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During the 2024 tournament season, more than 1,700 boats fished in at least one billfishing tournament along the North American coastline, catching more than 7,200 billfish and earning more than $57 million in jackpot payouts. Nearly 60 percent of that sum—roughly $33 million—can be attributed to just five tournaments: the White Marlin Open, Big Rock, Bisbee’s Black & Blue, MidAtlantic and Bermuda Triple Crown. The market’s primary production boatbuilder, Viking Yachts, dominated the fleet, with 24 percent of the participating boats having been delivered by the Healey family out of its New Gretna, New Jersey, facility. Those are among the headlines from Marlin’s groundbreaking review of billfish tournament participation trends in the North American market.
This overview comes after a thorough analysis of participation and payout data gathered from 40 tournaments spread across five regions: the Florida East Coast, from Palm Beach to Key West; the Bahamas/Caribbean region, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic; the mid-Atlantic East Coast, from South Carolina north to New Jersey and including Bermuda; the northern Gulf Coast, from Venice, Louisiana, east to Panama City, Florida; and Baja, Mexico.
A Note on Methodology
It would have been impractical to include every tournament along the North American coastline in this survey. The 40 tournaments incorporated here were selected as a reasonable representation of each region. We focused on events where billfish were a primary target species, and where participation data was available through live-scoring platforms such as CatchStat, Reel Time Apps or other means. Some events that aggregate themselves as a series—the South Carolina Governor’s Cup or Quest for the Crest, as examples—are treated as a single event in this analysis.
This survey’s reliance on crowd-sourced data brought inherent challenges to a thorough analysis. For example, human error was evident in the inconsistent spelling of boat brands or even boat names; when designating boat length, some used the model designation, while others input the boat’s exact LOA. Where possible, logical and informed corrections were applied and fact-checked. More difficult to correct, though, were instances where the data was simply incomplete. Entry information for some boats did not include the boat’s brand within the data set. Where market share percentages are cited within this article, therefore, it is always that brand’s share of the known universe of participants.
Finally, some tournaments included in this review did not have cash prizes, or chose to not publish payout data. While we had some success sourcing payout information from press releases, media clippings and other supplemental sources, the purse totals reported here—especially in the Florida East Coast and Bahamas/Caribbean regions—are almost certainly understated.
That said, the data did produce numerous insights into the regional dispersion of fishing activity, the fleet composition of those boats that fish competitively, and notable disparities that exist based on geography and target species.
2024 Fishing Activity by Region
During the 2024 tournament season, 1,709 individual (i.e., de-duped) boats participated in the 40 tournaments surveyed, with the heaviest concentration on the East Coast. Almost half of the fleet, 834 boats, participated in mid-Atlantic tournaments spread from South Carolina to New Jersey, including Bermuda. The other four regions represented roughly 15 percent of the total fleet each, with 284 boats fishing the Florida East Coast, 255 boats fishing the Baja region, 246 boats in the Bahamas/Caribbean, and 207 boats participating in Gulf Coast events.
For most crews, tournament fishing was a one-time event. Roughly two-thirds of the total fleet were one and done, fishing a single tournament during the year. A third fished two tournaments within the year, and percentages dropped from there: 16 percent participated in three or more, and only 8 percent of the fleet participated in four or more of the surveyed tournaments. The most prolific boat was Team Harvey, a Viking 72 skippered by Erick Soderholm that fished 11 of the 40 tournaments across the Florida, Bahamas/Caribbean, mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions.
Within each region, these percentage breaks held relatively true, with two notable exceptions. Boats fishing the Florida sailfish circuit were much less likely to fish multiple tournaments, with only 8 percent of the fleet fishing in three or more events. And boats fishing the Gulf Coast were much more likely to fish multiple tournaments, with 26 percent of the fleet fishing in three or more events. This most likely can be attributed to the relatively close proximity of tournaments within the Gulf region.
There is little crossover between regions, with only 98 of the 1,709 boats (6 percent) fishing tournaments in multiple regions. The most frequent crossover occurred between the Florida East Coast, the Bahamas/Caribbean and the mid-Atlantic regions. Only seven of the 207 Gulf Coast boats fished a tournament outside their home region. None of the boats fishing the East Coast crossed over to fish Baja, although at least one team, Rising Sons, has boats located on both sides of the continent, which allowed it to fish both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean in 2024.
The 2024 Tournament Fleet
The tournament fleet represents a diverse array of production and custom brands, with 192 manufacturers represented. Of those, 173 builders hold a 1 percent share or less. The fleet remains composed primarily of inboard sport-fishers, with Viking Yachts owning the dominant share position, having built 24 percent of the surveyed fleet.
The next-closest brand is Hatteras Yachts with a 6 percent share, despite the brand’s limited production following its sale from Brunswick to Versa Capital in 2013, and subsequent resale to White River Marine Group in 2021. Custom builder Spencer Yachts rounds out the top three with a 4 percent share. Cabo, Bertram, Ocean and Buddy Davis are among several household names that also hold notable share positions, despite limited production in recent years.
Collectively, outboard boat manufacturers represent 19 percent of the total known fleet. Leaders among the outboard brands were Contender, Freeman, SeaVee, Invincible, Grady White, Yellowfin, Regulator and Boston Whaler.
Brand composition varied notably between regions. However, there was one constant: Viking holds the No. 1 share position within each of the five regions surveyed.
In the mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast, custom builders—if aggregated together—would compete with Viking for the No. 1 share position, with Spencer, Jarrett Bay, Scarborough, Blackwell, Buddy Davis, Paul Mann, Buddy Cannady and Weaver all making the top 10 list. Interestingly, Ocean Yachts, defunct for almost 10 years, still has a stronghold within the region.
Production builders were much more dominant on the Gulf Coast, where the fleet primarily comprises boats built by Viking, Hatteras and Bertram. Custom brands are represented in the top 10, thanks to Jim Smith, Buddy Davis and Scarborough, along with Miller Marine, a builder based in Panama City, Florida. Two outboard boat brands, Freeman and Invincible, also cracked the top 10 in the Gulf.
Along the Florida East Coast, Viking’s dominant share of 37 percent was boosted by the inclusion of the Viking Key West Challenge in the data set. Not surprisingly, Florida reflected the strongest foothold for outboard boat manufacturers among all regions, with Contender, SeaVee, Freeman, Valhalla and Invincible all represented in the top 10. Merritt and F&S were top-ranked custom builders.
In the Bahamas and Caribbean, Viking held the top share position, but custom brands were heavily represented, thanks in large part to the draw of Skip Smith’s Custom Shootout and Production vs. Custom tournaments. Spencer, Merritt, F&S, Bayliss, Jarrett Bay, Weaver, Paul Mann and Scarborough all found their way near the top of the list.
Down at the tip of Baja, the tournaments feature substantial participation by local charter boats, and as such its fleet comprises primarily production brands: Viking, Cabo, Bertram, Hatteras, Blackfin, Riviera and Luhrs. Three outboard boat manufacturers are represented in the top 10, but no custom builders hit the top of the list.
The Top Catches of 2024
Boats fishing in billfish tournaments in 2024 were prolific, catching 7,230 billfish during the year. That equates to an average of 181 billfish per tournament, or an average of 4.2 billfish per boat that fished an event included in this survey.
Roughly a third of that tally, 2,543 fish, was caught in the mid-Atlantic region, not surprising given the fleet size of 834 boats and a strong bite for white marlin, blue marlin and sailfish. Along the Florida East Coast, sailfish were plentiful enough in 2024 to produce 2,025 tournament catches, as well as the peak metric for productivity, with an average of 7.1 billfish per boat.
In Baja, the plentiful striped marlin, along with healthy numbers of blues and blacks, produced a total tally of 1,211 fish caught, while in both the Bahamas/Caribbean and Gulf Coast regions, the species mix featured blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish.
While the Gulf Coast trailed in total catch productivity with its average of 2.5 fish per tournament boat, it did stand out for the size of its fish. Three of the 10 heaviest marlin weighed in 2024 tournaments were caught by the Gulf Coast fleet. A total of 40 blue or black marlin exceeding 500 pounds were weighed in 2024 by tournament boats fishing the North American coast, with the largest being a 1,268-pound blue caught in the Bermuda Triple Crown.
Regional Composition of Tournament Catches
Boats fishing in the 40 tournaments surveyed caught 7,230 billfish. The vast majority were released.
- Mid-Atlantic: 2,543
- Florida East Coast: 2,027
- Baja, Mexico: 1,211
- Bahamas/Caribbean: 928
- Gulf Coast: 521
The Top Payouts of 2024
The total published payout among the 40 tournaments surveyed was $57.3 million. The mid-Atlantic region, which fielded roughly half of the tournament fleet, also accounted for just over half of the total payout, with more than $31 million awarded by the 10 East Coast tournaments in our data capture. The second-highest purse was paid out in Baja, thanks to three massive Bisbee’s tournaments and the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament, which collectively paid out $12 million in 2024.
The nine Gulf Coast tournaments surveyed accounted for the third-largest purse with $7.9 million awarded, while the Florida East Coast and Bahamas/Caribbean regions paid out roughly $3 million each, according to available information. Actual payouts for these two regions are likely suppressed due to a lack of published data.
Among the 40 tournaments surveyed, five events accounted for almost 60 percent of the total payout. Four of those five were held in the mid-Atlantic region. The White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland, paid the largest purse at $8.5 million, followed closely by the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament’s $7.6 million in Morehead City, North Carolina. To put that into perspective, each of these two tournaments paid out on the same level as the entire northern Gulf Coast region combined.
The Bisbee’s Black & Blue in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, posted the third-largest payout of the year with a $6.8 million purse. Rounding out the top five were the MidAtlantic in Cape May, New Jersey, with $5.8 million paid, followed by the Bermuda Triple Crown with its $4.1 million purse.
In 2024, 11 teams earned more than $1 million in tournament winnings, collectively representing a third of the total $57.3 million purse. Some teams aggregated that amount with wins and placings across multiple tournaments. Others won a single huge pot.
The top three payouts of 2024 went to the following boats. Waste Knot, a Jarrett Bay 67 captained by Michael Tickle, topped the list with $3,761,051 won by taking the largest purse at the White Marlin Open, a third-place finish within the Bermuda Triple Crown (Bermuda Big Game Classic), and a small prize awarded by the Big Rock. The boat fished in three of our 10 surveyed East Coast events and earned cash at all three.
Release, a Sullivan 53 captained by Rom Whitaker, took the year’s second-largest payout of $2,215,325 by winning second place overall and the “Fabulous Fishermen” category at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, which is awarded to the boat that weighs the first blue marlin over 500 pounds. Release fished two events in 2024.
Builder’s Choice, a Jarrett Bay 64 captained by Brent Gaskill, combined a multiple-category win at the Big Rock with a first-place finish within the Bermuda Triple Crown series (Sea Horse Anglers Club) to net $2,035,767 in total winnings. Builder’s Choice fished in six tournaments across the Bahamas/Caribbean and East Coast regions.
In terms of offering the highest potential payout per unit of effort, the Baja region offered the best bang for the buck, with more than $47,000 in average payout per participating boat. The Gulf Coast region followed closely behind with an average of $38,000 in purse paid per participating boat.
Top 15 Payouts (By Tournament)
- White Marlin Open: $8,538,069
- Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament: $7,562,700
- Bisbee’s Black & Blue: $6,847,200
- The MidAtlantic: $5,752,760
- Bermuda Triple Crown: $4,127,525
- Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore: $2,715,450
- Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series: $1,732,100
- Blue Marlin Grand Championship: $1,712,017
- Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore: $1,674,675
- Bay Point Billfish Open: $1,539,150
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic: $1,468,566
- Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament: $1,263,000
- Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring: $1,261,000
- Walker’s Cay Invitational: $1,240,000
- South Carolina Governor’s Cup: $1,178,625
Final Thoughts
The message behind the numbers is clear. The billfish tournament business is booming, driving a rich competitive spirit on the water and likely billions of economic impact on dry land. With the 2024 tournament season behind us, we now turn our eye toward 2025. Will participation increase? Will the size of jackpot payouts continue to escalate? Will a team once again crack $4 million in tournament winnings? Look to Marlin to find out.
2024 Tournaments Surveyed
Florida East Coast
- Pirate’s Cove Sailfish Classic
- Silver Sailfish Derby
- The Buccaneer Cup
- Gold Cup Invitational
- Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring
- Reef Cup Invitational
- Viking’s Key West Challenge
- Quest for the Crest Sailfish Series
Bahamas/Caribbean
- The Shootout: Production vs. Custom
- Baker’s Bay Invitational
- Custom Shootout
- Walker’s Cay Invitational
- Cap Cana White Marlin Tournament
- Elbow Reef Classic
- San Juan International
- Scrub Island Billfish Series
- Cap Cana Classic IBT
Northern Gulf Coast
- Orange Beach Billfish Classic
- Gulf Coast Masters
- Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic
- Pensacola International Billfish Tournament
- Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic
- Bay Point Billfish Open
- Blue Marlin Grand Championship
- Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Labor Day Tournament
Mid-Atlantic East Coast
- South Carolina Blue Marlin Invitational
- South Carolina Governor’s Cup
- Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament
- Hatteras Marlin Club Blue Marlin Release Tournament
- Bermuda Triple Crown
- Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring
- White Marlin Open
- Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament
- The MidAtlantic
- Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament
Baja, Mexico
- Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore
- Los Cabos Billfish Tournament
- Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore
- Bisbee’s Black & Blue
