SFC hops to Block Island to kick off stop four of the Northeast Atlantic Swing
by Sport Fishing Championship 24 Jul 2023 17:27 UTC
July 24-27, 2023
Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), the governing body of saltwater tournament fishing, heads to the next event of the Atlantic Division, Tri-States Canyon Shootout out of Block Island, Rhode Island. This is a new event for SFC this season, and the action will be broadcast live from the ocean on CBS Sports Network.
The fourth stop of the Atlantic Division, the Tri-State Canyon Shootout is a 22-year-old tournament, drawing an average of 100 teams. Competitors will select two out of four fishing days between Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Teams will be targeting blue marlin, white marlin, and meat fish across the board: bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, mahi, and wahoo.
At the top of SFC's Atlantic leaderboard are two well-known boats who dominate in marlin and tuna fishing, Team Lights Out and Team T-Zero. Team T-Zero is in second place after releasing four white marlin and one blue marlin at last week's Oak Bluff's Bluewater Classic. Team Lights Out is in third place, releasing two blue marlin. Not competing in Block Island is first place Team Polarizer, returning for the August White Marlin Open.
In these northeast waters, there will also be big opportunities for anglers to make gains in the Championship Fish Divisions. Team Gypsea is entering the Tri-State Canyon Shootout as the Bigeye Tuna Division leader, with a 245-pound fish. Gulf Division angler Gus Rantz of Team Just Looking is in first for this year's Yellowfin Tuna Division with a 189.6-pound fish, and another Gulf Division angler, Team Rising Sons' Jaselyn Berthelot, is out in front of the Wahoo Division after catching a 52.2-pound fish.
Anglers can begin fishing on Monday, July 24, departing from New Harbor Boat Basin. To watch, fans can tune into CBS Sports Network from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, and 12 to 2 p.m. on Saturday. On YouTube, viewers can catch the action from 3 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursday (all times EDT).
SFC tournament points accrue based on a team's placement in the final tournament standings, with the first-place team earning 3,500 points, the second-place team 3,000 points, and so forth. Placements in the tournament standings are determined from tournament-only points based on species of fish caught and released, with the highest consideration given to blue marlin, then white marlin and spearfish, and finally sailfish and swordfish.
The season schedule next brings anglers to South Padre Island, Texas, for the Texas International Fishing Tournament from August 4 to August 6. Afterward will be the final two events of the season: the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland, August 7-11, and the San Juan International Billfish Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 23-25.
To learn more about the Sport Fishing Championship Season, visit sportfishingchampionship.com.