Belize Crew Represents At The 2026 Costa Offshore World Championship (OWC)
As one of the most prestigious sportfishing tournaments in the world, the Costa Offshore World Championship is the ultimate culmination of competition—but first, you must qualify. Because for competitive billfishing, there is no bigger stage. Vying among only the elite as winners in their own regard of 38 teams from 22 countries, Belize stood tall—holding its own with the crew of Catchin’ A Buzz following their success in the 2025 Grand Caribe DeepSea Classic, which ultimately secured a spot on the world stage for the ultimate championship. In 2026, Belize proudly had a team among them.
Held April 19–23 at Parador Nature Resort and Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica, the 2026 edition marked a pivotal shift in format. For the first time, teams competed aboard their own vessels (private or charter), rather than rotating through randomly assigned boats. Additional changes included the introduction of omni-sonar use, with adjusted scoring to balance its impact, and the expansion of the field to include “Challenger” teams, allowing non-qualifying entrants to compete alongside invited champions.
With the 10th Annual Grand Caribe DeepSea Classic fast approaching on July 16-19, 2026, Belize’s sole Costa OWC qualifying tournament, we’re taking a moment to reminisce on how the last year has unfolded for the hybrid Kansas City-Belizean crew. From the shores of Caribeville outside San Pedro Town in July 2025 to Quepos, Costa Rica in April 2026, Kyle Resenhouse of Catchin’ A Buzz catches us up firsthand with his own words on ‘the Olympics’ of sportfishing.
Over three days, the fleet released a jaw-dropping 1,167 billfish under strict IGFA rules in an equally impressive destination for a purse totaling USD $232,220, which was also a massive jump from roughly $55,000 the year prior. And Catchin’ A Buzz? Secured 37 of those stats, slightly above the average of 30 per boat.
A Decade In The Making: From Kansas City, to Ambergris Caye, to Costa Rica
I remember first being invited down [from Kansas City] to fish in Belize, and I’ve pretty much been back [to Ambergris Caye] whenever I can spare time, for the last 10 years. I’ve learnt all my offshore fishing knowledge in Belize directly from the locals, and it’s such an honor to represent alongside Belizeans, especially when it’s on the world stage like Costa’s Offshore Championship 2026. The fact that Grand Caribe has worked behind the scenes to carve out a spot for our small Central American country is really pioneering a way forward for the caliber and quality of talent and competition we have in the country.
“Still, we’d set out to Costa Rica a bit unsure of what to expect, but knowing we’d give our all—as always. ”
Even before arriving, we’d been in communication for the last 6 months with our potential captain; not only was it important to hire a Tico, but to decide on styles of fishing to determine if our hybrid team would even be compatible.
We arrived on Saturday, set with our Captain of the ‘Carolina Gentleman’, and Sunday was to be our familiarization day, for the feel of the boat and style. However, our Captain ended up calling it off because of engine trouble—pushing back a few hours meant waiting for the injectors to be serviced and ready. Ready again on Monday, we didn’t make it very far offshore (staying close enough to run in if we had persistent issues), and in turn, didn’t catch anything for the first half of the day either. For the second half, we ran further out from the marina, but even then, four to five sailfish are considered slow for Quepos.
A Tournament Full of Challenges
Unlike the shotgun Bimini start we’re used to on day one at Grand Caribe’s tournament, the Costa Offshore World Championship (OWC) kicked off instead with a boat parade hoisting country flags; you’ll notice Belize was one of the early registrants, so [the flag] made it onto the shirts and logo designs! With lines in at 7:30 AM, after leaving at 4 AM, we arrived at our usual grounds—and our Captain confirms one engine is blown. We had far less power, but we could technically fish, as long as we were back at 7 pm to qualify.
So on the second day of fishing, we’d raised 27 sailfish but only landed seven. Nonetheless, we learnt a lot—on the fly—to try and pivot for the third and last day of fishing. So we did: practically trolling speed back in, we pulled lines at 3 pm with a new game plan.
One Incredible Day Changes A Tide
Finding a new charter boat, new captain, new crew, we chose to see our ‘setback’ as a fresh start instead. So there we are on the dock, shaking hands with a brand new set of faces at 9 pm, ready to fish together for the first time at 5 am the following morning on board Bolita Too. We were absolutely dialed in with a positive attitude of just having fun with this—in just awe of being here [to compete]. We’d dropped our first lines in at 7:30 am, feeling renewed, and our first sailfish release was minutes later at 7:45 am. After that, it was nonstop with everyone involved in some way: we had a blue marlin come up, hand-fed at 10 feet off the boat, before taking off again.
Our Final Scoreboard
By qualifying at the end of fishing, we’d secured a total of 25 sailfish and blue marlin for day 3 that ultimately secured us top boat for the day and catapulted us from 28th to 6th place on the scoreboard, topping the Billfish category with 5,300 points. We pushed a good margin between us too, ultimately beating top contenders Pura Vida and the 3-peat winners, but we were soaring on adrenaline, and we—a humble crew bonded by our shared love of Belize—could place. Considering these teams compete year-round in tournaments for five- to six-digit prizes, sportfishing isn’t our life’s profession: it’s something we always saw as ‘fun’, a hobby that’s funded by an 8-5, yet here we are!
The biggest [culture] shock was the sheer scale of competition and the intensity of fisheries. Not to mention, it’s not lyre fishing or skirted ballyhoo on J-hooks like we’re used to: we’re pitching bait on circle hooks only, to ‘feed the fish’ as a different style coming from Belize. Practicing and learning that alone was new for us, and Victor Hernandez picked up quickly; he accumulated 3,400 points, which would’ve ranked him in 3rd Place in the Top Angler Category if our points weren’t adjusted to the omni scoring system!
A Proud, Albeit Bittersweet, Finish
Our mechanical issues did end up crippling us for the scoreboard though, since there was a scoring difference between boats registered with omni (sonar) and those without. Sailfish are awarded 140 pts for those with, while boats without are awarded 200 pts for Sailfish. Since switching boats, our points were ultimately lowered—though our margin was significant enough to hold onto our top boat for the Day 3 title, it affected our overall ranking on the scoreboard from 6th to 11th place with 2,545 points. Still, the standings told only part of the story.
The team’s resilience, sportsmanship, and determination had earned the respect of competitors from around the world. This was an amazing experience, no matter how we spun it.
Grand Caribe Deep Sea Classic: Your Exclusive Chance At The World Stage
Outside of our time on the water, it was just amazing to befriend fellow fishers from all over [the world] and feel the camaraderie between us when, really, our only shared language is fishing. Just in case some Brazilians, Italians, or Kiwis show up to Grand Caribe this year, we sang praises about Belize and our community here!
Aside from acknowledging just how much effort goes into a tournament, especially one like Grand Caribe’s as a qualifier to put Belize on the map, it’s an incredible opportunity for whoever may win this year. As Belize’s exclusive qualifying event for the Costa Offshore World Championship, it offers one winning team the opportunity to represent the country against the very best billfishing teams in the world. Now, another team has the opportunity to write the next chapter, and we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.
Now the suspense is: who’ll be representing us this year? As for the upcoming Grand Caribe DeepSea Classic this July 16-19, 2024, Catchin’ A Buzz will be back!
