Check out Chef Cosmo Goss’ Fish Tricks.