Launched in 2020, the Tripletail Classic is a fly fishing only tournament in the Mobile Bay area and surrounding waters targeting the Atlantic Tripletail only. In a few short years, it has exploded in popularity, such that the 35 team registration limit is now reached many months before the tournament is held.
The tournament format is Catch-Tag-Photo-Release (CTPR). Participants use dart tagging kits and the Fishing Chaos app to log and submit their catches. The purpose is to tag and release a significant quantity of fish to benefit species research conducted by the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab. Funds raised at the Awards Event go to GCRL conservation efforts.
This year, the Tripletail Classic has been moved to a much earlier date – Saturday, June 7th. While this isn’t the peak time for tripletail activity, there have been numerous reports of blackfish inside boundary waters.
There is much more to this event than the fishing. Sponsors and conservation organizations will be on hand during the afternoon leading up to the awards banquet that evening. The FFI Gulf Coast Council will again be participating in the Conservation Causeway. The Causeway was created as an outreach opportunity for organizations with a stewardship mission to connect with attendees. With nearly 200 folks on hand, this is a great opportunity to share our involvement in conservation issues.
For more on the Tripletail Classic, go to www.tripletailclassic.com.
Two developments last week in the ongoing efforts to mitigate the proposed Mobile Bay dredging project. FYI, this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to deepen and widen the ship channel in the bay for larger ships to use the Port of Mobile calls pumping sediment directly into the bay. The amount of sediment involved – estimated to be 90 million cubic yards over 20 years – threatens to smother seagrasses, oysters, and reduce dissolved oxygen negatively impacting all aquatic species.
Caddo Fly Fishing Expo
A reminder that our 3rd annual Gulf Coast Classic fly fishing festival is next weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores. If you’ve procrastinated about going, or your weekend (or Saturday) is suddenly free, it’s not too late to register. Or sign up for workshops, the Fly Fishing Film Tour on Saturday evening, or register for the Mixed Bag Contest.
This past Wednesday, the Louisiana House Natural Resources Committee met to consider several legislative bills, including HB604. This bill would’ve established a program for purchasing tags to kill red drum over the 27 inch maximum size limit. A limited number of tags would be sold for a fee of $25 each.
The Spring 2025 edition of The Gulf Streamer, the newsletter of the Gulf Coast Council of Fly Fishers International, is now available to the public online.
Registration is now live for our 3rd annual Gulf Coast Classic to be held May 2nd and 3rd at the Learning Campus in Gulf State Park. This event continues to grow in popularity, featuring some of the nation’s top fly tiers, regional fishing experts, educational workshops, as well as a slew of fun activities such as a Mixed Bag Challenge fishing contest, a Fly Fishing Film Tour showing, and a large raffle with many one-of-a-kind items.
30th annual Red Stick Day
