CABO SAN LUCAS, October 21, 2026 — A 491-pound blue marlin put CONTANGO'S SPARTAN'S REVENGE at the top of the live board on the opening fishing day of the 2026 Bisbee’s Black & Blue. CatchStat credits angler Kevin Miranda with the fish aboard CONTANGO.
The live Day 1 records reviewed for this story listed 11 catches: 10 blue marlin and one black marlin. Two blue marlin were recorded as boated; the other nine fish were recorded as releases. CatchStat listed a tournament field of 175 teams and 1,282 anglers.
This is an opening-day snapshot, checked on the evening of October 21 before the scheduled 9 p.m. weigh-station closing. CatchStat’s standings and payouts are provisional, not a final tournament awards announcement. Late entries or committee decisions may change these figures.
Contango’s 491-pound blue marlin: the recorded details
Competing as team No. 26, CONTANGO'S SPARTAN'S REVENGE had one catch recorded in its team log at the time of review. The log lists Kevin Miranda’s hookup at 1:34:58 p.m. and the fish as boated at 3:37:22 p.m., for a recorded fight of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 24 seconds. These are the times displayed by CatchStat, whose inspected records do not specify a timezone. The boated timestamp is not a separately confirmed dockside weigh-in time.
The team roster identifies Jeff Villarroel as captain. Its vessel listing identifies CONTANGO as a 2012 Viking 60c, with Virginia Beach as its port of origin. No fishing location, bait, tackle, fish length or girth is supplied in the catch record, so those details remain unconfirmed.
What the provisional payout board shows
CatchStat displayed a total tournament payout pool of $7,464,250. That is the displayed pool for the tournament, not money already awarded after Day 1.
CONTANGO'S SPARTAN'S REVENGE appeared against six Day 1 daily jackpot allocations:
| Daily jackpot category | Displayed Day 1 allocation |
|---|---|
| $500 | $60,350 |
| $1,000 | $119,850 |
| $2,000 | $214,200 |
| $3,000 | $300,900 |
| $5,000 | $450,500 |
| $10,000 | $586,500 |
Those six displayed Day 1 allocations add up to $1,732,300. The team’s category listing does not include the $20,000 daily jackpot, and the payout page did not assign that Day 1 allocation to Contango.
The page’s Unofficial Team Payouts table displayed $1,957,612.50 for Contango. That figure also includes the currently displayed first-place overall team allocation of $202,781.25 and top-captain allocation of $22,531.25. Those overall positions remain open with two fishing days still ahead; the displayed total must not be described as a guaranteed or finalized Day 1 prize.
The other boated blue marlin
Magnifico - Boujee Marlin recorded a 263-pound blue marlin with angler Garrett Frazier. CatchStat lists the hookup at 9:17:03 a.m. and the fish as boated at 9:44:52 a.m., a recorded fight of 27 minutes and 49 seconds. The organizer’s 2026 rules set a 300-pound minimum for boated blue and black marlin to earn cash. At 263 pounds, this fish is below that threshold. It appeared in the catch log but not in the qualifying overall leaderboard reviewed for this story; it is not presented here as second place.
Nine recorded releases
The release entries in the Day 1 catch log were:
| Team | Angler | Recorded releases |
|---|---|---|
| Milonga | Ricardo Menchaca Moyano | 2 blue marlin |
| TEAM REEL ENERGY | Brian Walley | 1 blue marlin |
| Reel Pushy | Charlie Nicklaus | 1 black marlin |
| PUERTO LOS CABOS HOOKERS | Jake Russell | 1 blue marlin |
| 10 Brothers | Mathew Collopy | 1 blue marlin |
| Over The Bill | Adam Leopold | 1 blue marlin |
| El Suertudo | Greg Chase | 1 blue marlin |
| A Blueish Hue | Joseph Byrum | 1 blue marlin |
In the paid daily release categories, CatchStat displayed A Blueish Hue at 300 points, with $115,600 in the $2,000 daily release division and $94,350 in the $3,000 daily release division — a combined displayed unofficial allocation of $209,950. Its catch log credits Joseph Byrum with a blue marlin release. These are category-specific standings, not a claim that other teams recorded no releases.
Two fishing days remain
The organizer’s published schedule lists Black & Blue fishing on October 21–23, with a 7 a.m. start and weigh-station hours of 2–9 p.m. The awards celebration is scheduled for Saturday, October 24. Contango’s opening-day position does not settle the final tournament standings.
For context, read our October 21 Baja Fishing Report. The Los Cabos Offshore archive covers the separate tournament held earlier in October; its results should not be confused with this week’s Black & Blue.
Editorial note
This report is based on CatchStat’s 2026 Black & Blue Day 1 catch statistics, individual team records, live catch log and unofficial payout display, together with Bisbee’s published schedule. CatchStat warns that displayed payouts can change and may not reflect final amounts; the tournament committee is the authority for official standings. Catch counts describe the entries visible at the time of review, not a certified final-day total. No interview quotations, fishing locations or tackle details have been invented. Photographs: Dani Portillo, Cabo Sportfishing Magazine.
