SFC Insider's Week 1 Power Rankings

The Overseas Highway terminates in the Conch Republic of Key West, and your trusty SFC Insider couldn’t be more excited to kick off year two of the Angling Club era. 

A reminder: These are “Power Rankings,” which mean these are strictly the Insider’s opinions of who looks to be in prime position to take the win at the Key West Classic. To clarify, this isn’t how I think the season will end up, just where the dust settles on Championship Sunday. 

The Key West Classic is two tournaments in one: with the Atlantic Division and Gulf Division competing within their own fields, but that doesn’t mean the clubs will be looking at the overall leaderboard to see where they stack up against their cross-division rivals. 

 

Starting with the Atlantic Division:

1) East Coast Remix Angling Club

I made this same prediction last year and took an L, with East Coast Remix finishing 5th in last year’s season opening Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open. This isn’t so much a prediction as it is an ultimatum. Remix needs to win this event or at least place top 2 in the Atlantic to maximize their chances to earn a berth to the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs in October. 

We saw how important it was last season to place strongly in your home waters. Captain JC Cleare and the Remix squad earned the nickname “The Dynasty,” for being one of the winningest sailfish tournament teams in South Florida History. Winning the Key West Classic will keep Remix playing offense when they roll into Walker’s Cay in early May.

 

2) New Jersey Sea Birds Angling Club

The Flock finished second in SFC’s season opening sailfish tournament in 2025. Their experience fishing several sailfish tournaments on charter this off-season should provide some valuable intel they can use for the weekend. Angler/Mate Stephen Birch also worked on charters in Key West, providing more experience and insight. 

New Jersey Sea Birds took advantage of the 3-day fishing tournament format, and expect something similar out of Captain Blaine Birch and company this year again. Likely starting slow, then climbing up the leaderboard fast and furious on Saturday and Sunday to make a run at the win.

 

3) Lights Out Boston Angling Club

Speaking of some of the most successful tournament fishermen when it comes to Sailfish, Ray Rosher returns to join Captain Rob Carmichael and Lights Out Boston in 2026. A multiple-time World Sailfish Champion, Rosher brings a ton of experience.

What has me rank Lights Out, the defending Atlantic Division Champions third, is just a hunch. Rob Carmichael broke free from the Sea Birds’ kidnapping over the weekend while prefishing, but I wonder if their time circumnavigating the continent will catch up with the crew and/or the boat by way of a mechanical issue. Their experience chasing black, blue, and white marlin in the Pacific across Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama will pay major dividends in the latter half of the year, and provided excellent scouting for the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs. They just have to make it back there

Their hunt for a third-consecutive Zane Grey berth hinges on the latter half of the tournament calendar, with Cape Cod, Newport and MidAtlantic being their wheelhouse. They won all three northeast events last season, including releasing a record 47 white marlin in Oak Bluffs.

Note: Before publishing this article, Lights Out peported a steering issue while prefishing. They are working frantically to resolve it before the Key West Classic. 

 

4) South Florida Sails Angling Club

The new kids on the block climb to fourth, not because sail is in their name, but because they have quite a group on their boat, led by experienced captain Mike King. Their 60’ Spencer Quick Sweep is rigged for everything from sailfish to blue marlin, so there is no shortage of skill, experience and equipment to make quick decisions and adjustments.

 

5) North Carolina Flare Angling Club

Captain Brian Dressler mentioned they have a larger crew this year, and more bodies means more preparation, which is half the battle for a sailfish tournament when it comes to rigging live bait to kite lines. 

 

6) South Carolina Outcast Angling Club

Can lightning strike twice for Captain Stuart Lackey and the Outcast? The South Carolina boys seem to do well in sailfish tournaments. They won last year’s season opener, but there are a few different variables to consider: They are using a local boat, which could be helpful, trading in the center console boat for the sportfish to run faster and fight fish off both ends. They will have some more local knowledge on the boat, but missing sailfish legend Freddie David from last year.

 

7) Rhode Island Breakers Angling Club

No disrespect to the Breakers, but sailfish is a different style from what they usually do, targeting tunas in the northeast and also chasing billfish in the northeast canyons. Expectations are not low, but our eyes will be peeled to their live telemetry for progress.

 

Onto the Gulf Division

1) Texas Lone Stars Angling Club

The defending champs keep their boat in Isla Mujeres in the off-season, which is where you find a ton of sailfish in the winter between January and April. Makes for great practice when moving the boat back to the US, particularly Key West for the season opener. While Captain Spencer Johnson and the Lone Stars may not fly too many kites, they still have a reputation for finding the three major North American billfish species wherever they may be.

 

2) Third Coast Renegades Angling Club

Speaking of three major billfish species, that same style of fishing is a signature for the Third Coast Renegades squad led by co-owner Garrett Frazier. However it seems like the Renegades will look to fly some kites, with the addition of some South Florida talent, with two crew members on their roster coming from the sailfish circuit, trained under some of the best outfits in the region including JC Cleare of East Coast Remix. His summer camps years ago empowered Brian Morris, now a junior in college, to travel the world chasing billfish. He and Tyler Walsh, who finished fifth in this year’s Jimmy Johnson Quest for The Ring on a boat called “Three Little Birds” are young guns with years of experience.

 

3) Louisiana Canyons Angling Club

Two factors trend in the Canyons’ high hopes for 2026: You can always count on Toby and Jaselyn Berthelot to get off to a hot start. They have done so in each of the past three years of SFC competition. While this isn’t blue marlin fishing, they teamed up with Remix2 which is skippered by Captain Eric Johnson and runs charters out of Miami, Florida. That Glasstech walkaround competed in December’s All Star Weekend tournament in Islamorada, taking second place behind JC and their 44’ Contender. 

 

4) Gulf Coast Cowboys Angling Club

At time of publication, I placed Gulf Coast Cowboys in fourth for similar reasons as I put East Coast Remix in first in the Atlantic rankings: They NEED a good start. This squad since competing in the pre-angling club era as “Lifeline” sans-Brian Kelley have known to get late-season momentum, riding that wave to win the 2024 SFC Championship. A late rally in 2025 came up just short after a tough start. 

 

Mechanical issues look to be plaguing the Cowboys to start 2026 as it did last year, but it’s not the same boat. Straight from getting sonar installed, Brittney Marie, a 52’ Spencer owned by Brian Kelley and named after his wife, made the long trek from the Florabama shores and began having troubles. We’ll get the full scoop by airtime. 

 

5) Mississippi Blues Angling Club

Similar to the Rhode Island Breakers, the logic here is simply not knowing how much experience the Blues have with this style of fishing, after establishing themselves as a strong blue marlin operation on the Gulf circuit. They will be with a local boat for this tournament. The expectations for Captain Adam McGugin and company go sky high once we hit the meat of the Gulf schedule.

 

6) West Florida Black Flags Angling Club

New boat, same lovable crew but the big boat is currently having sonar installed to be ready for the remainder of the Gulf schedule. For Key West, Captain Danny Watts and the crew have brought down their tender, a 31’ Grady-White. As the smallest boat in the field, it will be a challenge in rough conditions to fly kites off one end of the boat from the bow and the cockpit. 

 

We’ll get over what I got right and what I (likely) got wrong next week. In the meantime, we’re ready to get lines in the water to start 2026.