FULL TOURNAMENT PHOTO GALLERY HERE
August 22nd- 24th, 2025 – Southern California:
After a three-year hiatus, the Pelagic California Tuna Challenge is back in Southern California. Fishing the bluefin-rich Pacific waters, 21 teams competed for over $96,000 in cash and prizes. With registration and captain’s meetings held both at the Marlin Club in San Diego and Pelagic headquarters in Costa Mesa, anglers from all parts of Southern California were stoked to test their skills to determine who would end up the top tuna team.
Boats had the option to depart from any SoCal port of call and bring their heaviest fish to weigh stations positioned at three historic fishing locations: The San Diego Marlin Club, Balboa Angling Club, and the revered fishing village of Avalon on Catalina Island. Each served as official IGFA certified weigh stations and played an important role in what would be an exciting finish at the scales in this competition.
A new format allowed teams to begin fishing at 5:30am Friday and continue around the clock until 4:00pm Saturday. Extended weigh station hours both evenings meant teams could bring up to four tunas to the scales on either day. Winners were ultimately decided by the single heaviest eligible tuna from each team, with bluefin, yellowfin, and bigeye qualifying. Strategy was critical, as teams spread out across a variety of waters chasing large schools of surface-feeding tuna.
Day one at the scales started strong with team BLUEFINish arriving at the Avalon Pier with the first fish of the tournament. That fish weighed a respectable 104lbs and set the mark for the other teams to beat. Next up, team Bluefin Bandits arrived with their first fish, taking over the lead with a nice 127lb bluefin. Day one’s optional weigh period ended with only those two fish being hung from the scales, as most teams decided to take advantage of the good weather and evening bite.
When the sun rose on day two, anticipation built for what would be a busy day at the scales in Avalon. Smaller bluefin in the 30–70-pound range dominated early weigh-ins, but as the afternoon progressed, and with a late rally in San Diego, the leaderboard tightened. Team One, two, tres broke away from the pack in the aggregate jackpot division, weighing two fish of 120.5 and 91.5 for a combined of 212lbs while also moving into third place in the single biggest fish overall winner division. Next up was team RJJ&CSI, taking the lead with a beautiful bluefin tipping the scales at 138 pounds. Later that evening, team BLUEFINish arrived with their second fish – a 129-pounder, earning them second place overall, pushing past Bluefin Bandits into third.
Meanwhile, things would get exciting at the Marlin Club in San Diego, as several teams would make it to the scales with fish to weigh prior to the 10:00pm deadline. Team Testa Dura got things started in San Diego, weighing two fish of 84.4 and 63.2lbs, a good effort but not good enough to move onto the podium. Team Pangalisa made things interesting when they pulled up at 8:20pm with their 119lbs tuna, but it was not enough to get them in the money. Waiting patiently was team Cut Loose bringing the final fish of the tournament to the scales. This fish looked like it could be a difference maker and sure enough, it clocked in at exactly 129lbs and catapulted them into third place overall.
When the dust settled and all the weights and times of weigh in were calculated on Catchstat, the official winners were declared as follows:
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1st Place – Team RJJ&CSI
Capt. Chuck Newberry (Sea Dawg Sportfishing, Huntington Beach) and angler Joseph Ta secured top honors with their 138-pound bluefin. The team earned $21,860, the 1st place trophy from Marine Trophies of Tooagoz, a Morita Custom Gaff, Turtle Box Audio speaker, Okuma 50W reel, Danco Premio Titanium pliers, RAP Pipe, California Flyers kite package, and a $250 Pelagic gift card. -
2nd Place – Team BLUEFINish
Led by angler Scott Underhill, they landed two fish over 100 pounds, including their 129-pounder for second place. They took home $2,100, the 2nd place trophy, Morita Custom Gaff, RAP Pipe, California Flyer package, Danco Premio pliers, and a $250 Pelagic gift card. -
3rd Place – Team Cut Loose
Capt. Chris Von Huben and angler Jeff King weighed a 129-pounder in dramatic fashion to secure third. Their prize haul included $840, the 3rd place trophy, Morita Custom Gaff, California Flyer kit, Danco Premio pliers, RAP Pipe, and a $250 Pelagic gift card. -
Aggregate Jackpot – Team One, Two, Tres
Capt. Ben Knight’s team swept all aggregate divisions with a 212-pound two-fish total, also claiming higher-level single fish jackpots. Their payout: $70,000, a Morita Custom Gaff, and a $250 Pelagic gift card. -
Optional Jackpots
Two additional jackpots were on the line for dorado and yellowtail. While no dorado were weighed, Team Boundless with Capt. Jon Fitchett landed the only yellowtail of the tournament—a 27-pounder worth $800 and a Morita Custom Gaff.
Special thanks go out to the San Diego Marlin Club and Balboa Angling Club for their hospitality in hosting weigh-ins, and to CCA California for their continued advocacy on behalf of recreational anglers. Teams supported CCA by purchasing raffle tickets for prize packages donated by Pelagic, Turtle Box Audio, Morita Custom Gaffs, Okuma, California Flyer, Danco Pliers, RAP Systems, and BKK Hooks. We’d also like to thank the city of Avalon and Avalon Seafood for their gracious support of the Catalina Island weigh station.
We’re deeply grateful to our partners, Morita Custom Gaffs, Turtle Box Audio, Okuma Reels, Danco Pliers, California Flyer Co., RAP Systems, and BKK Hooks, for providing incredible prizes and swag for all participants.
Finally, a huge thank you to every angler and team that joined us for this year’s California Tuna Challenge. We look forward to welcoming you back for the 4th edition in Southern California and hope to see many of you at the 10th Annual Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament in Quepos, Costa Rica, January 15th – 18th, 2026.
Partner Links:
https://www.themarlinclub.com/
https://balboaanglingclub.org/
https://californiaflyerco.com/
https://marineartandtrophies.com/
https://bkkhooks-americas.com/
https://www.okumafishingusa.com
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