Bay Point Day 2: Blues Take Control, Cowboys Surge
From a bent prop to the podium positions, watch for the Cowboys on Championship Saturday
Day Two of the Bay Point Billfish Open belonged to the Mississippi Blues, but the Gulf Coast Cowboys have announced themselves as legitimate threats for the win after suffering a full-day setback at the start.
When the sun rose over the Gulf Friday morning, the Third Coast Renegades held a 600-point lead after a strong first day. But just after 6:00 a.m., Adam Davidson released a blue marlin to vault the Blues into second place before doing it again less than 90 minutes later. Davidson's second blue marlin of the morning pushed the Blues to 900 points and into the tournament lead before most teams had settled into their day.
At 9:13 AM, Davidson added a white marlin to bring their total to 1,000 points while also putting the team one species away from completing a billfish grand slam and earning the 200-point bonus.
Meanwhile with the Regades, Dylan Frazier answered with a pair of sailfish releases to move the defending Gulf Division champions to 1,275 points and briefly reclaim the lead. Like the Blues, the Renegades also find themselves one species shy of a grand slam, needing only a white marlin on the final day to unlock the 200-point bonus.
While the Blues and Renegades found blue marlin, the Texas Lone Stars continued finding sailfish.
Beginning the day with a triple, the defending SFC champions then doubled up on white marlin shortly after 3:00 PM with Bryan Richter and David Blackbird. The double moved the Lone Stars to 725 points while leaving them one blue marlin away from completing a grand slam of their own.
But the Lone Stars would find themselves bumped down on the leaderboard even with the fish they registered. The Gulf Coast Cowboys, began mounting their comeback.
Brian Kelley released their first blue marlin of the tournament, ending an incredible journey that began with Thursday morning's propeller damage. Nearly 18 and a half hours after finally leaving the dock Thursday night, the Cowboys were officially on the leaderboard.
The momentum nearly continued immediately afterward as Dalton Benefield came tight on another fish just minutes later, but the fish broke off. At 6:05 PM, Dalton Benefield got his redemption, this time successfully releasing their second blue marlin. It brought the Cowboys to 900 points and jumped the Lone Stars for third place.
Elsewhere around the fleet, the West Florida Black Flags find themselves in fifth place. Donnie McMahon released a white marlin before Rose McMahon recorded her first career SFC release with a sailfish. She later added a second sailfish to help the Black Flags finish the day with 225 points.
Before the sun went down, Dylan Frazier added another sailfish for the Third Coast Renegades, and the Texas Lone Stars and Bryan Richter added another white marlin.
550 Points separate first and fourth place, with all five clubs with fish on the board being one species away from the grand slam bonus. That bonus can play a big factor in deciding who sprays champagne and takes home the Citizen Trophy tomorrow.
Every placement has major implications for the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs. The Louisiana Canyons need a billfish on the board to avoid earning 7th place points (yes, even in a 6-boat field).
Day 2 Leaderboard
Mississippi Blues - 1,450 Points
Third Coast Renegades - 1,350 Points
Gulf Coast Cowboys - 900 Points
Texas Lone Stars - 900 Points
West Florida Black Flags - 225 Points
Louisiana Canyons