7 Top Tournament Tips

Winning a top fishing tournament comes down to luck. No captain I’ve ever discussed this with has told me otherwise. But a quick look at major-­tournament results shows that the same boats often place in the top 10 — whether in the Caribbean for blue marlin, Florida for sailfish, mid-Atlantic for stripes or the Southeast’s kingfish circuit. That can’t be simply luck.

I’ve asked five captains consistently in that top tier what it takes to win...