Record Payout for 2025 Orange Beach Billfish Classic
CE wins $453,300 for 640.2 pound Blue Marlin
Lifeline Top Catch & Release Team with 4 Blue Marlin and 1 White Marlin
Summary
Fifty-two boats entered this year’s Orange Beach Billfish Classic, which resulted in the largest total purse, $1,286,900, in the tournament’s twenty-nine year history. Tournament prize money is split between the heaviest Blue Marlin and total Catch and Release points, plus optional cash award categories for Blue Marlin, Catch, and Release, along with Tuna, Dolphin, and Wahoo.
Teams departed Perdido Pass in Orange Beach, AL, on Thursday, May 15th at 11:00 am to choppy seas, limiting the fishing time on day one of the tournament. Three Blue Marlin and a Sailfish were released on the first day of fishing. Day two brought better sea conditions, and the bite was much improved. At 10:20 Friday morning, Captain George Crenshaw, angler Scott Cooper, and crew on CE, 80′ Viking from Point Clear, AL, boated a 116.5 inch Blue Marlin, the only fish boated through two days of fishing.
The final day of fishing brought plenty more releases, and it looked like CE would be the only team weighing a Blue Marlin until just before 1:00 pm. With not much fishing time remaining, Never Settle, a 74′ Viking from Destin, FL, with Captain Stan Blackman at the helm and angler Jim Murdica on the rod, landed a 113″ Blue Marlin.
CE would be the first Blue Marlin to the scales in front of a large and excited crowd at The Wharf, posting what would be the tournament-winning weight of 640.2 pounds. “We knew there was big fish there,” said Captain Crenshaw. “We were hunting around, and before we even got a live bait out it crashed the left long rigger. Scott was great as usual in the chair, and our mates were at their best when it counted most, and we had the fish in the boat in just twenty-eight minutes from the time we hooked up until we slid it in the cockpit.
While the crowd waited for Never Settle to back down, they were entertained with several big tunas, including the tournament-winning 204.2 pound Yellowfin caught by Bill Butler on Crawgator, a 61′ Viking from Venice. Another Venice boat, Miss Remy, a 65′ Viking, came in second with a 145.8-pound Tuna, just ahead of the 55′ Viking from Destin, Diane Kay, and their 141.0-pound Tuna.
Relentless Pursuit, the 95′ Jim Smith from New Orleans, weighed the tournament’s only Wahoo at 24.2 pounds to capture that division, while Fleur de Lis, a 62′ Hatteras from Grand Isle, LA, caught the tournament’s only Dolphin at 24.0 pounds for first place.
After all the gamefish had been weighed, Never Settle had their Blue Marlin hoisted to the tower, and the 468.4-pound fish would secure a second-place tournament finish and second in total winnings of $230,200.
Lifeline, a 60’ Hatteras from Panama City Beach, FL was the top Catch and Release boat with Captain Blake Bridges and crew releasing four Blue Marlin and a White Marlin. Fall Line, a 61′ Jim Smith from Mob City, Magic City came in second with their four Blue Marlin releases. Defending OBBC Catch and Release Champion Team Supreme, a 72’ Viking from Destin finished in third-place with three Blue Marlin releases. A total of fifty-four billfish were released during the tournament. Forty-four Blue Marlin, seven White Marlin, and three Sailfish.
CE, not only captured the tournament championship but also established a new OBBC record with their total payout of $453,300. Lifeline’s winnings for being the top Catch and Release boat totaled $157,700, placing them third overall on the tournament money list.
The Top Lady Angler of the tournament was Sherry Polk, on the Share-E, a 72′ Viking from Venice, and the Top Junior Angler was awarded for the second year in a row to Jonah Smith on Fall Line.
The Orange Beach Billfish Classic continues to be the world’s largest tournament donor to The Billfish Foundation and will return to The Wharf in Orange Beach in May 2026 for its 30th year of competition.