The International Billfish Tournament takes place in San Carlos from October 16 – 18, 2026. Founded by Ernesto Zaragoza 79 years ago as the Zaragoza Tournament, it is San Carlos’ original sport fishing tournament and continues today as the International Billfish Tournament.
The tournament supports local charities and brings anglers together for two days of fishing in the waters off San Carlos. There are four fishing categories: Billfish (Marlin and Sailfish), Dorado, Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo. Billfish competition is catch-and-release only.
Registration
Registration will take place during a “No Host” Cocktail Party on Friday, October 16 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at the San Carlos Yacht Club. Anglers can register for the tournament, enter jackpots, purchase fishing licenses and have their video cameras certified. Hamburger and fries are included for registered anglers.
The registration fee is $250 USD per angler and includes registration-night hamburger and fries, an Awards Dinner ticket, swag bag, tournament shirt and cap.
A Captain’s Package is $85 USD and includes an Awards Dinner ticket, tournament shirt and entry in the Captain Award competition. Captains entering the Captain Award competition must be Mexican citizens. Extra Awards Dinner tickets are $35 USD.
Anglers can skip the registration-night lines by pre-registering online.
2026 Tournament Schedule
Friday, October 16
5:00pm – 8:00pm: Registration and “No Host” Cocktail Party at the San Carlos Yacht Club. Tournament registration, jackpot entries, fishing licenses and video-camera certification.
Saturday, October 17
7:00am: Fishing begins
2:00pm: Weigh station opens
3:00pm: All Lines In
5:00pm: Weigh station closes
Sunday, October 18
7:00am: Fishing begins
2:00pm: Weigh station opens
3:00pm: All Lines In
5:00pm: Weigh station closes
5:00pm: Bar opens at the San Carlos Yacht Club
6:00pm: Awards Dinner
Fishing days or hours may be changed if weather conditions warrant.
Prizes and Awards
The overall winner is the boat/team accumulating the most overall points. Individual awards are based on the most overall points per angler.
Overall Boat/Team Awards:
1st Place – $1,500 USD
2nd Place – $1,000 USD
3rd Place – $500 USD
Heaviest Dorado – $500 USD
The tournament also recognizes the Best Captain, Best Female Angler and Best Junior Angler.
Captain Awards:
1st Place – $200 USD
2nd Place – $100 USD
3rd Place – $50 USD
Jackpots
Optional jackpots are available for Fun Fish, Billfish and overall points. Jackpot entries are made during Friday evening registration and must be paid in cash. The jackpots pay out 85%, with the remaining 15% going to local charities.
Jackpot categories include Saturday and Sunday prizes for the heaviest qualifying Tuna, Bull Dorado or Wahoo; first Billfish caught and released each day; Fun Fish Boat/Team Most Points; Individual Angler Total Points; and Overall Boat/Team Total Points.
Important Fishing Rules
Fishing is from 7:00am to 3:00pm Saturday and Sunday. The official weigh station is at Marina San Carlos and closes at 5:00pm each fishing day.
Billfish – Marlin and Sailfish – are catch-and-release only and each verified release counts for 150 points. Dorado, Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo must weigh at least 15 pounds to qualify. Eligible weighed fish count for one point per pound, with a 100-point bonus for qualifying Fun Fish weighing 50 pounds or more.
Each angler may catch up to two Bull Dorado per day, with a maximum of four Bull Dorado per boat per day considered for jackpots. Female Dorado may not be caught in the tournament. Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo are limited to four per boat/team per day. There is no limit on released Marlin or Sailfish.
A valid Mexican fishing permit is required for every angler and must be presented at registration.
Billfish Release Videos
Teams competing for billfish points need to pay particular attention to the tournament’s video rules. Each registered boat must have an approved digital camera capable of displaying the date and time and transferring video to a computer. Cell phones and dash cameras are not permitted for release verification.
Video cameras must be synchronized to official tournament time and checked by tournament organizers during Friday registration. Release videos must clearly identify the species, document the required control number and show the healthy release of the billfish. Cameras or SD cards must be presented at the weigh station before it closes each day.
Participants should read the complete rules before fishing. Read the official 2026 International Billfish Tournament Rule Book.
About the International Billfish Tournament
The tournament was founded by Ernesto Zaragoza 79 years ago as the Zaragoza Tournament. According to the organizers, it was the first fishing tournament held in San Carlos and possibly the first in Mexico. The tournament continues its long tradition of supporting local charities with help from participants, sponsors and the San Carlos community.
Previous Results
2025 International Billfish Tournament
1st Place: Out of Range
2nd Place: Rebel
3rd Place: Cowboy
2024 International Billfish Tournament
Eleven boats participated in the Zaragoza International Fishing Tournament. Your enthusiasm, skill, and sportsmanship made this event unforgettable.
Congratulations to all the winners who showed incredible talent and dedication out there on the water! We are so proud of each of you for your amazing achievements.
The winners were:
1 – Triple R
2 – Ragin Cajun
3 – Kryptonite
We can’t wait to see you all again at the next tournament. Until then, tight lines and happy fishing!
2023 International Billfish Tournament
11 boats and 28 anglers
Tyler Williamson: Biggest Dorado
Edgar Amador: Best Captain
First Place Overall: Fantasma
2nd Place Overall: Mist & Smoke
3rd Place Overall: Catch 22
2019 International Billfish Tournament
The 72nd International Billfish Tournament took place this past weekend. 35 teams and 121 anglers participated — here are the results:
1st Place – Makaira
2nd Place – Kryptonite
3rd Place – Sincuidado
Congratulations to Judy Lynn Earl on the Kryptonite team who was honored for being the “Best Woman Participant”.
This tournament is hosted and sponsored by the Ernesto Zaragoza Charity Foundation. Since 1947, the year when this sport fishing tournament began in this beautiful Sonoran destination, the Zaragoza family has been concerned not only with promoting responsible fishing, tourism and sport, but also altruistic causes. Every year, funds raised from the tournament help local charities in their endeavors. This year two associations in Guaymas, Manos Amigas and Asilo de Ancianas, were presented with large donations.
A huge THANK YOU to all participants, volunteers, and sponsors for making this tournament such a success!
2018 International Billfish Tournament Results
The 71st International Billfish Tournament was last weekend with 26 boats competing. Mornings were pretty nice and cloudy, with afternoons a little sunny and warm. You need to wear breathable shirts that you sweat through to keep cool. Either that, don’t work at all, or bring a dozen cotton shirts. Still, we are getting a lot of nice ‘cool’ and cloudy weather. Just watch out for a hot bite!
The tournament boasted some great prizes this year, drawing a crowd and revamping the popularity of this historical tournament. Strangely, all the big dorado stopped biting for the weekend, leaving the $2,000 USD dorado jackpot to roll into next year.
A few met the minimum weighable weight, with the biggest at 24 pounds. We did catch a handful of 8 – 16 pound dorado each day. There have been some big sails at times, and not a lot lately, but no one weighed a sailfish over 70 pounds for the motor.
The grand prize was for a truck with a 200+ pound marlin. We had the big gear and 16 – 20″ lures out. We ran a lot of skirted ballyhoo too, which got the bites, but our catch ratio was off. The dorado were stuffed with crab, and the billfish too were dropping baits and just not taking them down. Still, I had one good fish that I slowly cranked in before strapping on the chest and bucket harness. I inched it up to a stalemate 50′ under the boat before the hook pulled.
I heard of one other good fish lost, and I’m sure there were others. There were a few reports of Blues lost and released last week. The radio communication was tough with the humidity, our stereo was up, and I haven’t seen the results, but Telamon won with about four marlin and a sail release.
2016 International Billfish Tournament Final Results
Overall boat releases:
1. Kryptonite with 8 (pictured right)
2. Predator with 7
3. Cortezano with 3
Winning Anglers: (pictured below)
1. Eleanor North on Predator with 6 released billfish
2. Ken Diaz on Caroline E and David Rothschiller on Kryptonite each released 3 billfish
3. Casey Hayes on Cortezano, Wade Earl and Steve Calvert on Kryptonite each released 2 billfish
2014 International Billfish Tournament Final Results
The 67th Annual International Billfish Tournament took place July 4 – 6, 2014.
The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Bryan Replogle
2nd Place: John King
3rd Place: Ron Cooper
4th Place: Theodore Dake
5th Place: Adan Goldring
6th Place Robert Gilbert William
7th Place: Ken Diaz/Dan Boone/Rich Norquist
Ladies Division:
1st Place: Connie Ward
2nd Place Tamra Williamson
Thank you to everyone who participated. This event is hosted by the Ernesto Zaragoza Charity Foundation.
