June 13, 2020; Biloxi, Mississippi:
By Capt. Dave Lear
It’s hard to find enough phrases to describe the intensity of the bite. Scorching. Sizzling. Red hot. On fire. Hotter than a firecracker. Whatever the label, the 2020 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic will go down as some of the best offshore action in recent memory. Blue marlin were absolutely ravenous. So much so that the video judges scoring the releases put on an extra pot of coffee to keep up the pace. And it wasn’t just billfish. As the scales closed, 17 teams had weighed yellowfins that all topped 125 pounds. Perhaps one exchange from Done Deal summed it up best.
Jason Buck, captain of the perennial contender, sent a text in to tournament officials Saturday afternoon to say the team was debating whether to return to Biloxi with their release videos. Done Deal was invested heavily in the catch and release optionals. The boat had racked up four blues and one white marlin, good for 2,650 points. In most events that score would have been a lock for win, place or show. Yet there were multiple teams with even more impressive scores this time around.
Flaming. Searing. Steaming.
Zooming to the finish line was Born2Run, with Dana Foster in the chair and Myles Colley on the fly bridge. The 72 Viking from Pensacola put on an absolute Gulf showcase with 10 blue marlin releases. Reel Fire is second with eight blues to its credit, while Fleur de Lis rounded out the card with seven bills notched in the transom covering boards. High Cotton, Quick Time and Team Supreme all ended with six blue marlin releases apiece.
Scalding. Boiling. Torched.
Two bills did make it to the Point Cadet Marina dock on Saturday. Doulos, a 68 Hatteras from Port Aransas, Texas, hoisted a 463.4-pound blue aloft. Juan Menchaca wound in that fish.
Shortly after, Lolita, another 68 Hatteras, this one from Destin, Florida, backed down and off-loaded another blue. The fourth and final weighed marlin tipped the scales at 508.2 pounds, good for third place. Doug Womac was the angler with Capt. Jeremy Cox at the helm.
In the seesaw battle for yellowfin supremacy, Chris Deroche was the top stick with Charlie weighing 166.2 pounds. Deroche was competing aboard Gray Mako. Bree Andrews (Pullin’ Wire) was ounces behind with her 164.7-pound entry, followed by Nathan Neames on Reel Fire with a chunky 163.6.
In the wahoo division, Sweet Liberty was on a striped streak. Hollis Holleman wound in the biggest prize at 77.4 pounds, while team mate Rachel Wilkinson got in on the fun with her 44.6-pounder. Shay Clemons (Breathe Reel Deep) rounded out the field with a 24.9 entry.
If there was one anomaly to the aquatic brush fire, it was in the dolphin division. Only two fish were weighed, including Shay Clemons again with a 25.4 fish and Tami Hudson (Iona Louise) with a 23.3 neon speedster.
The awards for the 24th annual Classic will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel with more than $1 million dollars in prize money set to be disbursed.
