Bay Point Billfish Open sets record purse, 193 releases, standout tuna weigh-in
A 236.5-pound yellowfin and 193 billfish releases pushed Bay Point into record territory as 86 boats chased a $1,851,900 payout in Panama City Beach.
A 236.5-pound yellowfin tuna gave the Bay Point Billfish Open a hard-charging tuna headline to go with its billfish frenzy, as 86 boats finished the 2026 event with a record 193 billfish releases and a total payout of $1,851,900. The awards ceremony wrapped the fourth installment of the revived tournament on June 30 at Point South Marina in Bay Point, Panama City Beach, after a June 23-28 competition window.
The event’s structure explains why it continues to pull strong crews from across the Northern Gulf Coast. Entry cost $6,000 per boat and included four anglers, with additional anglers at $600 apiece. The format does not strictly enforce IGFA rules, but competitors still have to carry the required Atlantic Highly Migratory Species angling permit and Florida saltwater licenses, which keeps the field operating under a serious offshore standard even as release categories reward speed and strategy.
Briar Patch delivered the tournament’s biggest single-money fish, weighing a 582.5-pound blue marlin that measured 117 inches and earned $559,770. Capt. Corey Hurst and 13-year-old Brantley Adams put that fish on the scale, and the 74-foot Viking from Destin, owned by Dennis Adams, swept the blue marlin optional-entry categories after the team bought all but one of them. That move carried the payout from a division win into one of the highest checks in Gulf Coast billfish tournament history.
In the release divisions, It Just Takes Time took top honors with 4,450 points and $210,285 in winnings. Owned by Nick Pratt and based in Orange Beach, the boat’s crew put up six blue marlin, two white marlin and two sailfish. Leah Pratt earned Top Lady Angler and George Pratt earned Top Junior Angler on the same team, a combination the tournament noted may be the first time in any Gulf-based event that those titles went to separate individuals from one boat.
For tuna anglers, the scale room belonged to C’mon Man. Its 236.5-pound yellowfin topped the gamefish side and helped produce $55,260 in total winnings, while Set A Course had earlier set the tuna pace with a 199.2-pound fish. The C’mon Man yellowfin came just a few pounds shy of Florida’s 240-pound record, and it underscored how the Bay Point format now splits its spotlight between high-speed release fishing and one big tuna at the dock.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
