Destin’s Capt. Jeff Shoults of the Mollie is back in the running for the Gulf Coast Triple Crown after he and his crew pulled in a 776.4-pound blue marlin to take first place in the 27th Orange Beach Billfish Classic during the weekend at The Wharf, in Orange Beach, Alabama.
The Triple Crown is a series of four billfish tournaments that run throughout the summer where teams accumulate points for their catches and catch and releases. Next up is the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic in Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 8-12, then the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic at Sandestin on June 21-25. Last in the lineup is the Blue Marlin Grand Championship at The Wharf on July 12-16.
Although there is no money on the line for the Triple Crown, there are plenty of bragging rights and recognition as well as a custom-made championship trophy up for grabs.
Shoults won it in 2017 aboard the 66-foot G&S boat.
And after the weekend’s monster catch, he is well on his way.
“That’s the biggest one I’ve ever caught in the Gulf,” Shoults said Monday afternoon while taking a break from cutting grass.
“You come home from the tournament, catch the biggest fish you have ever caught and then cut grass … that’s what you do,” Shoults joked.
From 2021:Jeff Shoults named Gulf of Mexico Captain of the Year by sportfishing magazine
The biggest marlin he has ever caught was a 1,036-pound black marlin in 1985 in Australia.
But the blue marlin they hooked on May19 was about 250 miles from Orange Beach, south of Louisiana, near the oil rigs.
“We hooked it about 6 o’clock and put it in the boat about 10:30,” Shoults said.
From 2020:Mollie wins its first Blue Marlin Classic
Shoults said the Gulf was slick calm and they caught the marlin live baiting with a blackfin.
“For about two hours of the deal, we could look down and see her. She wouldn’t run more than 60 to 70 feet and we’d get her back to the leader,” he said.
“Casey (Wherhahn) would reach down and grab it and about the time he would grab it, she would turn her head the other way,” Shoults said.
From 2020:Mollie wins Mobile blue marlin tournament
“She never really ran away … she would just kind of ease away,” he said.
Shoults said for the last two hours, the marlin never got more than 60 to 80 feet away from them.
“Then finally we had to wait for her to make a mistake and get tired. Finally, she did and came up to the top where we could get a gaff in her,” Shoults said.
Brian Stover of Georgia was the angler on the rod.
More:Mollie is big money winner in billfish classic
Although the last two hours were a tug of war and waiting game, the initial bite was something to see.
“Her first run was probably about 300- to 400-yards. She jumped one time, which was good because we could see what it was and how big it was,” Shoults said.
After that, she never jumped again or made any long runs.
But that run and jump out of the water, “was pretty exciting,” Shoults said.
“She was just screaming off drag,” he said.
From 2016:Mollie crew gets its blue, despite lightning strikes
At first, they thought it might be a big bluefin tuna, but when she jumped, “it took all the guess work out of it. We knew it was big marlin then,” Shoults said.
The marlin measured 125 inches from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail.
Team Mollie won $180,000 for the big blue. Other mates on the deck with Wherhahn were Jacob Castle and Colton Guthrie.
After they boated the fish, Shoults said they fished until about 3 p.m. and then made a run back toward Alabama. They fished the next morning and then got back to the dock at The Wharf around 4 p.m.
The big blue was the only marlin bite they had for the weekend, but it was all they needed.
With the catch, Shoults and Team Mollie sit atop the list for the Triple Crown with 250 points.
Shoults said there have been two other captains that have won the crown multiple times.
“We’re trying to be the third to win it multiple times,” he said.
Next up for Team Mollie is the Gulf Coast Masters Memorial Weekend held at The Wharf. This tournament is not part of the Triple Crown.