By Capt. Dave Lear June 8, 2019; Biloxi, Mississippi: Two boats christened the weigh scales at the 2019 MGCBC, yet both were bill-less. Doctors Orders and Gunnslinger weighed a hefty yellowfin tuna and a pair of wahoo, respectively, Saturday evening as on-lookers cheered them on. Those early entries represented two-thirds of the eligible game fish [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 8, 2019; Biloxi, Mississippi: Even the best planned tournaments can be derailed by unexpected weather. That’s the case for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic this weekend. Originally 115 boats pre-registered to fish this popular stop on the Gulf circuit. But the lingering low pressure system and severe weather caused [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 7, 2019; Biloxi, Mississippi: For the casual fan watching the weigh-ins this weekend at the 2019 MGCBC, the tournament is all about big boats, big fish and winning big money. And those are certainly realistic aspects of the sport. But dig a little deeper and it’s easy to see how [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 5, 2019; Biloxi, Mississippi: Mother Nature doesn’t pull any punches. So after a spring that has seen countless tornados, record floods and scorching temperatures across much of the country, a sucker punch is not really a surprise. But it sure is low blow, regardless. With early commitments topping out at [...]
Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic Raises the Blue Marlin Minimum Length to 110 Inches to Help Conserve Stocks September 10, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi: In a proactive move to help conserve marlin populations and enhance the sport, the tournament committee for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic today announced it is raising the minimum length to [...]
After a pursuit lasting more than a decade, Team Reel Addiction finally topped the field of 117 boats to win the 2018 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. Angler Chase Pate of Pensacola, Florida, Capt. Scooter Porto, owners Rocky and Laurie Jones, and mates Zach Taylor, Seth Brennan and Nate Dennis boated a 796.9-pound blue marlin [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 9, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi: It was the shortest fight among the four blue marlin weighed in this year’s Classic. But angler Chase Pate of Pensacola, Florida, Capt. Scooter Porto and the team on Reel Addiction made sure it was the sweetest. Pate took about 30 minutes to coax the wild [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 8, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi: The 22nd annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic got started with a bang as Team Supreme christened the scales with a 739.1-pound blue marlin not long after they opened at 3 p.m. Angler Alex Krake cranked on the fish for 11 hours after it died. Krake [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 7, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi: One by one they slowly churned past the tournament control boat to be checked off the list. Nearly 120 big center consoles, catamarans and sport-fishing convertibles, most with filled fuel bladders lashed to the deck or cockpit, departed the Point Cadet Marina at 11 a.m. Thursday [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 6, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi: One person could not do it alone. To put on a big-game tournament the caliber and magnitude of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic requires a sizable and dedicated staff. Each member works on different tasks but the combined effort is necessary to complete the countless [...]
