A tournament-record 107 teams experienced exceptional fishing and big payouts at the Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament Jan. 9-12 at Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, Costa Rica. Over two days of fishing, the fleet released a tournament-record 2,425 billfish as teams competed for a share of $2.3 million.
With 63 sailfish and five blue marlin releases over two days, Game Plan, a 65-foot American Custom Yacht captained by John Brennan, took Grand Champion honors and $1.1 million, which Pelagic indicated might be the largest single-team payout ever for an all-release tournament.
Capt. Brennan, who has fished 17 seasons in Costa Rica, had a very simple strategy headed into the event. He gave credit to his anglers and crew and Game Plan owner Sherman Burrows for being locked in during the event.
“My strategy was to go out and find some more birds and bait balls,” he said. “My anglers were on, and we found the fish. It’s like that every time you win a tournament. Those two critical things came together, and we won.”
Brennan also had an ace up his sleeve. His mentor, Brian Phillips — the legendary captain of the legendary 74 Spencer Smooth Move — was on the bridge running sonar during the event. “It was really cool to have my mentor on the boat with me when everything came together,” Brennan said.
And, by design, there was never a tense moment.
“We don’t keep the radio up. I don’t keep score with the other boats while we’re out there,” he said. “Any time we win or do well, my anglers don’t know it until it’s over. It keeps the crew focused on fishing. Just focus on the next fish, not on trying to keep a lead or anything. They always ask in the end, and if they see I’ve got that smile on my face, they know we did well.”
It was all smiles for Game Plan on the awards stage, as they took the lion’s share of the payout with 7,800 points for first place Billfish Release overall and Grand Champion honors. Their overall winnings competing in the Sonar division with daily billfish jackpots totaled $1,161,200.
Rounding out the top earners, Kelly Dawn took home over $340,000 for first place in the non-sonar division combined with heaviest dorado honors. Catch 23 and Sea Base went home with $136,800 each in marlin jackpots. Fire Fly took home $121,460 in combined gamefish jackpots while team Salty Canucks scored $107,060 for their tournament-record 171-lb. yellowfin tuna.
“I could not be more proud of our team and all their hard work and dedicated commitment to our overall success,” said tournament director Tony DiGiulian. “It is truly an honor to be part of sport fishing history. An offshore tournament fleet of over 100 boats, with prize money over $2.3 million puts the Rockstar in elite company. To say we have awarded a single check for over $1 million to our Grand Champion in a 100 percent billfish release tournament is truly something to be proud of. Without question, this is a victory for conservation and billfish release tournaments across the globe.
The 10th anniversary of the Rock Star Offshore Tournament will be held January 15-18, 2026 at Marina Pez Vela, Quepos, Costa Rica. For more information, visit www.pelagictournaments.com.
