ORANGE BEACH — The Gulf Coast Triple Crown Big Game Fishing Championship kicked off with a bang Wednesday night as Orange Beach locals weighed in a bluefin tuna caught by Garret Ford that registered 110 inches and 724.8 pounds.

But it was the prize catch of a 397.8-pound, 111-inch blue marlin reeled in by Josh Rounds that secured the Orange Beach Billfish Classic title for A Work Of Art at their home marina at The Wharf.

Their tuna was only 100 pounds away from the state record caught in 2006 according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The blue marlin record was set last year at 1,145 pounds.

However, with $282,000 in tournament prizes earned from the blue marlin, A Work Of Art Captain Jason Buck and the team had another reason to celebrate.

“How many times do you get to weigh a tuna and a blue marlin that are the same length,” Buck asked the event’s host Jim Cox.

The captain was quick to credit the crew who got a brand-new boat ready to go under the wire.

“Trey Dobson, the boat would not be ready to fish (without him),” Buck said. “We just got this boat and scrambled to get it ready to fish and Trey has worked tirelessly for months without stopping, and we wouldn’t be doing this without how awesome he is.”

Owner Art Favre, who also owns The Wharf, and A Work Of Art are no strangers to Marlin Circle after they became the first repeat winner of the Blue Marlin Grand Championship last July. They also won the inaugural BMGC in 2012.

The Gulf Coast Triple Crown now moves onto the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic set for June 4-9, followed by the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic scheduled for June 19-23. The granddaddy of them all, the Blue Marlin Grand Championship, is set to wrap things up July 10-14 back at The Wharf to also determine the Triple Crown champion.

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