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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Sports
Writer John Hemingway Joins “Makin It Happen” Team
Alice Town, Bimini, BAHAMAS - The Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina today announced that there will be a Hemingway fishing in their Wahoo Smackdown II Tournament scheduled for February 21-23. John Hemingway, grandson of the world-renown author Ernest Hemingway, next month will be trolling the same Gulf Stream waters as his famous grandfather, whose fishing exploits aboard his beloved “Pilar” helped put this tiny Bahamas out island on the global map in the 1930s. Ernest Hemingway was an early apostle to the Bimini experience in the 1930s, where he drank, brawled and wrote his way through several fishing seasons, traveling back and forth between home in Key West and his beloved “Island in the Stream”. His creative workshop was the Compleat Angler and his characterizations came from a world populated by giant blue marlin, bluefin tuna and schools of sharks almost too large to count. With his literary acclaim and sporting prowess, Hemingway, together with countless other kindred spirits, established Bimini as the Big Game Fishing Capital of the World—home today to some 50 world record catches and counting.
On assignment for Sport Fishing Magazine, the 52-year-old writer from Montreal will be fishing with Captain Alexander Jiminez of Miami and aboard the 33’ Contender “Makin It Happen”. As a follow to the tournament, he will essay the history of big game fishing in Bimini. John Hemingway is an American author from Miami, whose critically acclaimed memoir Strange Tribe examines the similarities and the complex relationship between his father Dr. Gregory Hemingway and his grandfather, Nobel Laureate Ernest Hemingway.
John has visited Bimini, the setting for his grandfather’s posthumous novel “Islands in the Stream”, countless times. His parents first took him to the island when he was a newborn and his childhood was spent fishing in the Gulf Stream with his father for Marlin and Wahoo and “everything else that you could and can still catch in those waters.” As a young man he moved to Milan, Italy in 1983, where he taught English and worked as a translator while pursuing creative writing. His articles and short stories have appeared in American, Italian and Spanish newspapers and reviews. His short story Uncle Gus was the featured piece for the re-launch of the Saturday Evening Post. After leaving Italy in 2006 and spending a year in Spain, John now lives with his two children in Montreal, Canada. “This is a real coup for us,” said Tournament Director Captain Paul Cameron. “Imagine being able to brag that you actually fished with a Hemingway, and in Bimini, of all places. Cameron said “Makin It Happen”, which has taken advantage of the Big Game Club’s seasonal marina rates, is looking for some heavy competition in February. “This past November we had some 60 anglers competing for more than $30,000 in cash and prizes,” he said. “Lots of action during the tournament with nearly a ton and a half of fish landed.” The entry fee for the Wahoo Smackdown II (which includes four anglers per boat) is an affordable $1,250. First place prize is $5,000, followed by $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third. Playboy Playmate Shawn Dillon, Miss February 2013, will also be on hand on Saturday, February 23rd, helping with the final weigh-ins, presenting trophies and posing for pictures and signing autographs for participating teams. For information regarding the next Wahoo tournament and to register online, please go to http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/big-game-tournament.htm or call (800) 867-4767. About The Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina The Bimini Big Game Club, a legendary outpost for fishermen and host to numerous major sportfishing tournaments for more than half a century, officially re-opened in 2010 following completion of a $3,500,000 renovation that included all guest rooms and the new Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill. More recently owners have added the Gulfstream Conference Center and Hemingway’s Rum Bar & Social Lounge, a fully outfitted watersports facility and a floating dock to accommodate seaplane service directly to and from the resort. For information on the Big Game Club Resort and Marina go to www.biggameclubbimini.com
About Wahoo (Scombridau Family; also called ONO fish, Pacific kingfish) The wahoo can be found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas. Pelagic and seasonally migratory, the wahoo tends to be a loner or travel in small groups of 2 to 6 fish. There are indications of seasonal concentrations off the Pacific coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Baja California in the summer, off Grand Cayman (Atlantic) in the winter and spring, and off the western Bahamas and Bermuda in the spring and fall. It is found around wrecks and reefs where smaller fish that it feeds upon are abundant, but it also may be found far out at sea. The wahoo is reputed to be one of the fastest fish in the sea, attaining speeds of 50 mph (80 km) and more. The first scorching run may peel off several hundred yards of line in seconds. Occasionally this fish jumps on the strike and often shakes its head violently when hooked in an effort to free itself. Fishing methods include trolling with whole, rigged baits as well as with trip baits or artificial lures. Live bait fishing and kite fishing are productive. The wahoo’s flesh is finely grained and sweet and is considered excellent eating. The current all tackle world record for wahoo is 184 lbs.
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