Florida Panhandle Billfish Series

Southern Charm-All In has repeated as the 2025 Florida Panhandle Billfish Series Champion. Gregg Trenor’s Viking 62, with captain Landon Bell behind the wheel, won the inaugural series crown in 2024. This year, the team released three blue marlin in the Pensacola International Billfish Tournament with Gregg on the rod. In the next leg, the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic (above), Ron Davis landed the winning blue marlin weighing 654.6 pounds, and Gregg added a blue release. During the Bay Point Billfish Open, the team released three blues and a white for the overall win. “We love this series,” said Landon. “It’s tough because these are some of the best teams in the Gulf, so we are very blessed to come out on top.”

Team Supreme, the Krake family’s Viking 72, was the 2nd Place Boat in the series – after finishing 3rd Place last year. Led by captain Chase Lake, Team Supreme was the 3rd Place Release Boat for the 1st Leg with three blue marlin and the Top Release Boat in the 2nd Leg with five blues and a sailfish. This three-leg series saw 153 teams compete.

Triple Tail, a Viking 55, weighed the Heaviest Blue Marlin at the Bay Point Billfish Open based out of Panama City Beach, Florida. With captain Butch Cardenas at the helm, Hunter Shaw hooked a 593.3-pound blue that measured 113 inches.

Captain Myles Colley, running Nick Pratt’s Viking 80 It Just Takes Time, led the boat to Top Release team honors. Nick released four blue marlin and a white, while George Pratt added another blue. Southern Charm–All In, a Viking 62 claimed 3rd Place Release Boat with Gregg Trenor’s blue and white marlin and a pair of blues angled by Ron Davis.

The Viking 72 Share-E took 1st and 2nd Heaviest Tuna. Sherry Polk hooked both the 194.1-pound and 144.5-pound fish. Third Heaviest Tuna went to another lady – Jaselyn Berthelot, on the Viking 58, Rising Sons, with her 136.9-pounder. The Heaviest Wahoo, 68 pounds, was caught by William Dodson on the Viking 72 Yellow Steel. David Robinson, on the Viking 92 Touche, weighed the 3rd Place Wahoo at 54.4 pounds.

Charles Drumm hung the Heaviest Dolphin at 39.5 pounds while fishing on the Viking 76 Reel Dangerous. Guy Peek hooked the 2nd Heaviest Dolphin at 30.7 pounds while fishing aboard the Viking 62, Now or Never. 

You’ve seen it firsthand – bluefin tuna numbers are up, yet restrictions are tightening. The U.S. quota hasn’t kept pace with the stock – triggering overages, cutbacks and the threat of early closures.

Viking is stepping up – and we need your help.

In partnership with the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab, we’re supporting a groundbreaking scientific initiative using Close-Kin Mark Recapture (CKMR), a genetic technique that delivers faster, more accurate stock estimates. With better data, we can achieve quotas that reflect today’s robust bluefin population.

Here’s how you can make a difference:

• Clip – Request a sample kit, collect non-lethal tissue samples from bluefin and return them.

• Donate – Give directly to the cause through the UMaine HMS Conservation Fund.

• Share – Help us spread the word throughout the sportfishing community.

“This is how we break the cycle,” says Viking’s John DePersenaire, Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability. “More fish shouldn’t mean more restrictions. Let’s support the science that helps us secure a quota better aligned with the growing stock size.” Questions? Read the full press release.