August 8, 2014, East Cape, Baja California Sur:

Hector Guilarro picked the perfect time to catch his first marlin. On the afternoon of the last day of the 2014 East Cape Offshore Tournament, Guilarro and his team aboard Nautahorse, a 40 Cabo Express, boated a 323-pound blue after a brief battle. As the only qualifying marlin recorded for the three-day event, that fish is worth $396,705, sweeping all three daily jackpots and the top tournament marlin prize. Capt. Mick Thompson is the Nautahorse skipper.

“We were fishing on Gordo Bank and the fight only took 10 minutes on 80-pound tackle. It ate a Pakula lure, a Mick Special,” Thompson said with a laugh after the weight was announced. Guilarro lives in Guadalajara, Mexico and the boat is based in Puerto Los Cabos.

The other big winner for Friday was Manual Cadena, fishing aboard Pocoyos, a 28-foot Pursuit. Cadena used a bait skirted with a pink and blue squid skirt to whip a 45.7-pound dorado. That turned out to be the largest dorado of the tournament and will earn a substantial payout since no dorado were weighed on Thursday. As a result, the previous day’s dorado jackpot rolled over to Friday.

Tony Talamantes on Borracho recorded the only other qualifying fish on Friday. Talamantes’ dorado weighed 38.5 pounds, which turned out to be the third largest fish in that game fish category.

In order to qualify, blue or black marlin must weigh at least 300 pounds. The minimum sizes for tuna and dorado are 40 and 30 pounds, respectively. Teams compete for cash prizes in the base entry divisions, as well as optional daily jackpots.

“We expected to weigh more fish this week after moving the tournament back into August,” said Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee. “But it’s been a very weird season so far, weather-wise here in Baja. Some blame El Nino and the warmer water and others say it’s because of the approaching full moon. Only the fish gods know for sure. But I’m happy Nautahorse found one and we can give away a really big check tomorrow night at the awards banquet.”

The 2014 ECO concludes Saturday night with a traditional Mexican feast hosted by Hotel Buena Vista Resort, on the beach overlooking the Sea of Cortez. The festivities will be illuminated by natural light. From the full moon, of course.