After being postponed for a week due to bad weather, the Texas Legends Billfish Tournament in Port Aransas hosted 29 boats, competing for a total purse of over $400,000 in cash and prizes. And the bite couldn’t have been hotter. With numerous grand slams and doubleheaders being reported by the fleet, it was hard to keep track of who was in the lead until well after lines out.
At the conclusion of the event, the 61-foot Viking Got ‘M On was the tournament champion, releasing two blue marlin and six sailfish, all caught by a single female angler, Emily Scott. The Live Situation earned second place, releasing a white marlin and 10 sailfish. High Noon finished third with two white marlin and eight sailfish, while Rebecca was fourth with one blue marlin and six sailfish released. The prize for the largest blue marlin went to Fuhgeddaboudit; their video footage revealed their fish to be 700-plus pounds. High Cotton had the largest tuna at 111.9 pounds, while Mono Chongo had the largest mahimahi and also the largest wahoo of the tournament.
The Texas Legends Billfish Tournament has been held in Port Aransas, Texas since 2006, with boats fishing the entire Texas coast during the event. The tournament has a video release format, with points awarded for releasing blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish; blue marlin are the only billfish eligible to be weighed, but the point system discourages the taking of blue marlin under 500 pounds. One tradition of the Texas Legends event is the Texas big game fisherman’s roll call, which is a tribute to those who have passed on in the sport.
