June 10, 2021, Biloxi, Mississippi:
By Capt. Dave Lear
As 101 gleaming sportfishers and center consoles churn deeper into the central Gulf of Mexico, game plans and last-minute adjustments are taking shape. The boats competing in the 25th annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic are looking for hefty game fish, a potential record swordfish and “the blue one,” or a marlin worth a six-figure payout. With $1.815 million up for grabs, the stakes are high in this blue-water game of chance.
“The attraction of this tournament is winning a bunch of money,” laughs Capt. Jason Buck, skipper of A Work of Art, a 92-foot Viking based in Orange Beach. Buck has been fishing the Classic since 2012. “Our game plan is to catch a big blue marlin, the good Lord willing. We may stretch our legs and go way southwest. But it’s a chance if we do that.”
Kyle King and his team aboard Questionable Judgement, a 39 Nor-Tech based on Dauphin Island, is taking a more direct route.
“We going due south, probably where everyone else is heading. I expect there will be 10 boats per rig out there,” King explains. This marks the fifth year the Alabama team has fished in the tournament, with a concentration on tuna and dolphin. Tactics include chunking and live baiting, but King says they always have a secret weapon rigged and ready to throw whenever they spot “the fish.”
“We’re not in the marlin category yet, but we can compete with the rest of them,” he adds. “We always do well and feel very confident. We have fun, but this is serious business for us.” With the open layout of the boat, team members grab quick power naps on bean bags between strikes.
Capt. Joey Birbeck is working the cockpit of C- Student this week and the long-time Gulf veteran will adjust the spread of the 66 Viking according to existing conditions.
“We’re going out there to find a big fat one,” he says. “We’ll see if we can find some current and stay out of the grass. There’s been wave after wave of floating grass out there and the sharks are also really bad, even when catching bait. I may break out the lures so we can fish the rip on the way out. We’re focused on catch and release numbers or killing a big blue.”
With another six-figure payout on the line for the last team to break the Mississippi record swordfish (currently 242 pounds), several teams are concentrating their efforts on that prize. Colton Sanders of Shreveport, Louisiana, and several of his buddies are heading offshore on Networking, a 42 Freeman catamaran powered by quad Mercury 400-hp outboards.
“I just bought the boat and started getting into fishing,” Sanders says. “I’ve got some guys with me who know way more about swordfishing than I do, though. We’re going to drop some squid down day and night. We might tuna fish a bit and if we come across a rip, look for dolphin. But swordfish is our main focus. I hope someone does break that record. All it takes is one.”
The fleet departed the Point Cadet Marina late Thursday morning and could begin fishing immediately. The scales open Friday night and if a potential winner is caught it will likely be brought in, depending on the boat’s distance from port. The majority of the fish will be weighed Saturday night, however. The weigh-ins are open to the public, with the scales located behind the host Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel in Biloxi.
So will all these carefully crafted game plans produce the desired results? Or does a spontaneous strike from nowhere score the winning fish? Before the clock strikes midnight Saturday, those questions—and many more—will be answered.
