For Those Who Put the Steel In

May 19, 2026 Sometimes the hardest part of catching a tournament-winning blue marlin is simply getting a bait in front of one.

Captain BJ Teems aboard the 64’ Viking Set A Course faced exactly that challenge during the Orange Beach Billfish Classic May 12-17, 2026, where thick grass conditions forced the crew to abandon traditional patterns and rely heavily on sonar and pitch-bait opportunities. The strategy ultimately paid off with a 595.8-pound blue marlin that now leads the Gulf Coast Division heaviest marlin category in the 2026 Captain of the Year race.

Sonar Fishing in Heavy Grass Conditions

“It was super grassy,” Teems explained. “You couldn’t really soak baits or pull much behind the boat. We were basically driving around with teasers out, marking fish and dropping baits to them.”

The team had already encountered multiple blue marlin before connecting with the tournament-winning fish. One of their blues was successfully released after becoming wrapped in leader around its bill and gill plate during the fight.

Then came the fish that mattered.

The marlin appeared on sonar and the crew quickly pitched a live bait after spotting the fish. The first bait failed to get a clean bite, but the mates rapidly deployed a second offering while retrieving the first setup.

“She ended up getting that second bait,” said Teems.

A 4.5-Hour Fight on Light Leader

The fish was hooked on an 80W Tiagra setup with approximately 220-pound leader. Teems admitted the leader was lighter than the crew normally fishes for big blue marlin, but the hook placement proved ideal enough to survive the fight.

“The leader was deep in her mouth,” Teems said. “It was pinched right in the corner of her mouth the whole fight and had our mate Cody put much more heat on her with the leader we probably wouldn’t have had the same turnout. Cody must have grabbed the leader over 20x’s on the fish. When we finally got her in, we could tell it wasn’t going to last much longer before leader chafe would have cost us the fish.”

Immediately after hookup, the fish exploded near an offshore rig before fortunately turning up-current rather than sounding deep with the current.

“At one point I backed up on her for two and a half miles about as fast as I could make that 64′ Viking go,” Teems said.

The marlin spent most of the 4.5-hour battle surprisingly close to the surface, rarely going deeper than 100 feet. Multiple jumps early in the fight gave the crew glimpses of the fish’s size, but it was not until late in the battle that everyone aboard fully realized what they were connected to.

“The last hour of the fight we had two sharks circling the boat the entire time,” Teems recalled. “That made things pretty stressful.”

“She Was Going for a Boat Ride”

As the fish neared leader range, the marlin jumped behind the boat once again, giving the crew a good look at her.

“We all looked at each other and said, ‘I don’t think we need to measure that one,’” Teems said. “She was going for a boat ride.”

The emotional win carried additional meaning for Teems and his longtime crew who have spent years competing together across the Gulf tournament circuit. Having his father aboard for the catch made the victory even more memorable.

“My dad got to put steel in her along with my first mate,” said Teems. “That’s something I’ll cherish forever.” “I’d also like to give all the credit to my crew and Mr. Pearson for making it happen. I’ll never forget this fish for the rest of my life!”

The result earned Captain BJ Teems 500 points in the Gulf Coast Division standings and currently places Set A Course atop the 2026 Captain of the Year heaviest marlin category. 

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The CHAMPIONSHIP OF SPORTFISHING.

The InTheBite Captain of the Year Cup is the world’s foremost competition for professional sportfishermen. The world’s only quantifiable metric for comparing the tournament success of captains, winning an InTheBite Captain of the Year Award is a major achievement. The Cup is composed of five divisions that span the sportfishing world: East Coast, Florida, Gulf Coast, Hawaii and International. It is comprised of 90-sanctioned tournaments. The SCORING SYSTEM is: 1^st Place: 500 points, 2^nd Place: 300 points, 3^rd Place: 100 points. Heaviest Marlin: 500 points. Overall Championship: 250 points. 12 Boat Tournament Minimum for points. *Hawaii Division Only: Points will also be given for 2nd Place Heaviest Marlin (300 points) and 3rd Place Heaviest Marlin (100 points)

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