LEADERBOARD SHUFFLE

The 2022 season-long tournament closes with narrow wins

- BY CAPT. JEN COPELAND

The third-annual Mongo Offshore Challenge wrapped up 2022 with what was another amazing season, proving that the contest's new US East Coast division managed to attract more of the best in American big-game fishing, adding to the already successful Gulf of Mexico division of years past.

The 2022 Mongo leaderboard stayed active, with many late-season leader mix-ups and categories ending with narrow wins. The format is designed by competitors for competitors, and is intended to help level the playing field and attract more teams to compete by allowing teams to fish when they want and as often as they want. Regardless of weather or moon phase, this tournament adds excitement to those fun fishing trips-making every leader, crimp, fight, and gaff shot matter.

Teams fishing the Mongo check out prior to departure by using the tournament's mobile app, which allows the participants to view who is fishing in real time. Teams also use the app to score fish that meet the challenging minimum-size limits, which also happen to be the highest in the industry, enforcing the tournament's credo: Let the small ones go so they can grow.

The 2022 fleet of 214 registered teams, with boats 21 to 92 feet, fished more than 3,200 anglers, collectively competing in more than 4,400 trips, which included fun-fishing and tournament days. Mongo participants strove to land the largest blue marlin, swordfish, tuna, wahoo and mahi of the season in their division, in an attempt to be named the heavyweight champs with prestigious awards that included a custom 40-inch trophy and their share of more than $500,000 in cash and $40,000 in sponsored prizes. The results are as follows:

GULF DIVISION

Blue Marlin, 785 pounds Rising Son's, Viking 58 Winnings: $121,125