Grocery Isle Rings Up Big Win in front of Record Crowd of 15,770 1st Place 746.2 pound Blue Marlin wins $405,977 Devotion Wins Catch & Release to Claim Gulf Coast Triple Crown

Sixty-six teams competed for a $1.8M purse at the Blue Marlin Grand Championship in Orange Beach, AL, this past weekend. Over 110 billfish were released during the tournament. The Blue Marlin Grand Championship still holds the American record with 106
Blue Marlin releases, which was set in 2024.

Another tournament record was broken this year at The Wharf in Orange Beach, as 15,770 spectators were in attendance for the Saturday night weigh-in finale, the largest crowd ever to watch The Greatest Show in Sportfishing.

Captain Wilks Hammock on Grocery Isle, an 80′ Weaver out of New Orleans, and angler Donny Rouse, watched four other Blue Marlin be weighed on Saturday night before bringing their 124″ fish to the scale. The huge crowd knew they were looking at the tournament winner even before Weigh Master Craig Martin made it official. Their 746.2 Marlin was more than one hundred pounds heavier than the second-place finisher, and Grocery Isle’s total winnings were $409,977.

Just .2 of a pound separated the second and third place Blue Marlin. Easy Trigger, a 64′ Viking from Panama City, FL, fish weighed 645.8, which just edged out Cole Play, a 58 Viking from Orange Beach, which had previously weighed in a 645.6-pound Blue Marlin, which finished in third-place.

In the Catch and Release Division, Devotion released six Blue Marlin to claim the top spot while also capturing their second Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship (2021).

A Work of Art released five Blue Marlin and a White Marlin, good for second place, while Breathe Easy finished in third place with five Blue Marlin releases.

Nikki Bella set a new tournament record with a 203.2-pound Yellowfin Tuna to win the Tuna category.

Lady D came in second at 175.6, followed by Perseverance in third at 165.

Grocery Isle also caught the tournament’s biggest Dolphin at 25.4 pounds.

Fleur De Lis took the second and third spots with fish weighing 23.8 and 21.8 pounds.

Bella Fortuna won the Wahoo category at 32 pounds, followed by Fleur De Lis at 24.2 as the only two Wahoo of the tournament.