By Bryan Rose

Professional Division

First Place - Bad Company: 9 releases - $11,750

Second Place - Gambler: 7 releases - $5,875

Third Place - Ruckus: 5 releases - $1,985

Daily Pool Winner - Bad Company - $17,900 (day 1 and 2)

Amateur Division

First Place - Aly Cat: 3 releases - $4,314

Second Place - Quality Time: 1 release - $2,517

Third Place - Exta Sea: 1 release - $719

Daily Pool Winner - Aly Cat - $3,400 (day 1 and 2)

The second day of the Yamaha Contender Avalon Billfish Classic Marlin Tournament started out on a slow note after another exciting shotgun start. After the first three hours only one boat had gotten a confirmed release, that being the "Aly Cat" who put up the first release from the "No Fear" amateur division left vacant after day 1. The "Quality Time" repeated the feat next with the second billfish released for the day at 10:19.

It was at about 10:30 that things blew wide open with the "Ruckus" pulling a marlin release that kicked off some hot action. The hot hand in the morning was the "Gambler" who got their first fish of the day at 10:35 after releasing two on Monday. They equaled their day one total soon after by releasing a second marlin at 10:51, and followed up with another at 11:40. This left them surging for the overall lead in the pro division but the day 1 daily prize winners Team Bad Company weren't going down without a hard fight.

Professional Division

1st Place - Team Bad Company 3 Releases

2nd Place - Gambler 2 Releases

3rd Place - Ruckus 2 Releases

Day 1 Daily Prize Winner - Team Bad Company

Amateur Division

No Releases on Day 1

There weren't many bright eyes at 5:30 A.M. yesterday as the crew from Sportfishermen.com assembled at the Philadelphia Airport for an early flight to the west coast. Three of us boarded a Continental Airlines 737 and 8 hours later, following a quick stop in Houston, landed at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County having made it safely to California. Ray Hsieh picked us up and we headed to Crow's Nest Yachts where he had the 33-foot "Contender One" waiting to whisk us across San Pedro Channel to Catalina Island for the beginning of the Yamaha Contender Avalon Billfish Classic Marlin Tournament, the first of three upcoming events in the California Billfish Series. Ray had us cruising along at 40-plus knots and we soon pulled up to Avalon on the island.

Our first stop was at the roving tournament headquarters aboard the 165-foot "Pacific Provider", a new mothership and traveling yacht club created by Eastern Pacific Yacht Club and built on the hull of a former Alaskan crab fishing boat. Set up to provide service, fuel, supplies, and five star lodging for members and guests virtually anywhere on the world's oceans. This served as the home for the captain's meeting and party to open the event. With food and drink that matched the luxury and first class style of the entire operation, all of the guests were well entertained before Rod Halperin went over the rules in a brief meeting that kicked off the two days of fishing off the California Coast.