Getty Image / Sean Gardner
While most of us were busy watching football last weekend, Michael Jordan and his Catch 23 fishing team were busy fishing the 2025 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament where they finished tied for third after releasing a whopping 33 sailfish. It ended up being a huge payday for Michael Jordan and Catch 23 who took home the 3rd most money of any fishing team.
Based strictly on points accrued, Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 finished in 11th place with 4,200 points. That’s primarily because this is a tournament which leans heavily towards marlin. MJ’s boat only landed three marlin over the two days of fishing, 2 blue marlin and 1 black marlin. It was, however, the marlin that ended up accounting for the bulk of Catch 23‘s fat payday.
Michael Jordan’s ‘Catch 23’ Boats A Valuable Marlin
On Day 1 of the ‘Sonar 5K Marlin Only Daily Jackpot,’ an option category which 36 boats entered where each competing boat puts up $5,000 to enter that category, Michael Jordan‘s boat won the daily jackpot. That earned Catch 23 a $72,000.00 payout for the Sonar 5K Marlin Only Daily Jackpot for Day 1.
Pelagic / Catchstat
MJ’s crew finished 10th overall in the SONAR 3K BILLFISH RELEASE OVERALL TOP THREE category and 7th in the SONAR 20K BILLFISH RELEASE WTA category. His boat’s total catch count was 2 blue marlin, 1 black marlin, and 33 sailfish for a total of 36 fish on the board.
33 sailfish might sound like A LOT. And it is by most standards. But this region of Costa Rica offers some of the best sailfish fishing in the world and across the entire tournament there was a whopping 2,325 sailfish caught in total.
Other Big Winners At The 2025 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore
Cody Moss / Fire Fly
One local boat, and I say ‘local’ here not as locals to Quepos but to where I leave here in SW Florida, was the Fire Fly from team owner Rob Reynolds which took home the ‘Dorado’ category (mahi-mahi / dolphin) and finished 5th overall on the tournament’s money list with a whopping $121K+.
Fire Fly won the Dorado division thanks to that massive 58.8 pound fish you see above. The 2nd heaviest mahi-mahi weighed was a 35-pounder so they ran away with that category. Fire Fly, a 43′ Maverick, also finished 5th in the Tuna category with this 147.6-pound fish:
Cody Moss / Fire Fly
A big thanks to Fire Fly angler Cody Moss for providing the photos above from the boat’s haul!
The boat that won it all, Game Plan, took home a ridiculous check for $1,161,200.00. They finished the 2-day tournament with a total of 7,800 points which included a catch total of 5 blue marlin and 63 sailfish.
Just let that sink in for a moment… They earned $1.161 million for 2 days of fishing. I was bitten by the fishing bug as early as anyone but never in my wildest dreams could I imagine someone paying me a million dollars to go fishing. That has to be the best feeling in the world.
Pelagic / Catchstat
This fishing guide who I’ve gone out with locally here in Florida was down there to fish the 2025 Pelagic Rockstar Offshore Tournament and shared some photos from his adventure. They finished 2nd in the tuna division fishing onboard the King of the Seas, a 47′ Freeman. That 204.30-pound tuna was good for $28,890 and their team earned $35,130.00 overall.
I believe the last time I wrote about Michael Jordan and Catch 23 in a fishing tournament was in May of last year when they won the 2024 Abaca Shootout Fishing Tournament after catching 4 blue marlin, 5 white marlin, and a sailfish.
It’s cool to see MJ’s boat make it all the way through the Panama Canal for events like this on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. With a boat like that, why not take it everywhere in the world with you? His 82′ Bayliss can be seen here at a tournament last Summer:
Pretty, pretty nice.