Live Updates: Walker's Cay Open

Welcome back to Walker’s Cay where the New Jersey Sea Birds look to defend their event title from 2025. Their defense will come at a struggle, with ongoing mechanical issues plaguing The Flock lost steering in Key West, during the first tournament of the season, and now on their way to Walker’s have a stuck trim tab. 

Speaking to Captain Blaine Birch, the tab is stuck partially down, and believes it will likely break when they back down on a fish at some point. They were off the dock early today. Here’s the order in which they left at sunrise:

Lights Out Boston
New Jersey Sea Birds
East Coast Remix
South Florida Sails
South Carolina Outcast
Rhode Island Breakers
North Carolina Flare

DAY 1: FRIDAY, MAY 15
*ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORING

8:00 AM: LINES IN! Let’s get this tournament started

9:08 AM: SEA BIRDS STRIKE FIRST. Quick test for the busted trim tab is a quick sailfish release by Dave McKendrick. 75 points get the day started, but with blue and white marlin out there, they will need to find more fish to protect their early lead. This is also the first species of three toward a billfish grand slam, with the 200 point bonus highly likely to be in play this weekend.

WAY TOO EARLY LEADERBOARD
New Jersey Sea Birds - 75 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix
South Florida Sails
South Carolina Outcast
Rhode Island Breakers
North Carolina Flare

10:13 AM: SEA BIRDS HAD A TRIPLE, BUT LOST ONE! Two of the three fish get successfully released, with one sailfish breaking off. The other two species released were a white marlin and another sail for Mike O’Connor and Kade Roach. 

Those two fish extend their lead to 250 points.

11:18 AM: WE HAVE A NEW LEADER! It’s the South Florida Sails, with Alex Stanley the angler of record. They release a blue marlin, the first of the 2026 SFC Season for 450 Points. That’s two white marlin’s worth of points clear on the now second place New Jersey Sea Birds.

Leaderbaord just before Noon
South Florida Sails - 450 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds - 250 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix
South Carolina Outcast
Rhode Island Breakers
North Carolina Flare

11:52 AM: SEA BIRDS HIT RIGHT BACK! Stephen Melchiorre releases a blue marlin. Not only is that 450 points for The Flock, but it’s also an additional 200 points for the new Grand Slam Bonus instituted in the SFC scoring system for 2026. 

That’s a 650 point release for them. What makes it even better for the Sea Birds is that the bonus now gives them a margin that is exactly the same as a blue marlin. Should South Florida Sails release another blue, they would still sit in second place even on points, but behind on the time of release tiebreaker.

Leaderbaord just after Noon
New Jersey Sea Birds - 900 Points
South Florida Sails - 450 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix
South Carolina Outcast
Rhode Island Breakers
North Carolina Flare

12:24 PM: SOUTH CAROLINA OUTCAST Jump into third place!. Justin Matson releases a blue marlin and the Lowcountry Legends are officially on the board after getting blanked on billfish at Walker’s last year.

12:25 PM: NORTH CAROLINA FLARE release a sailfish thanks to Mark Dressler. That fish puts Flare on the board in fifth place.

Leaderbaord as of 12:40 PM
New Jersey Sea Birds - 900 Points
South Florida Sails - 450 Points
South Carolina Outcast - 450 Points
North Carolina Flare - 75 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix 
Rhode Island Breakers

1:14 PM: East Coast Remix look to be hooked up, Kenny Hernandez is reeling, but as the camera zooms in, we spot the yellow and green colors of a mahi-mahi. No points scoring fish here, but there may be billfish hunting the mahi like there were at multiple points last season.

2:04 PM: South Florida Sails double up on sailfish! An extra 150 points for them courtesy of Lee Albarty and Westin Bomnskie. They’re creeping back at the leaders.

Leaderbaord as of 2:15 PM
New Jersey Sea Birds - 900 Points
South Florida Sails - 600 Points
South Carolina Outcast - 450 Points
North Carolina Flare - 75 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix 
Rhode Island Breakers

2:44 PM: South Florida Sails hook up with another fish with Alex Stanley. Looking to ID the species while they fight live on the ESPN app.

2:49 PM: Stanley is getting a belt on…a harness…we’re getting giddy thinking this is a blue marlin right now. We will let you know when we find out for sure.

2:53 PM: SOUTH FLORIDA SAILS BACK IN THE LEAD. Alex Stanley released a blue marlin, for 450 points. They’re 150 clear now of the second place New Jersey Sea Birds. Those two sailfish are the difference. Ben Simmons must be smiling in the cockpit right now.

Leaderbaord as of 3:00 PM
South Florida Sails - 1,050 Points
New Jersey Sea Birds - 900 Points
South Carolina Outcast - 450 Points
North Carolina Flare - 75 Points
Lights Out Boston
East Coast Remix 
Rhode Island Breakers

4:00 PM: LINES OUT. We end day one with Capt. Mike King, Brad Adam and Ben Simmons with South Florida Sails in the lead, with the New Jersey Sea Birds nipping at their heels. Three SFC clubs have not recorded a release yet including the 2025 Atlantic Division Champions Lights Out Boston. 

A lot of fish are out there, and even with the early action, the lead is not safe. Any club has a chance to win this still.