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Held April 29–May 2, 2026, at Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour Marina in the Bahamas, Skip Smith’s The Shootout: Production vs. Custom once again delivered on its promise as one of the most exclusive and competitive events in big-game fishing. An invitation-only field featuring 68 of the sport’s top teams—spanning both production and custom inboard boats 33 feet and larger—set the stage for one of the biggest tournaments of the season.
The action on the water matched the billing. Across the fleet, anglers released 100 blue marlin, 130 white marlin, and 113 sailfish, contributing to an impressive total of 348 billfish releases.
When the final points were tallied, Plane Simple, a 77-foot Spencer captained by Jimmy Werling, stood alone atop the leaderboard with 3,650 points, earning $281,315 for the win. Close behind was fellow Spencer build Marlin Darlin, a 66-footer run by Capt. Shay Danzig, finishing second with 3,350 points and a payout of $126,055.
Rounding out the top three was Mama Who, an 80-foot Weaver captained by Chucky Moore, with 2,450 points and $34,680 in winnings. Leading the charge aboard Mama Who was owner Lainey Jones, who earned both Top Angler and Top Lady Angler honors with 2,450 points from releasing five blue marlin and three white marlin.
At the scales, Valentine, a 64-foot Lightning captained by John Henry, produced the largest blue marlin of the event with angler Clinton Rodamer’s 566.2-pound fish, earning them a $187,425 payout.
In the gamefish divisions, Cloud Nine’s Kevin Paul weighed the largest tuna at 65.8 pounds, securing a $48,000 payout, while Cool Breeze, an 82-foot Viking captained by Ken Hinsley, claimed top mahi with a 64.2 lbs-pound dolphin caught by Alby Ricketts, also earning $48,000.
With a total purse of $1,149,200, and anchored by some of the stiffest competition on the circuit, The Shootout once again proved why this event remains a marquee stop in the annual billfish tournament schedule.
