Record-Setting Marlin
In Gulf Shores & Orange Beach
The Wharf hosted the annual Orange Beach Billfish Classic (OBBC) on May 16-21. The event kicked off the 2023 Alabama Gulf Coast tournament fishing season and brought anglers from around the region out into the Gulf, searching for a bite. While plenty of impressive catches, including a 148-pound tuna, were made during the tournament, one stands out among the rest.
On May 19, Georgia native Brian Stover reeled in a whopping 776.4-pound blue marlin, the largest ever in the tournament’s 27-year history.
Stover and his team set sail on Captain Jeff Shoult’s Mollie into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, May 17, at the start of the tournament. Two days later, around 250 miles offshore, near the waters of Louisiana, Stover hooked the massive marlin. He and the crew fought the monstrous fish for four-and-a-half hours before it finally gave in.
The 10-and-a-half feet catch stayed aboard Mollie overnight before cruising back into The Wharf Marina on Saturday, May 20, for weigh-in. Once off the boat, the scale showed just how gigantic the 125” fish was. The incredible catch earned the team a prize of $183,000.
While Stover’s marlin was a record-breaker for the tournament, it did not break the state’s record, which was set in 2020 by Ginger Meyers with an 851.9-pound catch.
The OBBC is a family-run tournament that encourages the conservation of billfish and other big-game fish species. Profits are donated to The Billfish Foundation, and all the fish are given to local families in need. Since its inception in 1996, the tournament has given nearly $1 million to the foundation.
Looking to reel in a record-breaking catch? Plan a fishing trip to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach!
