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If you’re in the Gulf of Mexico at night and hear a creeping bassline introducing Gucci Mane’s “One Minute,” then rest assured, you’re in a good spot. Just a short distance away, one of the region’s highest-performing tournament teams is getting ready for the day ahead. As the crewmembers aboard the 72 Viking nod along to the beat, they pull in one blackfin tuna after another. It’s a familiar routine for the crew. It’s game day aboard Team Supreme.
Rituals are common among sport-fishing teams when competing in tournaments. Team Supreme’s early-morning starts are just one example. Although making bait is simply part of the job, those early-morning hours get the crew fired up to compete. Many decorated teams employ similar strategies. Some have routines born from lighthearted superstitions, while others rely on firm practicalities. When I reached out to three top programs, I found that the best in the business rely on a mix of both to be successful.
Lo Que Sea
Although diesel keeps her engines turning, Tony Huerta’s Lo Que Sea runs on an entirely different energy—karma. The program aboard the 58-foot Paul Mann out of Fort Pierce, Florida, channels positivity and respect, not only among crewmembers, but also for the sport, the fish and other competitors. “I’ve learned that if a boat doesn’t have good karma, you won’t do well,” Huerta says. “We’re not out there singing kumbaya or anything, but we think it’s important on the Lo Que Sea that we all get along, know our roles and remain humble.”
Capt. Garett Yarbrough has led Lo Que Sea to big wins at Big Rock, the Custom Shootout and various sailfish tournaments in South Florida. Although Lo Que Sea’s remarkable reputation is indisputable fact, both men seem wary of anything that could be perceived as gloating.
Huerta credits much of his team’s success to Yarbrough’s natural talents as a captain, as well as the competitive nature of his crew. “It’s really important to have a good captain with a good attitude,” Huerta says. “The captain sets the bar and establishes the culture on the boat. Garett does a great job of that. Ya know, he’s just fishy. He smells, sees and feels fish.”
While Yarbrough mans the helm, Huerta is largely responsible for assembling the team’s anglers. “I think it’s most important to look for the personalities you’d like to spend time with rather than simply looking for skill,” Huerta explains. Fortunately, his crew comprises men who get along well and boast exceptional talents too, including Taylor Beckford and Shane Surrency.
Many competitive boats hesitate to invite “outsiders” to fish with them during tournaments. They fear trade secrets will get distributed. And truthfully, their concern is warranted. Lo Que Sea, however, operates with marked apathy regarding that issue. “We’re not threatened by having new people on deck,” Yarbrough says. “We fish the same way regardless of whether we’re fishing for blue marlin or sailfish: four dink baits with small to medium-size ballyhoos, two green squid chains and two dredges. Every now and then we might change to a blue squid chain, but otherwise we stick to our formula.”
Huerta and his crew don’t wear headsets or listen to music during tournaments. They might chat and crack jokes, but they’re otherwise locked in. Huerta and Beckford each pick a side of the cockpit and man their lines all day. “Mr. Tony is extremely competitive,” says Corey Brangan, the boat’s full-time mate. “He’s also a big believer in luck. Before we set out, he gives everyone a fist bump.”
Once a fish is officially released, Huerta enforces one of Lo Que Sea’s most time-sensitive traditions—a Jäger rally. “I don’t even like Jäger,” Huerta says. “We just do it now out of superstition.” That rally is really the only time alcohol makes an appearance aboard the boat during a tournament day.
While the crew’s good vibes produce great results, there is another component of the Lo Que Sea team deserving of recognition. “The 58 Paul Mann is a clean and simple high-end charter boat that’s been refurbished, and I’d say it’s the fishiest boat under 60 feet on the ocean,” Yarbrough says. “It just gets bit.” Few things boost morale in sport fishing like confidence in a boat’s fish-raising capabilities. The Paul Mann adds another rosy splash of positivity to Lo Que Sea’s award-winning outlook.
Mama C
Mama C, a 60-foot Bayliss owned by Chris Perry, represents programs that rely almost exclusively on structure, and maybe a brush of obsessive-compulsive disorder too. Perry is an easygoing owner. He was once mistaken for a mate by a neighboring boat for well over a month’s time. Perry’s captain, however, isn’t really known for a laid-back nature.
Attention to detail should be expected of any captain managing a two-boat operation (Perry also owns Miss AC, a 51-foot Ricky Scarborough) that splits time among the Pacific, the Bahamas and the Eastern seaboard. Capt. Rob Mahoney, the man at the helm of the program, feels best going into a tournament when things are done just right. “I don’t really have any superstitions,” he says, “but I am OCD and particular on the way things are kept and cleaned up on the boat. Luckily, everyone usually goes along with some of my ridiculous items, which helps keep my head from getting all twisted up.”
Mahoney owns his quirks, and his systematic approach to sport fishing works well for him and his team. He’s won international captain awards, and the men he fishes with, including longtime mates Andrey Lopez and Tommy “Tomahawk” Farella, have repeatedly earned their way to the winner’s circle. Together they’ve scored titles in Costa Rica, the Bahamas and locations all along the East coast.
The program has eight men on the roster. In Costa Rica, two mates, four anglers, a sonar guy and a spotter round out Mahoney’s crew. Trusted pros such as Dave Dalfo, Donnie Todd, George Powell and William Howell fill the mate, spotter and sonar responsibilities. Meanwhile, others who fish the tournament season are committed nonprofessionals. “Chris has been great with letting me bring anglers onto the team,” Mahoney says. “I have a good read on who he will enjoy being with, and at this point, we haven’t had any issues with anyone that has fished tournaments with us.”
The amount the team prefishes together seems the most valuable practice in their routine. Anglers that fish with Mama C and Miss AC commit an enormous amount of time to the operation. We’re not just talking about a few days of fishing. These guys are committing to weeks. “Rob likes to prefish a minimum of three days, but prefers five, especially in Costa Rica,” says Farella. “We expect a lot out of our anglers, but they know that’s the deal. Our guys are fully trained on how we do things. Everyone is so passionate and committed. That’s what makes our team good.”
“We also rotate the angler positions in the cockpit every 30 minutes,” Mahoney adds. “We started doing that the first year we fished the Triple Crown on Tarheel, and it worked great. I like that it keeps our anglers alert and proficient in all positions.”
Aboard Mama C, anglers hold rods all day long. With a stacked deck of anglers, Farella is freed up to be the designated pitch guy. That’s a formidable weapon for any crew. And as the clock ticks on tournament day, Farella also meets Mahoney’s structured schedule for the boat’s meals: 9 a.m. fruit, 10 a.m. snack, noon lunch and 2 p.m. ice cream. Days aboard Mama C are regimented, but the system works. Plus, it gives the crew another reason to tease the man on the bridge.
“There is joking and picking on each other over the headsets while we’re fishing,” Mahoney says. “Even though all of us are very competitive, we try to keep things as entertaining and fun as possible during tournaments.”
Mahoney and Farella shared that Perry establishes a morale on the boat that’s tough to beat. He never shies from doing things the right way and making the appropriate investment. And to top it all off, he regularly sends Mahoney and Farella home to see their families, a benefit that’s often overlooked with extensive travel programs. “As long as Chris Perry has a boat,” Farella says, “I want to work for him.”
Team Supreme
Based out of Destin, Florida, Allen and Lisa Krake’s Team Supreme participates in Gulf tournaments where boats stay at sea for days at a time. The prep alone is a heavy lift, especially when fishing a series like the Gulf Coast Triple Crown, which Team Supreme won back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.
Capt. Chase Lake heads up the program aboard the Viking 72. Before the 2023 tournament season, Lake and his mate, Hunter “Gambino” Smith, took the brand-new boat to the Dominican Republic. While there, he hired Seth Brennan as a second full-time mate. “Chase told me that we needed to get the teamwork together before the start of the tournament season,” Allen Krake recalls. “I left the boat in Casa de Campo so they could practice. Chase, my son Alex, Hunter and Seth fished something like 40 days down there. When they returned to the Gulf, we ended up winning our first Triple Crown.”
Those 40 days of practice helped Lake and his crew iron out the kinks. By the time they set out their first line in Gulf waters, the team was dialed in. “Everyone has a role during tournaments, and they’re each just as important as the next,” Smith says. “Mr. Allen, Mrs. Lisa and Mr. Lennie Stevens take care of the cooking for us. I’m almost certain we eat better offshore than we do on land. The Team Supreme fifteen is a real thing!”
While some crews stack the deck with pros, Lake limits invites to close friends. Sport-fishing culture in the Gulf requires captains to be tight-lipped about their fishing plans. Some will even go as far as to rig particular rods or get fuel at certain times to throw others off their trail. Typically, Brennan and Smith are the only pros in the cockpit.
“Alex is our star angler and helps run the sonar during tournaments,” Lake says. “We work together to find the fish, which really frees me up to focus on the chess match with other boats out there. When a fish is hooked, he sprints down the ladder to the chair. Alex has the stamina to reel in multiple blues in a row, sometimes releasing six in a single day. He’s really an incredible angler.” More like a member of the crew than a celebrity angler, Alex also takes a shift watching the wheel at night and gets up to bait fish during tournaments. Meanwhile, the Krakes’ other son, Allen Jr., is also a tremendous asset to the team. He reeled in many blues of his own this past summer, establishing himself as a reliable second angler.
Lake’s approach to mentorship is another source of the program’s success. “I focus on being a leader rather than a boss,” Lake says. “I help mates with their projects, and as they get better at the task, I’ll help less and less. Eventually, I’ll sit back and watch them do it on their own. That process makes for a better mate and builds trust. I want to see my guys do well.”
“Having a guy like Chase who was an experienced mate before becoming a captain is huge,” Smith says. “No mate wants to be told how to do something by someone who has never done it.”
For Team Supreme, it’s clear that camaraderie and team building are foundational to the operation. “There’s a lot of laughing and smiling that goes on while we are offshore,” Smith says. “We cut up and listen to music all while focusing on the task at hand. A happy boat is a dangerous boat when fishing. It’s proven to be a good recipe for us.”
Building a successful tournament team comes with hefty investments. Money makes a big difference in this game. Opinions vary on how far one must go to properly outfit a tournament team, but no matter what, it’s going to come at a cost. And if an owner hires several pros to fish a tournament, they might not recoup their costs even if the boat does win a check.
These three winning programs place priceless value on the people they’ve assembled to fish tournaments. Although they say talent isn’t everything, it sure doesn’t hurt. First and foremost, the vibe is critical. It just takes one bad attitude to throw off the entire experience. And unsurprisingly, practice makes perfect. Boats win consistently not just thanks to karma or luck. They’re successful because they thoughtfully strategize every move, walking to the table with a winning hand before they’ve even taken a seat.
