Biloxi, Mississippi; June 11, 2022:
By Capt. Dave Lear
In the 26-year history of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic, no team has ever won back to back top boat honors. Until It Just Takes Time did it in 2020 and again in 2021. And when the trophies and checks are passed out at Sunday’s awards breakfast, It Just Takes Time will be the last team standing on the stage—again! After weighing the only qualifying marlin on Saturday evening—a 763.6-pound blue—owner/angler Nick Pratt, Capt. Chris Hood and the crew aboard the 72 Viking based in Orange Beach will be the Classic champions for an unprecedented three years in a row. That is likely a Gulf of Mexico tournament record as well.
Pratt & the team hooked the marlin about 9 am Saturday morning on a live bait west of the river. The tackle used was an 80 Wide Shimano with 300-pound leader and a 19/0 circle hook. Pratt had the hefty blue to the boat in 1.5 hours and once it was secured, Hood plotted a straight course back to Biloxi.
“The weather where we were was awesome,” Pratt says. “It was picture perfect and good all weekend with bait everywhere. There was plenty going on.”
“Nick is a jam-up angler who never wavers,” added It Just Takes Time mate Donnie Shear of Pensacola. “He’s just very smooth and always keeps his cool. As soon as we put that fish in the boat we headed for the hill.” It Just Takes Time also released two smaller blues and one white marlin for the tournament. The winning fish measured 123.5 inches lower jaw fork length.
Big tuna dominated the Saturday night leaderboard. Drew Phillips of Orange Beach, competing on Second Wind, brought the largest yellowfin tuna to the scales after when he wound in a 206.9-pound stud. The fight lasted 45 minutes.
“This is my biggest yellowfin yet,” Phillips says. “I caught it on a live bait on a Tiagra 130. It was a struggle for a minute or two. That was a tough fish.”
Jackson Stewart on El Jefe weighed the second biggest yellowfin, a normal winner most years. It tipped the digital scale at 186.4 pounds. Jeff Tolbert on NoName boated the third-place Charlie at 159.8 pounds.
Iona Louise was the first boat to weigh on Saturday and its 52.5 wahoo held on to win that division. Christopher Nola was the angler on that fish. Ten-year-old Tate Nancy on Miss Ma’am scored the second-place wahoo at 51.2 pounds. Nancy also released a blue and white marlin.
“It was rough the second day and today,” the diminutive sportsman said. “But I’m tough and a professional.”
Justin Guidry on Reel Wicked weighed the third-largest wahoo at 38.5 pounds.
Texan Cyler Pape (Quantified) weighed late but his 37-pound dolphin was the biggest for the week. Timothy O’Brien on Panhandler weighed a 36.1-pound mahi, while Chris King was third (Sunrise) with a 32.8-pound fish.
The video judges were still verifying footage, but the unofficial leaders in the release division were Ramble On with 2,400 points, followed by Necessity and Sunrise with 1,800 apiece.
A fleet of 73 boats competed in this year’s Classic. Those fishing south and east of the Mississippi River experienced seas pushing 10 feet and winds clocked up to 58 miles per hour during the peak of the offshore storms. In contrast, boats west of the river reported beautiful conditions and calm seas.
Cash prizes for this year’s event are nearly $1.4 million. Those rewards will be distributed Sunday morning, with It Just Takes Time taking the bulk of the winnings—again!
