Tournament Talk – September/October 2026

By Karen Wall

2 TEAMS GAIN RING AT JIMMY JOHNSON’S ATLANTIC CITY

Two teams qualified for the Jimmy Johnson Quest for the Ring Atlantic City’s Ring of Honor after a neck-and-neck finish at the Atlantic City event in July.

The team of Five Against One II, which took home the highest payout of the week, and the team on Beast recorded the highest points of the week both were named for the honor.

“Two teams have qualified for JJFISHWEEK Atlantic City’s Ring of Honor this year as they both equally fought for the top ranking recognition and the honor was too close,” tournament officials said.

The sixth annual tournament had 42 teams competing with a total purse of more than $681,000.

Five Against One II took home $191,714.25 on the strength of a 119.3-pound bigeye tuna caught by TJ Dewitt, who also caught a 57.1-pound yellowfin. The 47-foot Valhalla, based in Naples, Florida and owned by Brian Radwell, is captained by Tim Merighi. Also part of the team, in addition to Dewitt, were anglers Daniel Love, Kevin Love, James Towson, Jeffrey Love, and Tyler Love.

The team on Beast, an 80-foot Merritt out of Palm Beach, Florida, and owned by John Belansen II with John Belansen III at the helm, recorded 938 points. The team weighed a beautiful 338-pound blue marlin and had six releases for the week, with three blue marlin and three white marlin. The team, which included anglers Tommy Belansen, Bob Belansen II, Chris Deegler, Michael Lawrence, Donald Sowers, Rachel Waters, Julia Belansen, Bob Belansen Jr, Codey Getz, Jim Heinold, Jesse Shea, Kenny Watersand Austin Gianos, won  $117,624 for having the heaviest blue marlin.

The team on His Plan a 63 Revenge out of Singer Island, Florida, won $69,583 for a 50.8-pound white marlin, the heaviest weighed in the tournament.

His Plan is by James McKeKeever and captained by Omar Qadir, and had anglers Joe Hardesty, Win McKeever, Chet Mitchell, Ish Qadir, Chase Smith and Luke Mitchell, who caught the white marlin.

The team on Craftsmanship, a 58 Viking owned by Keith Boyd and captained by Hook Leconey, won  $62,606.25 and notched 565.60 points for its 86.4-pound yellowfin and 22-pound dolphin. The boat, also had anglers Keira Boyd, Justin Brown, Terry Ives, Ed Katzianer, Christopher Scully, Tommy Derose, Brett Katzianer, and Paul Sudell.

Taking home $57,800 for weighing in their 24.2-pound dolphin was the team on Got Game, a 46 Viking out of Cape May. The boat is owned by Thomas O’Donnell and captained by Keith Bowen. The anglers were Robert Bascome, Guy Fardone, Sean Patrick O’Donnell, Doug Ortlip, Milton Ramirez, Madison O’Donnell, Ryan Platzer, and Dave Scott.

In addition to the payouts, there was a pending IGFA world record yellowfin tuna caught during the tournament, tournament officials said. Landon Krawiec, a 13-year-old angler on the Island Girl, caught a 62.4-pound yellowfin on 50-pound test line. He also was named the 2026 Junior Angler award recipient.

PINWHEEL WINS CASCO CUP, BLUEFIN BONANZA

The team on Pinwheel, led by Capt. Tyler McLaughlin, captured the Casco Cup and first place in the 2026 Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza with an 887.5-pound bluefin tuna at the tournament in South Portland, Maine, the second leg of the Gulf of Maine Grand Slam.

“This year’s event was tremendously successful,” said Bob Humphrey, president and tournament director of the Bluefin Bonanza. “The weather was fairly cooperative and there were a lot more fish around than last year.”

Anglers among the 60 registered boats landed 32 fish over the four fishing days.

Second place went to Bailey & Bella and Capt. Keith Jordan at 850 pounds, followed in third place by Capt. Rusty Parmenter of the Patricia Ann at 770 pounds. Rounding out the field were Capt. Eric Knight and Ivy Jean in fourth at 759.5 pounds and Capt. Joey Pinkham of the Constant Chaos in fifth at 701.5 pounds.

The Bluefin Bonanza awards scholarships to students enrolled in trades and marine science programs at each of Maine’s seven community colleges. They also provide internships for students working at the Pelagic Fisheries Lab and support ongoing bluefin tuna research. “We have an incredible collaboration with the Lab,” Humphrey said. “The information collected from fish landed by our participants is invaluable in advancing the science and ensuring our fishery remains strong and sustainable.”  
The Gulf of Maine Grand Slam includes the Bailey Island Fishing Tournament and the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge in September, in addition to the Bluefin Bonanza.

“Bluefin tuna tournaments have a long history in Maine, starting with the Bailey Island in 1938, and we’re all working to keep that tradition strong,” he said.

MISTER PETE WINS $3.5 MILLION AT WHITE MARLIN OPEN

Mister Pete brought an 80-pound white marlin to the scales and held on through the last day of fishing to capture the top prize at the 53^rd White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland.

The tournament drew 334 boats competing for nearly $10 million in prize money.

Mister Pete, which ports in Charleston, South Carolina, weighed its winning fish caught by Bill Sharpe when the scales opened on Thursday. It claimed $3,503,891.54 in prize money for the winning fish.

Bull Pen, also out of Charleston, South Carolina, finished third in the white marlin division with a 70-pound fish caught by James Hood of Charleston. Although the fish finished third by weight, the boat’s Added Entry selections helped drive its total winnings to $1,818,546.84.

Reel Hunter of St. Michaels, Maryland, claimed second place with a 71.5-pound white marlin caught Friday by Kevin Howell of Queenstown, Maryland. The fish earned $360,721.49.

In the blue marlin division, MaxBet of Vero Beach, Florida, weighed the only qualifying blue marlin — a 607.5-pound fish measuring 116 inches, caught by Kelly Weber of Vero Beach. The catch earned $1,271,797.04.

The Gray Fox of Mantoloking, New Jersey, won two divisions, taking first in the tuna category with a 179-pound bigeye caught by John Wardlaw of Brielle, New Jersey, earning $1,018,653.29. Wardlaw added the wahoo title with a 69.5-pound fish that earned $72,380.50.

In the dolphin division, Today’s The Day of La Plata, Maryland, took the top prize a 45-pound dolphin caught by Ryan Jones of Welcome, Maryland, earning $22,602.20.

TWIN REELS TAKES CAPE COD BLUEWATER CLASSIC

The team on Twin Reels caught two blue marlin and scored 897 points to capture the championship at the Cape Cod Bluewater Classic, run by Castafari in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

The 13^th edition of the tournament, originally known as the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic, drew 56 boats that competed for more than $600,000 in prize money. The event had a new wrinkle for 2026: the teams could pick a 42-hour fishing window anywhere over the six-day tournament. There were eight blue marlin and 16 white marlin released during the event.

Twin Reels, a 64 Viking out of Palm Beach, Florida, also released a white marlin and weighed three yellowfin. The team won $73,336 for its efforts.

Second place went to the team on Ghost Rider, a 58 Viking out of Edgartown, Massachusetts, which recorded 649 points and the heaviest tuna on a big boat with a 211-pound bigeye. They released a white marlin and weighed three yellowfin. Ghost Rider was the top money winner, taking home $100,512.

Third was Riptide, a 74 Viking out of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The team earned 514 points and released a blue marlin while weighing three yellowfin tuna and a dolphin. It took hom $41,880.

The team on Sandrita took home the Bluefin Tuna Only division with a 687-pound giant bluefin, the heaviest fish weighed in the tournament. That fish won $12,640 in prize money.

A WORK OF ART WINS 3^RD TITLE AT BLUE MARLIN CHAMPIONSHIP

The team on A Work of Art became the first three-time winner in the history of the Blue Marlin Championship in Orange Beach, Alabama, taking top honors with a 641.2-pound blue marlin.

The winning fish was caught by Brandon Farve, who was fishing the tournament for the first time with his father, Scott, and grandfather, Art, on Art’s boat, with Capt. Jason Buck at the helm.

The team also finished in second place in the catch-and-release division, releasing seven blue marlin to go along with the winning fish.

There were 66 total blue marlin caught in the tournament, which had 75 teams competing for the event’s largest prize money total of $2,115,343, a record for a Gulf-based tournament.

A Work of Art also won the tournament in 2012 and 2023. This year’s victory garnered them $785,556, along with the team’s second Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship in three years. It is Buck’s fifth Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship as a captain.

Four blue marlin total were weighed in the tournament. C’Mon Man, also from Orange Beach, finished in second place with a 509-pound fish that won $383,436. Gunnslinger, from Destin, Florida, finished third place, weighing a 447.6-pound blue marlin.

in total there were 66 blue marlin, 35 white marlin, and 17 sailfish caught in the tournament.

In the Catch and Release Division, Capt. Myles Colley and It Just Takes Time, from Orange Beach, released five blue marlin, six sailfish, and one white marlin to claim the top spot and $264,735, and the top Junior Angler award for George Pratt. The Brittney Marie from Destin finished in third place with five blue marlin releases.

Rising Sons won the Tuna division with a 124-pound yellowfin tuna. Lady D came in second for the second straight year with a 105-pound tuna, followed by Presley Jane II in third at 94.

Annie Cooper caught the tournament’s biggest Dolphin on CE at 31.2 pounds. Miss Remy took second at 27.8 pounds, and Relentless Pursuit was third at 24.4 pounds.

Easy Trigger won the Wahoo category at 41.8 pounds, followed by Now or Never at 37.8 pounds, and Miss Remy was third at 36.8 pounds.