Celebrating our flagship tournament with the 17th Annual Belikin Blue Water Classic, our BGFA crew proudly hosted 27 crews from Old Belize, Belize City on October 29-31, 2026. With one or two changes to our usual operations, including an app in partnership with MarAlliance, here’s how fishing played out with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.
BRIEFING: OCTOBER 29, 2026
Welcoming 27 teams total, our event schedule began with final preparations held the night before fishing commenced, checking boats in, orienting for complimentary docking, finalizing any outstanding details per team like fuel or ice, then distributing complimentary weekend packages. Thanks to our slew of sponsors, each boat received cases of Belikin Beer, Crystal Water, Snackers, and Kayn Rum, plus exclusive #17BWC2026 inclusions, like dry-fit long-sleeve hoodies and all-access passes for the weekend.
Thereafter, captains and crew went from the Market Bar to the Street Scene for any questions for our weighmaster, Giovanni “Jovy” Duran, mostly led by our President, Madelyn Bowen. With tournament rules outlined and shared, the (optional) Calcutta buy-in of $1,500 was then tallied, with all boats purchasing their respective titles. The total $40,500 will be split 60% in addition to 1st Prize, 30% in addition to 2nd Prize, and 10% as seed funding for the next Blue Water Classic.
Introducing the MAR App
With advocacy and sustainable wildlife conservation at the helm of our identity at BGFA, from lobbying alongside coalitions to implementing release-only tournament rules, we happily encourage citizen science, considering anglers are often the first to witness (and log) reports! This year, MarAlliance fed that flame by introducing a trial run of their citizen science fishing app: MARAP. Through this digital platform, this trial helps determine whether it can be used at future tournaments to make logging catches easier, tallying points faster, and the whole process more accessible for everyone.
Running alongside the official competition, a mock tournament was conducted through MARAP, giving anglers the opportunity to test its features firsthand: MARAP is not a substitute for recording catches with the weighmaster, and it won't count toward official tournament standings. However, there was a reward for logging each team’s catch per day. Through this partnership, we sponsored a cash prize of $1,000 for the boat that logged the most, while both top two boats also took home a MarAlliance-themed gift.
Beyond the tournament, MARAP creates opportunities for recreational fishers to contribute valuable citizen science data, helping us better understand marine species and support sustainable fisheries management in Belize! Congratulations to our two winners:
1st Place: Toro Loco & Crew, receiving $1,000 sponsored by the Belize Game Fish Association (BGFA) + a MarAlliance merchandise package.
2nd Place: Stir It Up & Crew, receiving a MarAlliance merchandise package.
FISHING: OCTOBER 30 & 31, 2026
With a Bimini start promptly airhorned at 6:00 AM sharp from Cucumber Beach Marina at Old Belize, all teams must have checked in beforehand and received their individual flag for the respective day of fishing. Complimentary meat pies, thanks to Moe’s, and coffee were available for crews in the Old Belize Food Market from 5 am onward as queues began in the no-wake-zone marina. With Astrum Helicopters capturing content from above, everyone simultaneously sped off in their chosen direction—regardless of where you choose to fish within Belize’s marine waters, crews must report lines out by 4:00 PM as the official end of day 1.
Andrew Martinez then officially opened the scoreboard with an estimated 30lb wahoo for his team, Knot Too Sure, before 8 AM, with a 20lb kingfish by Jett Diab for Deep Impact not too long after. As reports of pelagics rolled in, Deep Impact was the first to break into billfish territory with a sailfish release by Matthew Codd before noon. Team Helios’ angler Gustavo Giron added a sailfish within the same hour, while Jolly Mon’s Dominik Novelo reported his own sailfish an hour later.
Day 2 saw no Bimini start, but exhilaration awaited nonetheless, with all teams required to return to the dock before 4:00 PM that day. And while arguably slower, with many teams reporting lost bill-wrapped lines, it was still anyone’s game. Jorge Castillo of Outdaughtered was the first to open the floor on this day, reporting a dorado outside San Pedro. Very soon, all 27 boats returned to dock before the official tournament closed at 4:00 PM as Weighmaster Duran tallied the results!
PRIZEGIVING: OCTOBER 31, 2026
On behalf of the BGFA, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in the 17th Belikin Blue Water Classic! Your participation means so much to us, and we’ll never take it for granted.
Congratulations to all the winners! Here’s how each winning team landed on the scoreboard.
WINNERS
1st PLACE: DEEP IMPACT
“Deep Impact” wins 1st Place in the 16th Annual Belikin Blue Water Classic! Representing Belize City, Captain Albert Riverol and his team leave with an immaculate hand-carved cluster trophy, an original Ernest Garcia art piece, and sweep the scoreboard for a total of $54,800. Earnings include First Place ($25,000), 60% Calcutta ($24,300), Top Angler ($2,500), Heaviest Kingfish ($1,000), Heaviest Dorado ($1,000), and Small Fry ($1,000).
Crew: Jules Diab, Matthew Codd, Jayden Leiva, Mohammed Diab
2nd PLACE: HELIOS
Captain Samir Diaz led his team to victory for a total prize package of Ernest Garcia art, an engraved hardwood trophy, and a combined cheque of $27,150, with Second Place ($15,000) and 30% Calcutta ($12,150).
Crew: Shamir Sutherland, Luis Pedro
3rd PLACE: JOLLYMON
Belize City’s own Captain Brandon Bowen, at the helm of JollyMon, earned his team Third Place, for a $10,000 cashout and hand-carved trophy.
Crew: Brett Bowen, Chad Gillett, Allen Valdes, Dominik Novel, Breannah Musa
4th PLACE: MAD STORME
Captained by Dr. Adrian Heusner, Fourth Place ($7,500) and a flat $10,000 belong to Mad Storme, who also earned the Top Female Angler trophy ($2,500) to bump up their winnings.
Crew: Emerson Vasquez, Robby Peyrefitte, Seleny Vasquez
5th PLACE: KNOT TOO SURE
Before Captain Kamric “Tyga” Black runs back to San Pedro, his crew rounds out our scoreboard with Fifth Place ($5,000) and the tournament’s Heaviest Wahoo ($2,500).
Crew: Seth Edwards, Justin Ramirez, Andrew Martinez, James Pollard
AWARDEES
Congratulations to all! Awards were issued by President Madelyn Bowen and Tournament Director Nathan Duncker.
TOP ANGLER
Top Angler for 2026 is Matthew Codd of Belize City with team “Deep Impact”, skyrocketing to the top spot with a combined Sailfish release on Day 1 and two wahoo, for 1,070.5 points.
TOP FEMALE ANGLER
Top Female Angler for 2026 is Seleny Aldana of Belize City with team “Mad Storme” with a total of 43.5 points.
TOP JUNIOR ANGLER
Top Angler for 2026 is Bention Feinstein Jr. of Belize City with team “BenAvi2” with his 24.5 lb wahoo.
SMALL FRY ANGLER
Free scoops for a year with the Ice Cream Shoppe is pretty sweet, and so is $1,000: Jett Diab of Belize City’s “Deep Impact” is this year’s Small Fry Angler.
HEAVIEST DORADO
Jett Diab of “Deep Impact” returns to the stage for Heaviest Dorado, caught on Day 1.
HEAVIEST KINGFISH
His first fish of the tournament, Jett Diab landed a 21.5 lb kingfish on Day 1 for “Deep Impact”.
HEAVIEST WAHOO
Andrew Martinez edged out the rest with his 36lb wahoo on Day 1 with team “Knot Too Sure”.
MANTA ISLAND PACKAGE RECIPIENT
Paula Griffith and a guest will enjoy the 12-acre private island on the edge of Glover’s Reef Atoll for 3 nights, all-inclusive! Thank you to Manta Island Resort for sponsoring this prize package.
Thank you to all our sponsors, participants, members, and supporters! We are truly grateful to all teams that fished with us—we look forward to hosting you all at the 18th Belikin Blue Water Classic in 2027.
