October 27th - 20th, 2001

The shotgun start with 154 boats near the famed Los Cabos Arch at 7 a.m. on Thursday was thrilling, and as usual, a few boats jumped the gun, but Mayor Narcizo Agundez quickly shot a massive flare from the top deck of the cruise boat the Oceana, and everyone joined in the run to the fishing grounds as a chartered WON plane shot aerial photos. The weigh-in started at 2 p.m. and ended at 5:30 with crowds of 300 awaiting the next 100-pound fish, with five brought to the scales that day, three of which were bigger than any fish caught last year. The biggest was the 151,6 pounder.

The schedule for Friday was the same for the shotgun start under sunny skies and light winds. By the time the weigh-in was over at 5:30 p.m., five more tuna over 100 pounds were hoisted by weighmaster Tom White before a massive throng at the scale in front of Seafood Mama's. The winner, of course, was the 156 pounder by team Stimulator, caught on a big jethead on an outrigger in the midst of a porpoise school 35 miles out on a 182-degree heading on a temperature break proved to be big enough to the take the Day 2 Optional Jackpot money of ($120,360) and the Overall Jackpot first place bucks of $50,320. The top 10 tuna were caught by the Stimulator (156-0). Capt. Jay Bush and the 46-foot Bertram charterboat Stimulator were coming off a win in the Bisbee's marlin event held two weeks earlier in Cabo.

Perhaps the biggest winner of all over the Tuna Jackpot week in Cabo was the Los Cabos charity DIF, which funds an orphanage for Cabo children. This year a new kitchen is being built in the orphanage for the children, some of whom were left without parents after the recent hurricane Juliette.

(Excerpts from story by Pat McDonell)