Gulf Division Power Rankings before Gulfport Mississippi Open

SFC’s Gulf Division is heading to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast for the Gulfport Mississippi Open; stop two of six in the regular season. This is the first time we will see the Gulf Division in their element. The only time we have seen the Gulf Division this year so far was in Key West, where the clubs were targeting sailfish in a style virtually foreign to them. 

Reuniting in Mississippi, here is how SFC Insider thinks the fleet will shape up after three days of fishing, based on the information gathered speaking to the clubs over the past few weeks.

Louisiana Canyons Angling Club
Nobody starts a season in the Gulf better than the boat that has “Rising Sons” written on the back of it. Last season, they won the Gulf opener representing Mississippi Blues AC, and I believe they won the season opening tournament in 2024 as well. Until Toby & Jaselyn Berthelot buck that trend, there is no reason to doubt them.

Gulf Coast Cowboys Angling Club
The Cowboys are coming into the proper Gulf season with another new boat. Key West saw the debut of the Brittney Marie, a 52’ Spencer purchased by club co-owner Brian Kelley, named after his wife. Brittney Marie is coming to Gulfport, but she’s bigger and badder than the boat we saw in Key West. The Beach Cowboy, and his Gulf Coast Cowboys have upgraded the 52’ Spencer to a 67’ Paul Mann Custom. The new battle wagon was already equipped with an omni sonar system and while prefishing, they hooked several blue marlin. Look for the Cowboys to come out swinging.

Third Coast Renegades Angling Club
The current division leaders and winners of the Key West Classic’s Gulf half of the tournament are poised to add to their points lead. The only reason why I have the Renegades as low as third is because this will be the first time we have seen this club in a traditional Gulf tournament. The boat made its way from Cabo to Key West, with both of those fisheries being very different from what we normally see in the Gulf. Being from South Texas, expect to see the Renegades fish similarly to the defending SFC Champion Texas Lone Stars. On the leaderboard early, and running artificial lures. It’s a winning strategy, unless another boat ends up stacking blue marlin releases.

Texas Lone Stars Angling Club
Speaking of the Texas Lone Stars, some last-minute maintenance has them in the yard leading up to the start of the tournament. Captain Spencer Johnson and crew finished third here in Gulfport last year. The only reason the Lone Stars are not higher on the list is due to how quickly their boat gets dropped back in the water. The yard is in Orange Beach, and the crew plan to run over to the sea buoy off the Mississippi coast, whenever they’re ready to go. If that takes longer than expected, that’s less time to fish. The strength of clubs like the Lone Stars and Renegades is that they fish closer to shore, giving them the advantage of scoring early and often, usually with white marlin and sailfish, with the occasional blue marlin. 

Add on an earlier start time, and the chance to rack up an early lead to make up for the less-frequently available blue marlin bite is a calculated risk.

West Florida Black Flags Angling Club
The report coming out of the Black Flags camp is that Capt. Danny Watts and crew have been working to repair a number of issues with their boat, including replacing their watermaker and their ice maker. Similar issues plagued the Atlantic clubs in the past couple of events, including North Carolina Flare AC and Rhode Island Breakers AC. 

It’s an even bigger problem in the Gulf. No watermaker means the boat cannot continue to produce freshwater; so once the freshwater tank is empty, the crew will only have saltwater available. Freshwater helps cool a gyro stabilizer, as we saw with Captain JC Cleare and East Coast Remix replace the pump in the Atlantic during last week’s Carrier Cup tournament. But even more importantly for overnight trips, it provides all the water needed for cooking, cleaning etc. Fishermen can make due, but it’s not a comfortable experience while also competing in the elements. The lack of icemaking also won’t keep dead bait frozen, compromising its ability to present as a tasty meal for billfish offshore.

Mississippi Blues Angling Club
The most controversial take, the new boat and crew representing Mississippi Blues in 2026 are the same crew that won this very tournament a year ago. Headed by Capt. Adam McGugin and boat owner Adam Davidson aboard his 63’ Winter Custom named Home Made, their boat just hit the water for the first time in 2026 this past Friday.

We’ve been keeping the secret under wraps, but their boat has been in dry dock undergoing a repower and refit. More powerful engines will increase the boat’s range and fuel efficiency, but the timeline was always going to be down to the wire. Now only days before the tournament, a sea trial will take place to see if Home Made is ready to go. Should everything go according to plan, a long few days of reprovisioning the boat and reinstalling all the necessary equipment and tackle will consume plenty of time.

Should the sea trial not go well…the Blue may be looking for a substitute boat, similar to what the Texas Lone Stars did for the first two Gulf tournaments in 2025. It worked out for the Lone Stars last year, will history repeat itself for the Mississippi Blues?

The boats set course for the Gulf on Thursday afternoon with lines in the water on Friday.