The Blue Marlin Grand Championship debuted at The Wharf in Orange Beach in July of 2012. A Work of Art won the inaugural tournament that year as Kevin Courville was the angler on the winning fish, which weighed 665.4 pounds. Fast forward eleven years to the exact day, and Courville found himself in the chair again on a potential historic fish at what its participants call “‘The Greatest Show in Sportfishing.”
Fifty-Seven teams entered this year’s tournament, which featured nearly $1.6M in tournament prize money. Boats departed Perdido Pass at noon on Thursday, July 13th, and fishing was on fire as soon as teams could put lines in the water. Three teams boated Blue Marlin above the tournament minimum of 110″ in the first half day of fishing, and all three headed back to The Wharf for a Friday morning weigh-in.
Metal Masher, a 72′ Viking from Orange Beach, Alabama, was the first to weigh their 114″ fish. Capt. Destin’ Chili’ Williams and angler Teddy Tinney’s fish was 490.4 pounds and momentarily atop the leaderboard. The next fish was from Bird Dog, a 65′ Ritchie Howell from Destin, Florida, measuring 117”. Capt. BJ Teems and crew became the new tournament leaders as angler Parker Cotton’s Blue Marlin was 582.6 pounds. A lead they would hold until the last Blue Marlin of the tournament was weighed the following evening. The last fish of the busy Friday morning was from Intense, a 44 Contender from Mobile, Alabama. Captain and angler Neal Foster brought a 114.5-inch fish to scales that moved them into second place at 503.2 pounds.
Saturday night’s final weigh-ins saw Mae, a 65′ Blackwell from Panama City, Florida, captained by Jacob Reaves, move into second place as angler Drew Marshall’s 120″ Blue Marlin checked in at 512.6 pounds.
The last Blue Marlin to come to the scales would be the 120.5″ fish from A Work of Art, a 92′ Viking from Orange Beach. Owner Art Farve, along with Capt. Jason Buck, celebrated capturing the Gulf Coast Triple Crown the previous year at the Saturday night weigh-ins, and once again, there would be a cause for celebration. As the weight of 597.4 pounds was announced to the huge crowd, A Work of Art once again made history at the Blue Marlin Grand Championship, becoming the first-ever team to win the tournament for a second time.
“So much has changed here at The Wharf in the last eleven years since we first won this tournament,” said Farve. “But what hasn’t changed is the spirit of competition at this event. There are so many great captains are crews that you have to compete against to win here, and we feel very fortunate to be back here at Marlin Circle celebrating tonight.”
Team Supreme, a 72′ Viking from Destin, was the top Catch and Release boat with six Blue Marlin releases, which also clinched for Captain Chase Lake and owner Allen Krake the 2023 Gulf Coast Triple Crown. Angler Alex Krake released five Blue Marlins and caught a 113″ boated Blue Marlin for a total of six Blue Marlin in nine hours of fishing on the Friday of the tournament adding another release on Saturday.
Grocery Isle, an 80′ Weaver from Thibodeaux, Louisiana, finished second in Catch and Release with five Blue Marlin and one Sailfish release, while Quick Time, a 70′ Viking from Ono Island, Alabama, finished third releasing four Blue Marlin and one White Marlin.
Intense took home top Tuna honors with a 163.2-pound Yellowfin Tuna, followed by Jubilee, a 68′ Hatteras from Palm Beach, Florida, at 138.2 pounds, and Relentless, a 37′ Freeman from Daphne, Alabama, was third at 128.2 pounds.
In the Dolphin category, Jubilee was first at 29.8 pounds. Raise ‘Em Up, a 56′ Sunny Briggs from Sandestin, Florida, finished in second place at 23.8 pounds, followed in third by Perseverance, a 54′ Hatteras from Biloxi, Mississippi, at 22 pounds.
Raise ‘Em Up also claimed the top Wahoo spot at 42.4 pounds, followed by the 76′ Viking Reel Fire from Biloxi, Mississippi, at 32.4 pounds, while Perseverance added another third-place finish at 24.4 pounds.
A total of forty-two caught Blue Marlin were reported by tournament teams, along with two White Marlin and one Sailfish.
The Blue Marlin Grand Championship, The Greatest Show in Sportfishing, returns to The Wharf in Orange Beach July 10-14, 2024.
