June 27, 2026

Back on the Water. UM Dolphins Celebrity Tournament

She’s back.

Yesterday was our first day back on the water since the rebuild project. Brand new rebuilt Cummins diesels, fresh paint from bow to stern. Hearing those motors fire up and feeling her settle into a cruise… man, it felt good. Like Christmas morning good.

We loaded up with live bait and headed out with Ken and his crew for the University of Miami Dolphins Celebrity Tournament. Good group of guys, good energy, and a boat that was ready to prove herself.

The Hump. Tuna Said No

First stop was the hump hoping to get into some nice Blackfin tuna. They did not want to cooperate. Not a bump, not a look, not even a courtesy bite. That’s how it goes sometimes.

So we pushed deeper.

100 Miles Along the EEZ

We basically fished all day along that imaginary fence called the EEZ line. The Exclusive Economic Zone boundary that separates us and the Bahamas. It’s just a line on a chart but on the water it’s nothing but blue horizon in every direction and the hope that something’s about to happen.

We hit set after set of birds. Flock after flock, diving and working, the kind of surface action that gets your blood pumping. But no big fish underneath them. Just schoolies picking off the scraps.

At one point we had a frigate bird come swooping down into a set and I’m not going to lie, my heart rate spiked. When you see a frigate bird commit like that it usually means something big is pushing bait. Something worth getting excited about. I was thinking this could be it.

It wasn’t.

The Results

8 schoolie mahi, fun to catch but nothing worth taking to the scales
100+ miles round trip, we covered serious water
Zero Blackfin tuna, they get to win this round
Zero big fish, the birds lied to us all day

The Real Win

Here’s the thing though. The boat ran great. Those rebuilt Cummins pushed us out deep, kept us fishing hard all day, and brought us home without missing a beat. After a full rebuild that’s exactly what you want to see on day one. Over 100 miles of shakedown and she didn’t skip a heartbeat.

Ken and the crew had a good time even with the fish not cooperating. That’s what matters. You can’t control the bite but you can control the experience, and this crew made the best of a tough day on the water.

The Takeaway

Some days the ocean hands you a 463-pound swordfish. Other days it hands you 8 schoolie mahi after 100 miles of chasing birds. That’s fishing. The tournament didn’t go our way but the DirtyBoat is officially back in action and running better than ever.