CAPT. BRENT GASKILL
Builder’s Choice / 1,350 pts.

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Bermuda Billfish Blast

3rd Place – 100 pts.

Bermuda Big Game Classic

1st Place Heaviest Marlin – 500 pts.

Sea Horse Billfish Tournament

1st Place – 500 pts.

Bermuda Triple Crown Series

Champion – 250 pts.

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Trusting the Call When It Counts

In tournament fishing, bold choices often separate a good season from a great one, and in Bermuda, they can make or break it. For Captain Brent Gaskill on the 64-foot Jarrett Bay Builder’s Choice, those decisions defined 2025. From a 48-mile gamble on the final day of the Bermuda Billfish Blast to a tense final hour of the Sea Horse Billfish Tournament, he guided his team through three high-stakes events to secure the program’s second Bermuda Triple Crown title and his first Captain of the Year honor. “I just try to trust my instincts, trust my crew, and not worry about the leader board until lines-out,” he says.

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A Different Path to the Helm

Gaskill, a Harker’s Island, North Carolina native, didn’t follow the typical mate-to-captain path. As a kid, he rode along with his father as he commercial fished and spent countless hours at Jarrett Bay Boatworks, where his mother worked for founder Randy Ramsey. Delivery work, commercial fishing, and early captain’s jobs, including running the 53-foot Gary Davis Floar Plan, shaped his foundation. “I pretty much grew up in the boatyard,” he says. “I knew the people and the boats, and I always tried to do things the right way.”

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Builder’s Choice and the Breakthrough

In 2016, Harris Huddle asked Gaskill to deliver his new 64-foot Jarrett Bay, Builder’s Choice, to Florida. The Huddle family had a long history with Jarrett Bay and had known Gaskill’s mother well, a connection that helped open the door. After the delivery, Gaskill was invited to run the boat for a tournament, then take it to the Dominican Republic. A series of early successes followed, including winning the 2018 Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament with a 911.1-pound blue marlin. From there, he became the full-time captain.

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The 48-Mile Gamble

The 2025 Bermuda season began with the Billfish Blast, where the bite was slow at first. Late on the final day, a friend reported fish 48 miles away on the Argus Bank. “Harris has never questioned anything I do,” Gaskill says. “So, like usual, it came down to paper–rock–scissors over the headsets. The answer: run.” They pushed offshore, raised four, and caught two—good for third place and a crucial daily, restoring confidence after sluggish fishing.

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Heaviest Blue When It Mattered

In the Bermuda Big Game Classic, emotions swung fast. On Day One they raised a fish and missed it, only to watch another boat drop behind them and kill a 500- to 600-pounder. “I swear that was our fish,” Gaskill says. Builder’s Choice mate Eli Blake, “who doesn’t miss,” took it hard. But they’d been here before. “We reminded ourselves it could still turn,” Gaskill said. “We’d lost a giant at Big Rock once and killed one the next day for $1.8 million.” On day two, a blue marlin crashed the short rigger, Blake pitched clean, and the fish cooperated. “First time it jumped, we all said, ‘Get the gaff.’ It rolled up perfect, and we slipped it in the door.” It held as the tournament’s heaviest blue, delivering valuable points toward the Triple Crown title.

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Closing It Out at Sea Horse

Everything hinged on the Sea Horse Billfish Tournament, the oldest in Bermuda. Builder’s Choice held a narrow lead for the Crown, but four other competitors were close. “My formula is simple,” Gaskill says. “To win the Triple Crown, we try to average one blue marlin a day in the first tournaments, and two a day in the last one.” They nearly did just that. Day one brought three blues. Day two added two more. On day three, they needed an early fish and got it, before missing three that ratcheted up the pressure. Boats around them were hooking up, and one fellow captain texted, I’m trying to catch you. “But I never look at the standings,” Gaskill says. “Not once.”

When lines-out finally hit, the Builder’s Choice team went quiet. Only then did Gaskill check the leader board. “I pulled it up and said, ‘Oh my gosh—we won it,’ ” he said. “‘We won the tournament, and we won the Triple Crown!’ I lost more hair that day than ever before.” They took the Sea Horse for the second straight year on time and the Triple Crown outright over one of their rivals.

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The Team and What’s Next

The Builder’s Choice team includes Huddle, often his wife Meredith, regular mates Blake and David Herbst, and Nathan Newlin for Bermuda. “We’re a small crew,” Gaskill says. “We fish simpler than most people. But it works because we trust each other.”

For 2026, the game plan doesn’t change: Skip Smith’s events, Big Rock, and another push for the Bermuda season. With new engines and renewed confidence, Builder’s Choice will be back on the hunt. And when it comes to making a tough call, Gaskill will keep it simple. “Sometimes you just run the 48 miles,” he says. “That’s how you win.”

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2025 International Division Captain of the Year Results

Divisions: East Coast / Florida / Gulf Coast / International / Hawaii 

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