Our past tuna cup events have all been successful and we continue to grow each year!
It is not that common. It was far from guaranteed. Some tuna fishers go days without a catch, even at the height of the season so when you hold a contest to catch the biggest Bluefin Tuna in one 8am-5pm day of fishing, and every single boat that sets sail catches a tuna, it really says something amazing about the fishing area and the boat captains. This is why Tignish, Prince Edward Island is fast becoming known as one of the best Giant Bluefin Tuna fishing places in the World.
The 7th Annual MacLeod’s Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup was held on Aug 22-Aug 24th 2018 in Tignish. The event kicked off with an Oyster Bar Reception at the Tignish Heritage Inn Wednesday evening, followed by two days of fishing and activities, ending with an awards banquet. The Catch and release Bluefin Tuna tournament promotes the PEI tuna fishing charter industry and the meals at the event showcased local shellfish from Royal Star and fresh produce and form local suppliers as well as PEI beef and pork. Kurk Bernard provided the entertainment during the opening night, followed by Thursday with Daniel Drouin after the Lobster feast, and to finish off the tournament Joey Doucette provided entertainment after the Taste of PEI BBQ and the awards ceremony in the Gardens of the Tignish Heritage Inn.
This year, there were six teams participated in the tournament. The teams were as follows: “Straight Wires” from Ontario, with captain Peter Gauthier; “ Parsen Group” from California, with captain Ewen Clark; “ Chasing Tail” from Ontario, with captain Kenny McRae; “Prairie Pirates” from Saskatchewan, with captain Jamie Gauthier; “ Tignish Credit Union Ltd” from Tignish, with captain Neil Perry; and the “Tuna Wranglers” from eastern PEI, captain Blair Matthews.
All six participating teams in the tournament hooked up fish and fought fish, 7 were measured the first day and 11 measured the second day. Longest accumulated length award was presented to the “Straight Wires.” From Ontario with Captain Peter Gauthier who measure 4 fish in 2 days with accumulated length of 372 inches.
The 2018 winners with the longest fish measured in the tournament was “the Tignish Credit Union Ltd” with Captain Neil Perry with a fish measuring 111 inches. Tignish Credit Union Ltd was awarded the 2018 Tuna Cup Champions Plaque and named champions on the MacLeod’s Ledge Tuna Cup trophy at the Friday evening awards banquet. They chose to donate the $2,000 charity purse to the Tignish Medical Centre.
The MacLeod’s Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup sponsors for 2018 were Tignish Credit Union Ltd, PEI Department of Fisheries, Township Chevrolet Buick GMC, Bradley Handrahan Charter Accountants, Cox & Palmer and Alberton Fisheries.
A special thanks to all of the volunteers and organizers that made the tournament possible!!
the 2013 MacLeod’s Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup!
Taking part in the cup presentation from the second annual MacLeod’s Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup are, from left, Jim Munro, Controls and Equipment; Andrew and Sharon Roberts, crew of Misty Blue Waters; tournament coordinator Anne Arsenault and Brian Dutt, president of Controls and Equipment. The 10 foot two-inch tuna the Controls and Equipment team hooked was the largest fish measured during the two-day tournament. Other members of the winning team were Chris Stevens, Matt Landry and Gilles Richard.
A great time was had by all, and everyone is looking forward to another wonderful weekend again next year.
Make sure you set aside the weekend of August 20th – 23rd, 2014 for the 3rd Annual McLeod’s Ledge Bluefin Tuna Cup! This page will be updated closer to the event with package info and more, so come back again soon!
For great photos, check the Gallery 2013 Page. For photos from 2012’s 1st Annual Tuna Cup, visit our Tuna Cup 2012 page or visit the 2012 Gallery.
An Oyster Buffet Meet-and-Greet was held the night before at the beautifully restored and award-winning Tignish Heritage Inn and Gardens to welcome the participants, introduce the boat Captains, and have the teams draw for boats.
Information packages, including rules and regulations as well as team windbreakers embroidered with the Tuna Cup Challenge logo were given out to everyone.
Friday morning dawned beautifully; sunny and clear with a slight breeze. Everyone gathered early to get ready to sail. Breakfasts were eaten, (courtesy of Shirley’s Café) and lunches given out, (courtesy of MJ’s Bakery in Tignish). Group photos were taken, boats were loaded, 6 boats and crews set off at 8:00 am for the fishing grounds.
The water was a bit choppy out on MacLeod’s Ledge, but “That is par for the course at this time of year”, said Russell Gallant.
Many stories were told of the fishing adventures that day, from ‘the ones that got away’ to observations of compassionate experienced Captains and deck hands who kept a careful eye on the tuna, and made sure they were handled with care and released safely.
The participants enjoyed the company and expertise of their boat Captains and deck hands, and the captains had a great time watching the tuna fishers as they sailed and fished and simply enjoyed the day; the sun, the breeze and the companionship.
They fished and lost, and fished again until all boats had caught, measured and released some beautiful bluefin tunas.
Final measurements were: Captain Ian Gauthier’s team with a tuna 7’8 inches, Captain Jamie Gauthier’s team with 7’10”, Captain Peter Gauthier’s team, 8’2”, Captain Andrew Roberts team with a tuna 8’6”, Captain Kenny MacRae’s team’s tuna measuring 8’10”, and Captain Blair Matthews team with a tuna coming in at 9’4” in length.
From left are: Russell Gallant, Chair of Tignish Initiatives Corp., Robert Henderson, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Anne Arsenault, General Manager of Tignish Initiatives Corp., Pat Murphy, MLA Alberton-Roseville, Brian Willis, Captain Blair Matthews, and Earl DesRoche. Missing from photo: David MacKenzie and Kevin Jenkins. Congratulations to all!
Watch the boats set sail from Tignish on a beautiful August morning!
Be sure to make your plans now, so you can join us for an even bigger and better time in 2014!