Mid-Season Progress Report: Atlantic Division

It’s summer, so Alice Cooper must be on repeat for every parent’s playlist: “School’s Out.” For those who have kids in school, or still get woken up in the middle of the night from their times as a student, they may remember these dreaded documents:

Progress reports.

Nothing spurned unnecessary panic more than a too-early progress report on the semester where little if any work or exams had even come through. For those of us not named Jaselyn Berthelot who recently graduated from LSU, progress reports were suppressed trauma from decades ago.

Until now. 

We are officially halfway through SFC’s regular season. Both Atlantic and Gulf divisions have had three tournaments out of six, so before we get started with Gulf round four at next week’s Pensacola Billfish Release Tournament, let’s check in and issue some progress reports for the Atlantic Division.

East Coast Remix Angling Club: B
Captain JC Cleare and his squad have avoided hitting rock bottom in any tournament so far this season, which has helped keep Remix in the points hunt for that final berth to the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs. What was a disappointing fifth place finish to start the season at the Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open was followed up with another fifth place at the Walker’s Cay Open in the Bahamas. Remix find themselves third in the point standings after taking the win at the HUK Charleston Billfish Cup. The Atlantic Division has been funny this year: clubs fishing their “home waters” have not performed well. While it may appear troublesome for Remix to be heading north for the final three stops of the season, odds may actually be trending in their favor. 

Lights Out New England Angling Club: B+
Three tournaments, three top-four finishes for Lights Out New England. The next stop for the Atlantic is the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic which is right in their backyard. A tournament win puts Lights Out in the drivers’ seat to make it back to the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs and avenge their second-place finish in last year’s final “open era” SFC season. Given their experience fishing up the eastern seaboard, there isn’t a location on the schedule that Lights Out New England hasn’t fished. That’s troublesome for the rest of the field. 

New Jersey Sea Birds Angling Club: A-
Why not an A or A+? Because there’s only one club in SFC this season that is more accomplished than the Sea Birds. That would be the Gulf Division’s Third Coast Renegades, who have a second place finish and two tournament wins, compared with the Sea Birds’ second place, first place and fourth place finishes this season. The gap between the Gulf first place Renegades to the Atlantic first place Sea Birds? 800 points. The Renegades received an A in their progress report issues yesterday, so the Sea Birds earn a very well-deserved A-. A clutch blue marlin release late on Championship Saturday in Charleston helped keep their lead comfortable in the Atlantic Division standings. That ability to clutch up and secure fish for points will be essential to keep their playoff berth secure. Fortunately for The Flock, the last two stops on the Atlantic calendar are in their backyard: Ocean City and Cape May, where both locations fish the same waters.

New York Granders Angling Club: C-
The ladies have been on a bit of a struggle bus this summer. A series of unfortunate events in Fort Lauderdale left the Granders out of the action, with four sailfish released over the course of the tournament. An excellent showing in Walker’s Cay, with Kelly Young releasing both a blue marlin and sailfish to secure third place. Charleston proved challenging to find billfish, with meatfish species making their way onto the boat. Good for calcuttas, but not ideal for the season points standings. Meanwhile, some developments are taking place behind the scenes that should be made official next week in the leadup to the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic that will potentially help the Granders climb the leaderboard.

North Carolina Flare Angling Club: C+
Positive momentum benefits the North Carolina Flare with their season grade. A substitute team filling in for Captain Brian Dressler and the Flare in round one’s Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open landed the club in sixth place. Dressler’s Flare debut resulted in another sixth place at Walker’s Cay, with blown-out izinglass for their troubles. Carolina waters served them well, resulting in a second place finish in Charleston. Momentum may not remain in the Flare’s favor though, as it’s rumored that the club will be looking for another substitute squad in Oak Bluffs.

South Carolina Outcast Angling Club: C
A strong start by Captain Stuart Lackey and company, taking a thrilling win at the Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open was then immediately met with misfortune at Walker’s Cay. Barracudas attacked their bait repeatedly, affecting their ability to reach the billfish. The first two stops of the year for NASCAR star Austin Dillon’s squad followed the Talladega Nights script perfectly. As Ricky Bobby says “If you ‘aint first, you’re last,” which is exactly what happened to the Outcast. A fifth place finish in Charleston, their hometown tournament, helped them stay in the playoff hunt. 

South Florida Sails Angling Club: Incomplete
Similar to Alabama Angling Club, this league-owned club is currently meeting with potential new ownership groups to take over in 2026. In the meantime, I would suggest the new ownership try to bring on Captain Jim Puller and OSH-IT to represent South Florida Sails full time. With the help of NFL defensive tackle Leonard “Big Cat” Williams, the Sails took third place in the Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open, and Capt. Puller followed that up with a fourth place finish at Walker’s Cay. A scratch from the HUK Charleston Billfish Cup and an uncertain future for the remaining three rounds means there’s a realistic possibility the Sails can scratch the rest of the season.