LIVE UPDATES: Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic

Welcome to New England, home of Lights Out, Tuna Town, seersucker,  lobstah, (sadly no hermit crab races) chowdah, and the best summer league college baseball in the country (shoutout to the Cape Cod League). This week, the home of the Hydrangeas also plays home to SFC’s Atlantic Division and the Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic (OBBC). 

We have clubs declaring to fish their windows and push away from the docks between Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard and MacDougalls Marina in Falmouth, so here come the live updates. 

For updates with the second half of our “Doubled Up” coverage this weekend, a link will be dropped here once The Billfish Pachanga in the Gulf gets started on Thursday. 

MONDAY, JULY 14
*All times Eastern

8:00PM - We’ve got some movement. Looks like every club competing is making their way out tonight to either fish in the Tuna categories for OBBC, the billfish categories for SFC, or both. Currently declaring to leave:

South Carolina Outcast  - OBBC
New Jersey Sea Birds - SFC & OBBC
Lights Out New England - SFC
East Coast Remix - SFC
North Carolina Flare - SFC
New York Granders - SFC

TUESDAY, JULY 15

Spoiler alert, SFC Insider is on their way to Port Aransas, Texas for the Billfish Pachanga, but is already receiving word of the action offshore upon waking up. It’s a long travel day, with a missed connection, but SFC’s Gulf team will be wheels down in South Texas later tonight

6:00AM -  New Jersey Sea Birds are on the tunas overnight, bringing in some bigeyes ready for the scales when they make their trip home. Shifting from darkness to daylight means a switch from meatfish to billfish and the SFC portion of their day begins. 

8:00AM - HOME TEAM STRIKES FIRST. Lights Out New England land a double to start the billfish action in the first fishing window of the tournament. Anglers Tyler Noveleski (8:00AM) and Matteo Scena (8:05AM) bring in two white marlin for a quick 100 points.

8:21AM - NEW YORK GRANDERS are up next! Kelly Young releases a white marlin to take second in the leaderboard, one white marlin behind Lights Out New England.

8:58AM - EAST COAST REMIX ARE ON THE BOARD. Chandler Miles releases a white marlin for a cool 100 points. Looks like several clubs have found wolfpacks of white marlin this morning.

9:04AM - Granders again! Kodi Smith Austin with another white marlin and the Granders are now in sole possession of second place on time, but even on points with Lights Out New England.

9:08AM - Not so fast, East Coast Remix and Chandler Miles come right back with another white marlin of their own, making the points even at 100 across three clubs, but sitting in third place on time.

11:00AM-12:58PM - Lights Out are bringing all the White Marlin out to play, and this nearly two-hour stretch results in 13 white marlin releases for the home team. Absolute insane run by this crew on their first day of action. Let’s try and break these down individually here:

11:00AM & 11:07AM - Jackie Hayes
11:08AM - Casey Carmichael
11:18AM - Rob West
11:26AM - Ross Nasin
11:37AM - Tyler Noveleski
12:05PM - Matteo Scena
12:27PM - Jackie Hayes
12:31PM - Kyle White
12:42PM - Rob West
12:50PM - Tyler Noveleski
12:58PM - Rob West
12:58PM - Casey Carmichael

This is absolutely nuts. That’s 15 billfish today, and they’re closing in on the SFC Tournament record of 19 set by the Texas Lone Stars last week. 

12:48PM - East Coast Remix got a white marlin release during that Lights Out onslaught, and it’s a notable one. The angler credited with the release is a new addition to their roster for this tournament, who is a legend in both the northeast and down in South Florida. Chris Zielinski skippers a well-known sailfish outfit called “Weez in The Keys,” and now he’s rolling with Remix in SFC. Welcome to the party Zigger!

Quick update, on the leaders, Lights Out New England are up by a lot, followed by East Coastr Remix with three, followed by New York Granders with two white marlin. Cool?

Cool. 

Deep breath, there’s a lot more coming. 

1:03PM - North Carolina Flare are on the board. Matt Dennison with this first white marlin and 100 points to slide into fourth place. 

1:15PM - Lights Out New England are still at it. Casey Carmichael with a white marlin
1:26PM - Casey Carmichael again.
1:37PM - ‘Twas Casey (Carmichael) at the bat and the mighty Casey did not strike out. Yes, that’s another white marlin release.

1:57PM - North Carolina Flare with their second white marlin of the day, this time released by Brian Dennison

1:52pm - Someone got a fishing rod away from Casey Carmichael’s grasp to land another white marlin for Lights Out. It’s Rob West, and Lights Out New England are officially tied for the SFC tournament record for total billfish releases. This release is number 19 on the day, with no signs of slowing down.

2:11PM - THAT’S A NEW SFC RECORD! Billfish release number 20 by Lights Out New England is secured by Jackie Hayes. Quick math, that’s 2,000 points with of white marlin and a commanding lead. 

2:14PM - DJ Khaled would be tired of saying “another one” by now, but alas, we have yet more white marlin being released by Lights Out. Casey White to total a blackjack’s worth (21) of white marlin. 

2:45PM - The division leaders would like a word: NEW JERSEY SEA BIRDS are on the leaderboard with their first white marlin release, courtesy of Stephen Melchiorre.

3:08PM - Make that a double! Sea Birds and Melchiorre find their second white marlin.

3:02PM  - Remix with their fourth! Kevin Hernandez gets his first release of the tournament and second place Remix has a lot of catching up to do. 

3:15PM - Kinda hard to think about catching up when the leaders keep catching more fish. Another Triple! Casey Carmichael found her way back to some action with another white marlin release.
3:22PM - Tyler Noveleski with the second white marlin of this Lights Out triple.
3:33PM - Jackie Hayes completes the triple. 

Oh my goodness, that’s 24 white marlin for Lights Out New England. 

3:40PM  - SEA BIRDS WITH A TRIPLE OF THEIR OWN! New angler for this event Kade Roach releases the first white marlin of this New Jersey triple.
3:56PM - Jay Bower with the Sea Birds’ second.
4:07PM - Kade Roach again for the third. 

There may be smoke coming from the scorekeeper’s computer. One is currently at DFW, the other is at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando helping with setup for ICAST, a large trade show for the fishing industry featuring outfitters and rod & reel manufacturers. 

SFC’s tournament committee is heading from ICAST to Oak Bluffs by tomorrow for video verification and they will likely need all the blue light glasses and processing power on cape cod to go through the terabytes of footage being recorded of all these fish.

4:09PM - Lights Out. Number 25 courtesy of Rob West.

4:14PM - The Birds are back and it’s Stephen Melchiorre with a white marlin release.

4:15PM - SOUTH CAROLINA OUTCAST DECLARE. We just got official word that the Outcast will leave the dock tonight to start fishing Wednesday. I can only imagine what it must look like seeing the leaderboard light up while they’re out on a tuna day. They’re looking to fish two days straight and come back Thursday. 

4:42PM - New York Granders find another white and it’s Kelly Young with the release.

4:45PM - Sea Birds with another double! First one released by Jay Bower
4:49PM - The second released by Kade Roach. Both white marlin

4:59PM - Remix with a double of their own! First white marlin released by Aimar Hernandez.
5:15PM - The second of the Remix white marlin double is released by Kevin Hernandez.

5:00PM - FIVE IN A ROW FOR NEW JERSEY. Is this a white marlin tournament now? That’s all we’re seeing in the feed, but we’re not mad about it. Jay Bower with the first in this sequence.
5:01PM - Stephen Melchiorre gets the second.
5:10PM - Jay Bower again with the third.
5:12PM - Kade Roach with the fourth.
5:22PM - Jay Bower with the fifth. 

The Sea Birds may be fishing in shifts. Looked like the Birch brothers and cousins were on the tunas overnight, with this crew handling the billfish. That’s an efficient way to use your roster to take advantage of the overnight if so. Something to ask Blaine Birch when we catch up with them on the broadcast, beginning Thursday on SFC+ & ESPN+. 

5:14PM - ANOTHER FIVE IN A ROW FOR LIGHTS OUT! THAT’S 30 WHITE MARLIN IN A DAY. Brian Bavosi is on the board for Lights Out with the first.

5:18PM - Matteo Scena with the second.
5:23PM - Ross Nasin with the third.
5:33PM  - Rob West with the fourth.
5:35PM - Matteo Scena with the fifth.

Round of applause everybody, this is a day for the books and we’re still going. While Lights Out New England secure those releases, the New Jersey Sea Birds are doubled up and reeling.

5:36PM - Sea Birds, Stephen Melchiorre, and another white marlin.
5:37PM - Kade Roach with the second white marlin to complete the Sea Birds double. 

5:39PM - REMIX HEATING UP. Aimar Hernandez with another white marlin release.
5:45PM - Chris Zielinski gets his second release of the day to add to Remix’s total

5:45PM - Our first non-white marlin action in a while comes courtesy of the New York Granders. Dusty Adinolfe goes live on instagram to highlight Kelly Young while she’s tight on a tuna. 

5:51PM - ANOTHER DOUBLE FOR REMIX. Kenny Hernandez secures the first of the white marlin pair hooked.
5:52PM - Followed up shortly by Aimar Hernandez with the second. 

6:00PM - Another double for New Jersey! Steve Melchiorre with the first white marlin.
6:02PM - Kade Roach with the second

6:03PM - Number 31 for Lights Out! Brian Bavosi with yet another white marlin release. 

6:10PM - Remix looks to be on three, the first white marlin of the triple is released by Aimar Hernandez

6:11PM - Number 32 for Lights Out. Jackie Hayes with…you guessed it. A white marlin.

6:17PM - The second Remix’s triple white marlin is converted, with co-owner and angler Kenny Hernandez credited with this release. 

6:19PM - Remix gets all three of their triple, with Cap Hinckley securing the final white marlin. 

6:22PM - Sea Birds keep fighting. Stephen Melchiorre releases a white marlin.

6:34PM - Remix with yet another double release. Kevin Hernandez gets the first white marlin.
6:36PM - Zig with the second

Here’s the leaderboard so far now that we have a chance to breathe:

Lights Out New England - 3,400 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds - 1,800 Points
East Coast Remix - 1,500 Points
New York Granders - 300 Points
North Carolina Flare - 200 Points
South Carolina Outcast - Yet to fish
South Florida Sails - SCRATCH

6:41PM - So much for a break in the action…New Jersey Sea Birds come right back with another white marlin released by Kade Roach.

6:42PM - Lights Out, Casey Carmichael, white marlin. Do we need to say more? That’s a Larry Bird’s worth of white marlin for them today: 33.

6:43PM - Sea Birds again, this time it’s Jay Bower with a white marlin. 

6:51PM - Remix again and Kenny Hernandez releasing a white marlin.

6:53PM - Kade Roach hits right back for the New Jersey Sea Birds

6:53PM - East Coast Remix are hooked on two more, the first white marlin is released by Zielinski.

7:01PM - The second white marlin for Remix is released by Kenny Hernandez again.

7:05PM - Another double for Lights Out New England. Jackie Hayes is the angler with the first release.

7:08PM - Rob West is the angler on the second for the home club. 

These three clubs are just exchanging salvos of white marlin without any pause in sight. Realistically, the only thing that is going to slow down these clubs right now is daylight. 

7:21PM - New Jersey Sea Birds and Jay Bower once again. Another white marlin. 

*At this point, just assume we’re talking about white marlin unless we specify another species. There are plenty of them biting up north. 

7:29PM - East Coast Remix. Kenny Hernandez.

7:36PM - New Jersey Sea Birds triple. Kade Roach with the first.
7:39PM - Jay Bower with the second.
7:39PM - Stephen Melchiorre with the third.

7:47PM - Lights Out New England and Casey Carmichael
7:48PM - Brian Bavosi with the second of the double.

8:03PM - East Coast Remix and Kenny Hernandez. 

89 WHITE MARLIN IN A SINGLE DAY BETWEEN FIVE ANGLING CLUBS. 39 alone caught by Lights Out New England. 

Here’s where we (hopefully) stand at the end of the first day of competition for the majority of our clubs at OBBC. 

Lights Out New England - 3,900 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds - 2,500 Points
East Coast Remix - 2,000 Points
New York Granders - 300 Points
North Carolina Flare - 200 Points
South Carolina Outcast - Yet to fish
South Florida Sails - SCRATCH

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16

5:41AM - I guess it’s only appropriate that we start the next day with Lights Out New England and Matteo Scena. Yes, that’s another white marlin. 

5:42AM - OUTCAST ARE ON THE BOARD. Today marks the first fishing day for South Carolina Outcast and they get the party started before sunrise. Trey Kemmerlin releases a white marlin. 

6:09AM - First of the day for New Jersey Sea Birds and Kade Roach.

6:13AM - Outcast get their second white marlin thanks to Trent Bonifay and the race is on to play catch up. 

6:18AM - East Coast Remix and Cap Hinckley get another white marlin. Checking in with Remix, their fishing window is closing quickly given how far away they are to Oak Bluffs to make it back. OBBC rules say the clubs fishing two consecutive days need to be back by 3:00PM ET

6:23AM - South Carolina Outcast no. 3, the first of the tournament for Stephen Lackey.

6:47AM - Sea Birds and Kade Roach with another white marlin.

6:57AM - Lights Out New England and Kyle Paparelli with yet another white marlin.

7:01AM - Trey Kemmerlin gets his second white marlin and South Carolina Outcast’s fourth.

7:06AM - Sea Birds and Jay Bower with another.

7:22AM - Sea Birds again, this time angler Stephen Melciorre.

7:34AM - Remix with their second of the morning courtesy of Chandler Miles. He got the party started for them yesterday. 

7:37AM - Sea Birds again, Melchiorrre again. 

7:45AM - Remix again, Zigger the angler.

7:49AM - Sea Birds, Jay Bower.

8:00AM - Remix and Kenny Hernandez. 

8:08AM - Rob Carmichael gets into the action for Lights Out New England.

8:09AM - Outcast with another thanks to Trey Kemmerlin

8:10AM - East Coast Remix keeps fighting, Zigger again with a white marlin release.

8:26AM - Lights Out New England and Rob Carmichael again.

8:29AM - Sea Birds and Kade Roach with another. 

8:42AM - Rob Carmichael with the first of a Lights Out quad.
8:47AM - Rob West with the second of four.
8:56AM - Rob West again with the third. 

8:59AM - Kyle Paparelli with the fourth.

8:59AM - As Lights Out released their last of the quad, New Jersey Sea Birds release the first of a white marlin double courtesy of Stephen Melchiorre.

9:02AM - Kade Roach with the second. 

9:19AM - South Carolina Outcast have a double which I believe marks fish six and seven for them. The first is releasedby Trey Kemmerlin.

9:27AM - The second is released by Steven Lackey. 

9:30AM - Sea Birds with another, likely their last of the tournament released by Kade Roach.

11:03AM - Steven Lackey releases white marlin no. eight for South Carolina Outcast. 

We will likely see the action slow down with most of the angling clubs packing up to make it home. South Carolina Outcast will have to play catchup but they will have the ocean to themselves with the other angling clubs heading in. 

Here’s the leaderboard update:

1) Lights Out New England - 4,700 Points (Day 2 of 2)
2) New Jersey Sea Birds - 3,500 Points (Day 2 of 2)
3) East Coast Remix - 2,500 Points (Day 2 of 2)
4) South Carolina Outcast - 800 Points (Day 1 of 2)
5) New York Granders - 300 Points (Day 2 of 2)
6) North Carolina Flare - 200 Points (Day 2 of 2)
South Florida Sails - SCRATCH

1:19PM - WE HAVE A DIFFERENT SPECIES CAUGHT. It’s not a blue marlin, not a sailfish, but our first spearfish of the SFC season, and it comes at the hands of South Carolina Outcast’s Trey Kemerlin.

2:38PM - Trey’s back at it again, the Outcast releases another white marlin. 

With only the South Carolina Outcast left fishing, the rest of the updates are all for them. 

3:13PM - White marlin released by Annie Lackey.

3:32PM - Trey Kemmerlin with another white marlin.
3:33PM - Trent Bonifay with a white of his own.

4:50PM  - Billfish number 14 for South Carolina Outcast released by Steven Lackey.

Here’s where we stand currently

1) Lights Out New England - 4,700 Points (Day 2 of 2)
2) New Jersey Sea Birds - 3,500 Points (Day 2 of 2)
3) East Coast Remix - 2,500 Points (Day 2 of 2)
4) South Carolina Outcast - 1,400 Points (Day 1 of 2)
5) New York Granders - 300 Points (Day 2 of 2)
6) North Carolina Flare - 200 Points (Day 2 of 2)
7) South Florida Sails - SCRATCH

7:58PM - Sun’s going down, but Stratton Lackey finds one more white marlin. 

Wonder how far out South Carolina Outcast plan to stay tonight in order to maximize their window tomorrow. They will need 11 white marlin (or spearfish) releases in order to take third place from East Coast Remix. 10 would only tie where Remix has the advantage on time.

THURSDAY, JULY 17

8:21AM - All sounds quiet at the moment for South Carolina Outcast. They need to be back to the dock by 3:00PM. If they went out as far as Lights Out, Remix and the Sea Birds, it’s likely that their window is closing and will need to pack up soon. 

 Outcast remain 11 fish behind third place East Coast Remix.