Biloxi, Mississippi; June 13, 2022: By Capt. Dave Lear Owner/angler Nick Pratt, Capt. Chris Hood and the It Just Takes Time team swept the blue marlin divisions by weighing the only qualifier during the 2022 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic, The 763.6-pound blue gave the team an unprecedented win for the third year in a [...]
March 26, 2013; Biloxi, Mississippi: By Capt. Dave Lear In sports, each new season begins with a clean slate. Rankings, win-loss records and overall accomplishments are only determined once competition has ended. The same holds true for a world-class sport-fishing contest like the MGCBC. Before a single boat leaves the dock, every team has an [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear February 27, 2013; Biloxi, Mississippi: The weigh scales at the Classic are always a flurry of activity. Tournament staffers direct boat traffic, unload the fish, hoist them aloft and record the weights under the watchful eyes of the crowd looking on. But at the other end of the seawall, out of [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear January 24, 2013; Biloxi, Mississippi: The Isle Casino Biloxi will soon be a sport fishing footnote. The long-time headquarters for the MGCBC will instead be rebranded as The Golden Nugget Biloxi following its recent sale. Tilman J. Fertitta, Chairman, sole owner and CEO of Landry’s Inc., parent company of the Golden [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 10, 2012, Biloxi, Mississippi: Another Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic is in the books and this year’s edition again proved why this tournament is one of the top contests on the big-game fishing circuit. Twenty-three boats among the 60-boat field claimed a share of the $1.1 million in total prize [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 10, 2012, Biloxi, Mississippi: The 60 boats competing in the 2012 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic slogged their way back to the Point Cadet Marina Saturday night as stormy weather continued to pummel many parts of the South. Fortunately the rain held off at the scales just long enough for [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 9, 2012, Biloxi, Mississippi: Even intermittent rain and cloudy skies couldn’t dampen the spirits of two teams Friday, as the second day of fishing in the Classic drew to a close. Done Deal, a 56 Viking based in Houma, Louisiana, waited until late to back up to the scales. Once [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 8, 2012, Biloxi, Mississippi: With hundreds of square miles of water and big numbers of billfish reported leading up to this year’s Classic, choosing exactly where to fish entails careful study and local knowledge. A little help from Lady Luck doesn’t hurt, either. “We’ve been looking at the satellite imagery [...]
Tournament Control has received word that High C's has boated a 101-inch blue marlin and is headed to the scales. The estimated time of arrival is 4 p.m. There has been reports of several other billfish caught and released as well. Sherry Polk, fishing aboard Share-E, released a blue marlin yesterday, as did Bushwhacker. Jason [...]
By Capt. Dave Lear June 7, 2012, Biloxi, Mississippi: And so it begins. As the fleet of 60 boats motors into the Gulf of Mexico in search of blue marlin and game fish worth potentially thousands of dollars, the true impact of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic ripples like the receding wakes left behind. [...]
