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As the primary club tournament held annually for more than 50 years by the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, the Pensacola International Billfish Tournament has a rich legacy on the Gulf Coast. For decades, it drew 100-plus boats to compete over July 4 weekend, with thousands of spectators gathered in bleachers to watch the weigh-ins as boats lined up to offload their catch.
In recent years, date conflicts with other large tournaments and a dearth of marina facilities in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally have combined to reduce participation to as few as 20 or so boats. To reverse that trend, club leadership took the bold move of moving their dates for 2024. For the first time in 53 years, the event would fall in mid-June rather than over the July 4 weekend.
“That change was a tough one to stomach,” said Justin Williams, club president. “It took us a year of discussion before we got comfortable with the change. But ultimately, we needed to put ourselves in position to catch the boats moving from west to east, and get the Pensacola International back in the mix for the traveling crews on their way to Destin.”
The strategy worked. The 2024 event attracted 36 teams and 159 anglers, an increase from recent years and a promising start to what club officials hope will be an upward trend.
The mid-June dates also produced some nice fish for the locals gathered to watch the weigh-in, including four blue marlin exceeding the event’s minimum weight, three tuna over 100 pounds, a 59-pound wahoo, several large mahi, and a 159-pound swordfish. A total of 20 blue marlin, eight white marlin, seven sailfish, and seven swordfish were caught by the fleet.
Capt. Landon Bell and the Southern Charm out of Houston, Texas took top honors with its 632.4-pound blue marlin, caught by Zack Redman. Landon Davis aboard The Dash caught the event’s largest swordfish, while the Panhandler claimed the award for top club boat with 1,500 points.
