South Carolina Outcast Take Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open Crown
A long journey from Charleston, South Carolina was well worth it for the Outcast as they take the first event of the SFC Season.
The first tournament of the 2025 SFC season is in the books, and it came down to the absolute wire. Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Marina hosted SFC’s seven Atlantic Division for the FortLauderdale Billfish Open, presented by Yachts 360. The three-day billfish tournament came down to the wire, with South Carolina Outcast Angling Club taking the win in dramatic fashion, releasing four of the final seven sailfish releases in the tournament.
“We were worried about the Sea Birds tripling up, they were right there neck and neck all the way to the end, and we ended up pulling it off,” said Angler Steven Lackey, who ended up taking top Angler honors as well for the tournament.
Championship Saturday played out like a heavyweight fight between the Outcast and New Jersey Sea Birds Angling Club, who finished the day with 11 releases. For reference, the Sea Birds shoved off the dock this morning in fourth place with only seven releases through the first two days. A bold move to go North for a third straight day paid off, securing multiple hookups, including a triple and multiple doubles while most angling clubs to the south had to settle for single releases.
“I had a good feeling this morning that it was the right move,” said Captain Blaine Birch of the New Jersey Sea Birds Angling Club. “We get to Delray with all this beautiful blue water and all of a sudden, the water around the back of the boat starts to turn black with sailfish.”
Birch said the Sea Birds spotted multiple tailing sailfish, with his brothers Stephen and Jarrett Birch were tossing spinners at them, doubling their two day total before lunch.
"By the time we went all the way South, they were up North and we knew it was too far to run so we had to stick it out right here," Lackey said.
The docks were buzzing with the news of several Miami sailfish legends serving as guides, consultants and anglers for multiple clubs. Captain Jim Puller and his “Osh-It” sportfishing team represented South Florida Sails Angling Club and World Sailfish Championship Captain Ray Rosher of “Miss Britt” fished with Lights Out New England, while his crew represented North Carolina Flare Angling Club for the weekend as substitutes. Freddie David of “Frick & Frack” charters joined South Carolina Outcast, with his son Marlin scoring several releases of his own to contribute to the win. His brother Jimmy also runs a well-known charter boat out of Miami called L&H sportfishing.
“Freddie helped us a ton when it came to handling the kites,” Steven Lackey said. “We were spinning the boat every which way to fight the fish, wrapping the kites so tight that we nearly snapped an antenna, but [our] Captain always knew which way to go to untangle us.”
That captain would be Steven's father, Stuart Lackey. As much as the attention has been on the local South Florida sailfish intelligentsia sharing their knowledge with the angling clubs of SFC, the Lackey family are billfish royalty themselves. Their family are some of the the first to ever catch blue marlin offshore the Palmetto State.
The pressure was on as early as the week prior for South Carolina Outcast. Last Sunday, the crew landed back home in Charleston, SC after a weekend of fun and fishing with NFL Legend Ed McCaffrey at SFC's The Catch, Powered by Verizon. After a quick nap, the crew boarded their boat, a 61' Blackwell named "Renegade" and made the journey from South Carolina back to Pier Sixty Six Resort & Marina in less a little more than a day's time.
"There hasn't been much time to sleep," said mate Trent Bonifay. "I get too paranoid about things going wrong, like making sure the baits are healthy in their pens."
"It was the most stressful thing I've ever been through in my life," Lackey said.
It's doubtful that anyone will be sleeping on the ride back to Charleston either, but this time, it won't be because of the nerves.
Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open Final Results
1) South Carolina Outcast: 1,500 points
2) New Jersey Sea Birds: 1,275 points
3) South Florida Sails: 975 points
4) Lights Out New England: 825 points
5) East Coast Remix: 825 points
6) North Carolina Flare: 600 points
7) New York Granders: 300 points