Grandson of Ernest Hemingway Named Tournament Grand Marshal
Following in the footsteps of his famous grandfather, author John Hemingway this year has run with the bulls in Pamplona and will be soon fishing the big game grounds off Bimini—the same tiny Bahamas out island where Papa Hemingway chased marlins and tuna aboard his beloved Pilar in the 1930s.
In November, John Hemingway will return to Bimini, this time chasing speedy Wahoo as Grand Marshal of the popular Wahoo Smackdown V series, hosted by the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina in Alice Town.
“My family has been coming to Bimini since the 1930s,” said Hemingway, who grew up in Miami and now lives in Montreal. “My father (Gregory Hemingway) came with my grandfather as a young boy on his boat the Pilar and I was first brought to the island in 1960 as a newborn with my mother and my father on a Chalk's flight from Miami. We have always fished here, for tuna, marlin, sailfish and grouper and it's a great pleasure for me to help officiate as Grand Marshal this Wahoo Smackdown Tournament.”
The 54-year-old Hemingway will be fishing with Tournament Director Captain Chase Camacho aboard Miss Kethleen II in the tournament, which is scheduled for November 13-14.
“As a writer myself I am a great admirer of my grandfather's works and this also extends to the life he led and the places he visited,” said Hemingway. “I've lived in Italy and Spain, I've run with the bulls and I'm an aficionado of corrida, but whenever someone mentions Bimini it brings back childhood memories of fishing out in the Gulf Stream on hot days and coming back to the docks in the evening to see what the others had caught. Good times that I remember and that I will live again this coming November.”
The entry fee for Wahoo Smackdown V (which includes four anglers per boat) is an affordable $1,250 ($100 for each additional angler). At stake is $30,000 in cash and prizes to be won.
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.
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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