Orange Beach Billfish Classic weigh-ins May 15 & 16

Orange Beach Billfish Classic weigh-ins May 15 & 16

Weigh-ins for the 30th Annual Orange Beach Billfish Classic, the first tournament of the Gulf Coast Triple Crown Series, will be held Friday, May 15 from 7-8 a.m. and 7 – 10 p.m. and Saturday, May 16 from 6 -10 p.m. under the marlin on Main Street at The Wharf in Orange Beach. OBBC is also the first billfish tournament of the Eastern Gulf tournament circuit.
A family-run tournament that emphasizes team participation, The Billfish Classic is the only tournament on the Gulf Coast owned and operated by tournament fishermen. ORBIC divisions also include tuna, wahoo and dolphin, but it is primarily a blue marlin tournament. Fishing commences on May 14 at 10:30 a.m., and a flotilla of boats will proceed from the Wharf to Perdido Pass at 8:30 a.m.
The two-day event will be full of big boats, big fish and big fun, and it also serves as a major fundraiser for The Billfish Foundation. Since its inception, the OBBC has donated more than $1 million to TBF and other qualified conservation organizations.
The tourney is the first of the four tourneys that comprise the Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship Series that also stops in Mississippi, and Florida. Teams earn points at each event, and the overall champion is crowned at the end of the series. A custom six-foot marlin trophy goes to the team that finishes on top. The series concludes with the Blue Marlin Grand Championship of the Gulf, billed as “the greatest show in sportfishing,’’ July 16-18 at The Wharf.
Founded in 1998 with the mission of funding conservation organizations, the tourney is the country’s only non-profit billfish tournament with 100 percent of all net profits donated to qualified conservation organizations. And amazingly, it is organized by an all-volunteer staff. Info: orangebeachbillfishclassic.com.
Pictured: Fishing on CE, an 80 ft. Viking out of Point Clear, Captain George Crenshaw, angler Scott Cooper and Team CE boated a 640.2-pound Blue Marlin to win the 2025 Classic. “Scott was great as usual in the chair, and our mates were at their best when it counted most, and we had the fish in the boat in just 28 minutes from the time we hooked up until we slid it in the cockpit,” Crenshaw said. The marlin won the team $453,300, a new OBBC record.
Never Settle, led by Captain Stan Blackman with angler Jim Murdica on the rod, came in second with a 468.4-pound marlin, winning them $230,200. The 52 boats entered last year split more than $1 million in prize money for the heaviest Blue Marlin and total Catch and Release points, as well as optional cash award categories for Blue Marlin, Catch and Release, Tuna, Dolphin Fish and Wahoo.