June 9, 2022; Biloxi, Mississippi:
By Capt. Dave Lear
The 73 boats competing in the 2022 MGCBC have already punched through the showers peppering the coastline. The race is on deep into the Gulf of Mexico on a quest for fame and fortune. Each team is vying for the apex predator in the marine food chain—Makaira nigricans—or a blue marlin weighing 600 pounds or more. If they catch one, it will win the lion’s share of nearly $1.4 million in prize money.
Collectively, there are thousands of hours of experience aboard these boats. Big game fishing is a demanding and specialized sport and to be in the game requires skill, knowledge and intuition. Those traits can’t be bought at a tackle store. Most have been passed down from one mentor to the next. A sampling of this year’s field reveals the scope of the teacher/pupil relationship.
“My dad taught me fishing in general, through tournaments and travel,” says Capt. Sid Little of Destin, a mate this week aboard Contraption. “He built a boat and took us a lot when we were kids. Whenever I took a sick day at school, I’d be out fishing.”
Ben Heilker, owner of Mechanical Man, a 68 Weaver based in Port O’Connor, Texas, says curiosity about what was over the horizon is how he got started in the sport. But he’s passing on his love to groups of local kids a couple trips each summer.
“I take about 24 kids and their parents out snapper fishing,” Heilker explains. “I’m hoping future fishermen get hatched from that. I act as safety officer, making sure everyone has a good time and no one gets hurt.”
AJ Santos is one of the next generation of offshore enthusiasts. This marks his first MGCBC experience in the cockpit of Briar Patch, a 68 Viking from Destin. Santos said family and friends introduced him to blue-water pursuits, although he’s been fishing his whole life of 23 years.
A grandfather got Damon Chouest started when he was eight years old and he’s spent four decades on the water since. The owner of Mon Chari would run offshore from Grand Isle on family trips.
“We fished on his boat C’est La Vie and had great times. I got my roots there and still love it,”
Chouest says.
Capt. Stan Blackman is fishing aboard Never Settle this week, but the former “pier rat” credits two fellow skippers for his tutelage—John Holley and Joey Birbeck.
“John got me started early on. I was walking the dock by his charter boat one day in Destin and he offered me a job as a mate. John is a library of knowledge and he taught me to think like a fish. The eight years I spent with Joey were refining moments in my career. He helped polish my skills in the private boat industry and taught me other techniques like dredge fishing and live baiting. He showed me the world!”
MGCBC Tournament Director Bobby Carter and 26-year veteran Daryl McCall both credit one man for their tournament education—Bill McLellan. McLellan was co-founder of the event with Carter and also launched Marlin magazine. He was a legend in the sport.
“Bill and I worked together at Astro Lincoln in Pensacola,” McCall says. “Bill put together a monkey boat tournament and asked if I would help. Afterwards he, I and Marie (Bill’s niece), would put on little tournaments at any marina that would have us.”
“The late Sonny Middleton was a good sounding board for me, but Bill was my original tournament partner,” Carter explains. “He was probably the nicest, most down-to-earth guy I’ve ever met and his knowledge about the fishing and tourism industries was incredible. Without his insight, the Classic wouldn’t be here. He helped put Biloxi on the sport-fishing map. That’s because fishermen love to gamble and gamblers love to fish. So it was a perfect fit.”
