2026

By Jim Cox:
“It was a great season,” said Buck. “In a year when not a lot of big fish were weighed, it magnified the
importance of every fish, in every tournament!”
Owner Art Farve and his team scored points in three of the four sanctioned tournaments, beginning
with a first place-finish in the opening event, the Orange Beach Billfish Classic at The Wharf. After
the second tournament, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic, A Work of Art and three other
teams each had 250 points in the four-way tie for first place, but after the third event, there was
separation atop the leaderboard.
After claiming their second first-place Catch and Release spot on the tournament trail at the Emerald
Coast Blue Marlin Classic at Sandestin, A Work of Art was alone in first place with 500 points, leading
Metal Masher by 75 points (425 total) and It Just Takes Time (275 total) by 225 points.
Teams are awarded 250 points for a first-place finish in both the weighed Blue Marlin and Catch and
Release divisions at Gulf Coast Triple Crown tournaments. Second place in those divisions receives
175 points while a third-place finish gets 100 points.
Most teams in the competition knew they would need to score in both weighed Blue Marlin and Catch
and Release to catch Buck and company. Instead, it was Buck, who now has won an unprecedented
five Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championships on two different boats, who put up big points in both
divisions.
A Work of Art won the Blue Marlin Grand Championship with a 641.2-pound fish, earning another 250
points, and finished in second place in Catch and Release by releasing seven Blue Marlin along with
their boated fish, earning an additional 175 points, finishing the year with 925 points. It Just Takes
Time, with their first place Catch and Release finish at The Blue Marlin Grand Championship, closed
out the year in second place with 525 points, while Metal Masher finished in third place with 425
points. The top three boats are all from Orange Beach, Alabama.
“Jason is not only a great captain, but he’s a great person, a great family man, and those qualities have
enabled him to put together a tremendous team,” said Farve. “But I think what separates him is the allaround
program he has built. It’s a year-round commitment to always finding ways to get better. To
make sure when a tournament week arrives, he has done everything to give us the best chance to win,
and I think our results speak for themselves.”
“As someone who fishes these tournaments and works in the boating industry, there just simply isn’t
another captain with the accomplishments of Jason Buck,” said Chris Bazor of Grander Marine, the
presenting sponsor of the Gulf Coast Triple Crown. “He’s driven, passionate, yet also very humble. He
is an inspiration to many.”
There may be two teams tied for first, but this is anything but a two-team race,” said Team Supreme
Captain Chase Lake before the start of the Blue Marlin Grand Championship. Hallmark agreed.
“There are so many teams that could come from behind us and win it at The Wharf. I think we’re
going to have to either weigh a big fish or win Catch & Release to win the championship.”
Jason Buck is the only five-time Gulf Coast Triple Crown Champion (2012, 2013, 2018, 2022 and
2026). Only four other captains have won the championship multiple times: Jason Hallmark (2021,
2025), Robbie Doggett (2015, 2019), and Chase Lake (2023, 2024).