INSIDER'S NOTES FROM THE ANNUAL SFC LEAGUE MEETINGS
Take a look at the SFC Insider’s notes from the 2025 League Meetings for a sneak peek of what’s up for discussion by the committees.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2025
*ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL, (CENTRAL TIME)
9:15AM: BUILDING COMMUNITY & MAJOR EVENTS ON THE TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
Community is the theme to build upon the 2026 season, the addition of “Majors” has been introduced where on-site activations can be planned with host angling clubs and year-round events to be hosted by SFC’s Angling Clubs.
10:30AM: SFC AIMING TO UNDERWRITE $100,000 FOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISIONS
$25,000 per category across Tuna, Swordfish, Mahi-Mahi, and Wahoo are up for grabs to open entries registered through SFC Angling Club memberships.
Sport Fishing Championship Commissioner & CEO Mark Neifeld has unveiled plans to launch “Club Championships,” an open competition across the country where competitors can register and qualify with free registration through the SFC’s Angling Clubs.
Club Championship Divisions
Tuna - $25,000
Mahi-Mahi (Dolphin) - $25,000
Swordfish - $25,000
Wahoo - $25,000
The competition is expected to run throughout the entirety of the 2026 SFC regular season, beginning at the same time as lines-in for the opening tournament, and concluding at the final lines out.
11:00AM: MINIMUM PRIZE POOL INCREASED BY $1 MILLION
The prize pool for the entirety of the 2025 season was a little over $2 million. With the commissioner’s announcement of the prize pool increase, that would equate to just under $3.1 million. How that money will be distributed is being left up to the competition committee to decide.
For reference, the payouts of event finishes in 2025 were broken down this way:
Regular Season
1st Place: $60,000
2nd Place: $40,000
3rd Place: $20,000
Zane Grey Championship Playoffs
1st Place: $250,000
2nd Place: $100,000
3rd Place: $70,000
4th Place: $60,000
11:30PM: GUEST SPEAKER WILLIAM MAO JOINS FROM OCTAGON
William Mao is the SVP of Global Media Rights at Octagon, a leading global agency in sports, entertainment and culture. Mao spoke to the Angling Club owners and representatives about the current media landscape and the building blocks towards larger media rights partnerships.
2:30PM: “HOOK AND HAND” REMAINS IN SFC RULE SET FOR 2026
Rules changes require a four-fifths majority. The first vote we recorded is to retain “hook and hand,” which allows members of a competitive team to set the hook on a fish and pass the rod to an angler within the first minute of being hooked up. The first few votes were split, which meant the majority would not be reached.
The alternative proposed was using the IGFA Ruleset which would have restricted a single angler to hook their own fish from start to finish.
2:39PM: ONE VESSEL ALL SEASON (WITH MECHANICAL EXCEPTIONS)
The committee has voted to mandate an angling club be limited to one vessel for the regular season, with exceptions made for mechanical issues that may arise.
3:24PM: GRAND SLAM BONUS MULTIPLIER
There will be a one-time point bonus per tournament for teams that register a grand slam (releasing three species of billfish in a single tournament) will earn a +200 point bonus. For example: At least year’s Pensacola Billfish Release Tournament, the Texas Lone Stars has two grand slams. Under the new scoring, they would have earned an additional 200 points to their total.
3:32PM: LIVE VIDEO VERIFICATION
A rules official will be present in-studio to verify releases captured by our broadcast team, with teams providing secondary video verification should it be necessary to help verify a species or proper release.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2025
Doors were closed all day. Here’s what came out of the room:
PRESTTON LYON RE-ELECTED AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF PRESIDENTS: Preston, with Mississippi Blues Angling Club, will serve his second term in 2026.
GARRETT FRAZIER ELECTED AS VICE-CHAIRMAN: Frazier, a co-owner of Third Coast Renegades Angling Club joins the board for 2026. The Gulf Division Champion Renegades fished on Frazier’s boat “Magnifico” at this season’s Zane Grey Championship Playoffs, finishing in second place. Additionally, Frazier and SFC stars Jaselyn & Toby Berthelot teamed up at Bisbee’s Black & Blue for a second place finish.
JORDON BENEFIELD RE-ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE COMPETITION COMMITTEE: SFC Commissioner & CEO Mark Neifeld has tasked Benefield with building a Strategic Task Force to evaluate shifting the league to IGFA Rules no later than 2028. The committee will meet again on this topic at SFC League Meetings in 2026.
2026 SEASON OPENER TO FEATURE ALL 16 ANGLING CLUBS: More details to come on location and dates.
SOUTH FLORIDA SAILS ANGLING CLUB SOLD AT A NEW RECORD EXPANSION FEE: More details to come on the translation, including the high-profile ownership group behind the angling club. One more expansion club is expecting to be sold prior to the start of the 2026 season.