9-23 SS Blue Marlin

Known among top anglers as one of the country's best sport fishing tournaments, The Blue Marlin Grand Championship takes place in Orange Beach, Ala. each summer. This year's event, which sold out its entire 50 spots with teams from as far as Wilmington, Delaware and the British Virgin Islands, started its opening night with a bang – within a two-hour period, participants broke not one but two state records.

 

From the site of weigh-in location The Wharf, event organizers recognized Chris Ferrera and his family team from the Biloxi, Miss.-based team of Reel Fire for Ferrera's epic landing of an 845.8-pound blue marlin. The winning title, which included a payout of $250,000, defeated the state's prior record by 56 pounds. Reel Fire's total payout for the tournament, including their second place finish for a tuna catch, totaled $304,000. Tournament organizer Chris Miller: " We don't even talk about oil anymore. That is way in the rear view mirror. What's important these days is that the fishing has come back so strongly and how red-hot it is and what we experience in the second year of this tournament."