The catch and release of a blue marlin early Saturday morning earned the team aboard the USVI-based charter boat, Double Header, the top prize of $5000 in the inaugural and first annual Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club’s USVI Billfish Shootout on Sept. 6.
Local teams from St. Thomas and St. John competed in this small boat tournament focused on one of the most prized sportfishing species – billfish. Double Header reeled in and released their blue marlin on the South Drop. Later, the team aboard Cutting Edge released a sailfish on the North Drop. Results of this U.S. Virgin Islands waters-only tournament prove the fertility of the territory’s fishing grounds.
“We wanted to compete in this tournament since there hasn’t been a billfish tournament for a while. Plus, the last few weeks we’ve seen marlin on every charter trip we’ve taken out,” says Capt. Glen Charlett, who helmed the 37’ Calypso, Double Header. “It was around 8 a.m. when we hooked up a doubleheader. One of our anglers, Eli James, was able to get one of them in. We were hoping for another.”
It was mid-afternoon when the 42’ Freeman, Cutting Edge, released their sailfish.
“We headed north and spent most of the morning and early afternoon trolling in and out of the deep water and along the edge,” says Kevin Haddox, who shared captaining duties with Colin Butler. “The sailfish came up at 2:25 p.m. and angler, Ben Stewart, released it six minutes later. If we caught a second one, we would have won on total billfish by count.”
Talk among teams back at the docks centered on the number of billfish seen in U.S. Virgin Islands waters. Case in point, Captain Joshua Bourg, on his chartered 42’ Liberty, Just Fish, recalled an annual total of 33 blue marlin caught and released on the South Drop so far for the year.
The Inaugural USVI Billfish Shootout marked the first time the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club held a multi-species tournament, a growing trend, where prize-eligible fish were billfish and gamefish: mahi-mahi, yellow-fin tuna, and wahoo.
“The Club asked participants to target billfish specifically,” says Kelvin Bailey, Jr., president of the Club’s Board of Directors. “We put this tournament together to particularly bring attention to the number of billfish in U.S. Virgin Islands waters.”
An Awards Ceremony at IGY’s American Yacht Harbor Marina with pizza, beverages, and lots of camaraderie created the perfect end to this first annual event. The Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club, founded in 1963, boasts a long and strong history of billfishing achievements.
The Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club appreciates support from IGY’s American Yacht Harbor Marina, Lattes in Paradise, Cape Fear Distillery, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Fish & Wildlife.
Next up, the Club will host its Kids’ Fishing Tournament on October 4 and its Wahoo Windup on November 2, 2025.
St. Croix Source
Local sports
