2025 Gulf of America Tour — Stop 1 Recap: Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic

The 2025 Gulf of America Tour is officially underway, and Team Fat Chick started the season deep in the Louisiana Gulf, fishing out of Venice for the Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic.

It didn’t take long to get into the action. One of the most memorable moments came during a chaotic storm offshore — lightning cracking, rain dumping, and a 600–700 lb bluefin tuna on the line. In true Fat Chick fashion, we fought through the madness and managed a clean release on the fish. Easily one of the wilder bites we’ve had in a while.

We picked up a couple more bluefin bites throughout the trip and brought in a handful of yellowfin in the 40–50 lb range, but nothing quite big enough to climb the leaderboard.

The toughest part? We ran into mechanical issues the night before weigh-ins, which forced us to throttle way back and crawl into port. Not ideal, but that’s how it goes sometimes on the water. The boat’s back in shape, and the crew’s locked in.

The kinks are worked out, the fuel tanks are full, and we’re looking ahead to Orange Beach for Stop 2. Plenty more water to cover — and we’re just getting started.

Stay tuned for fresh content, updates from the next leg, and new merch drops soon.

#FatChickSportfishing
#GulfOfAmericaTour
#OffshoreBuilt
#BluewaterBattles