Sometimes you need those bad days, because it helps you truly appreciate the good ones. Last year’s tournament season will go down for most of us as one to forget. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic was cursed with high winds and rough seas that made most participants drop out. Those that did battle it out got their butts kicked, all for bragging rights and hardly any money. Congratulations to long time OBBC participant Relentless Pursuit for battling out the elements to win top honors in the release division. This win, along with their first place finish at the Orange Beach Billfish Classic, would ultimately result in their second Triple Crown win. They are one of 2 boats to have won the top honor multiple times.
The 2019 Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic featured nice weather, but the blue water was 140 miles away. The teams had to spend all of their Thursday afternoon and night traveling to a desirable location to fish on Friday. Most boats were forced to quit fishing by 8 am on Saturday to make it back on time. Congratulations to It Just Takes Time on their 574 pounder that would be the only fish brought to the dock.
The Blue Marlin Grand Championship was canceled due to bad weather. Two Triple Crown tournaments where blessed with nice weather and favorable fishing conditions, the Orange Beach Billfish Classic and the Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic. Between these two tournaments, 5 out of the 6 blue marlin brought to the scales for the entire Triple Crown series were caught. Cajun Canyons saw two nice fish hit the scales, a 602 pound fish caught by Fleur de Lis and a 535 pound fish caught by Done Deal. Perennial OBBC participant You Never Know! took first place in the release division with 4 releases.
Out of all the tournaments last year, the Orange Beach Billfish Classic boasted the most exciting weigh-in, featuring 3 blue marlin and 2 big bluefin tunas. There were 36 blue marlin releases, and 2 white marlin releases. All of this was accomplished by a field of 48 boats competing for over a million dollars! We would like to extend a big congratulations to the Relentless Pursuit for their 1st place blue marlin of 658 pounds. We would also like to congratulate the Mollie on their first place finish in the release division with 3 releases. We love to see our long-time and loyal participants do well!
We at the Orange Beach Billfish Classic were fortunate to have a good tournament last year. This year will have a different look and feel to it, as COVID-19 is reshaping the landscape of life on the coast as we know it. Last year was frustrating for many, but we have to remember that there would be no good days without the bad ones! From all of us here at the Orange Beach Billfish Classic, we hope that you all are blessed with a great 2020. Cheers to health, big fish and calm seas!