East Pass Challenge Recap

Mississippi Blues Angling Club claimed the first victory of the Gulf division, and while some may consider their victory to be an upset over the defending champion Gulf Coast Cowboys, the signs were there for all to see. 

Several of the angling clubs’ boats had issues coming into the East Pass Challenge, presented by Legendary Marine. The Cowboys were the last to leave the inlet on Thursday, with both Texas clubs; the Lone Stars and Third Coast Renegades late departures as well. 

The Blues were ready, with their boat running flawlessly after a couple years of refits and repowering its MAN engines, including a retooled crew of mates. Preparation met opportunity on day one, catching bait in the afternoon and setting up for an evening bite when the fish make their way up from the depths. A sunset double secured 900 points for the Blues, and wound up being the winning fish. 

SFC Insider’s over/under on two blue marlin to win was right. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever done two blues back to back before,” said Mississippi Blues Angler Jaselyn Berthelot. “Sure enough, as soon as our baits hit the water, that second fish was already looking at it.” 

Captain Jimmy “Cricket” Crochet then called for a bold overnight move. He would take the Mississippi Blues 250 miles away in search of some more quality bait. When they arrived on Friday morning, day two of the tournament, the Blues found bait, but they found a worthy adversary.

Dolphins.

Not Tua Tagovailoa, or Mike McDaniel, or former Dolphin (now Raider) Raheem Mostert of the Atlantic Division’s East Coast Remix Angling Club. The actual porpoises, who blitzed their bait from every angle. Cutting their losses, The Blues were on the move again. 

“It was kind of nerve wracking, because with this amazing fleet that we compete against, it’s really easy for them to jump three or four Blues [Marlin] in a day,” Berthelot said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the field in the mighty Gulf Division were struggling. Every SFC Champion has come from the Gulf. The last champions of SFC’s “open era” of competition are the Gulf Coast Cowboys, previously known by their boat name: “Lifeline.” Captain Blake Bridges looked to mark fish alongside GM Jordon Benefield, but their targets were all window shoppers; fish that browsed the dredge, but didn’t take the bait. 

Captain Spencer Johnson of the Texas Lone Stars struggled with steering problems, jerry-rigging a fix to keep them operational (not ideal when you’re hundreds of miles offshore) and then on night two struggled with generator loss. 

Marking window shoppers was a common theme among the field, from Captain Gregg Trennor of Third Coast Renegades Angling Club, Captain “Stonewall” Hall Bohlinger of Louisiana Canyons Angling Club, and Danny Watts of West Florida Black Flags Angling Club. 

For the latter, the Black Flags were on everything but the billfish, hooking sharks, tuna, and landing a sizable Wahoo. While not a points scoring fish in this round, the Wahoo proved to be the best dinner of the field with mate Marty Wilson preparing surf & turf illuminated by a nearby oil rig. 

Meanwhile, the second big move for Mississippi Blues Angling Club paid off early on Championship Saturday. 

A third Blue Marlin. Jaselyn fought each one for between 30-40 minutes, which is quick work for big fish. With the only three releases on the board, that fish all but sealed the victory for Mississippi Blues.

“It really helped us out to get that three fish lead since anyone else would need to catch four to jump us,” Berthelot said.

Four more fish were not in the cards.

In the final 10 minutes prior to lines out, Third Coast Renegades hooked up with a blue and frantically backed down, securing a quick release, sealing second place. 

An exciting end to an epic struggle, the Gulf angling clubs are right back at it May 8-10 at Grand Isle's Hurricane Hole Louisiana Open.