Forty boats fish for three days, but the actual Pachanga is what happens after the lines come out of the water. Virginia's on the Bay shuts down its entire parking lot, brings in a headline band, and throws a real party for the awards ceremony — the kind that pulls Port A out of its houses on a Saturday night in July. "Pachanga" is Spanish for party, and the people running this one are locals who treat the name as a promise. The fishing is catch-and-release-only inside a 100-nautical-mile fence; co-founder Gabe Goodman launched it in 2019 from his own restaurant; eight years in, the purse hit $845K and roughly $50K a year goes to Harte Research Institute for Sportfish Science and the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund. The tournament that funds the science of the fish it chases — and the awards night that earns the name on the truck.
The Day
What to expect
Wednesday is check-in and registration at Virginia's on the Bay — the dockside restaurant that is also the tournament's full-time HQ. Cocktails and appetizers upstairs, captain's meeting on the deck, last pool entries paid. Most of the boats are already at the harbor for sea trials.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are the three fishing days. Boats fish the 100-mile fence — no farther than 100 nautical miles from the tip of the south jetty. Lines-in is per the official rules. Every billfish caught is released and verified by video; sailfish, white marlin, and blue marlin all release-only. Each evening boats return to Virginia's where the Sport Fishing Championship live-update coverage rolls in real time.
What's distinct on the water: the field cap. Texas Legends pays a bigger purse but doesn't cap the field. TWAT runs ~70 boats. DSR runs hundreds of fishermen across all divisions. Pachanga is intentionally smaller — meaning fewer boats fishing the same water, more accountable competition, and the tournament team can actually keep their arms around the operation. Most years it sells out.
What's distinct on shore: the awards night earns the name. Virginia's shuts down the entire parking lot Saturday for a full block-party setup — stage, headline band brought in for the night, food, drinks, and the boats' crews mixing with everyone in town who came for the music. It's hosted by locals, not a circuit production company, and it shows: less corporate, more actual party. The check presentations to Harte Research Institute and the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund happen on the same stage between sets.
Run of show
Schedule
Updated as we hear from the host. Check back the day before for any wind-driven changes.
Wed afternoon
Check-in + registration at Virginia's on the Bay
5–7 PM under a tent on Virginia's deck, then upstairs for cocktails and appetizers. Captain's meeting closes the night.
Thu morning
Day 1 — lines in the water
Boats depart for the 100-mile fishing fence. Lines-in per official rules; release-only for all billfish; video required.
Thu evening
Day 1 wrap + Sport Fishing Championship live-update
Boats return to Virginia's. Releases verified, leaderboard updates live on the Sport Fishing Championship platform.
Fri + Sat
Day 2 + Day 3 fishing + evening updates
Same rhythm. Saturday is the most-watched evening at Virginia's — final pushes for points, last billfish releases of the tournament.
Sat night
The actual Pachanga — headline band + awards in the parking lot
Virginia's shuts down its whole parking lot. A headline band is brought in for the night. Stage goes up, food and drinks flow, the crews mix with the town. Awards announced + check presentations to Harte Research Institute and the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund happen between sets. Open to anyone who shows up — this is the part you tell your friends about.
Plan ahead
Good to know
- Field is capped at 40 boats
- The only marquee Tournament Season tournament that turns boats away. Entries fill first-come; early registration discount typically through mid-June. If you're thinking about it, you're already late.
- 100-mile fence
- All fishing must happen within 100 nautical miles of the south jetty's tip. Geographic boundary keeps the field on the same waters and the boats accountable to each other.
- Catch-and-release only
- Every billfish — blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish — is released. Video verification required. No fish goes to the scale.
- Where to watch
- Virginia's on the Bay, 815 Trout St. Each evening as boats return is the show — live updates on the screens, captains comparing notes, and the cooking is excellent (catch your own and Virginia's prepares it).
- Saturday night is the actual Pachanga
- Virginia's shuts down the entire parking lot for the awards night — full stage, headline band brought in, the kind of party that pulls the rest of Port A out of their houses for a Saturday in July. Awards announced + charity check presentations happen between sets. Open to anyone — this is the part most fishing tournaments don't have.
- Sport Fishing Championship circuit
- Pachanga is part of the Sport Fishing Championship platform — same live-update infrastructure used by major billfish tournaments across Florida and the Caribbean. Live coverage at sportfishingchampionship.com.
- Where the money goes
- Half of the tournament's giving goes to Harte Research Institute for Sportfish Science (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi). The other half funds the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund. 2023 alone: $25K to Harte + $20K to PA Scholarship.
A Port A staple
Virginia's On The Bay — four decades on Avenue G
The shop is older than the festival in its current shape. Here's how it got here.
1996
Virginia's on the Bay opens
The two-story waterfront restaurant at 815 Trout St becomes a Port A fixture. Bring-your-catch is a cornerstone of the menu from the start.
2019 (Jul 17–20)
Inaugural Billfish Pachanga
Gabe Goodman launches the tournament out of Virginia's deck. Field capped at 40 boats, catch-and-release-only format, 100-mile fence — all from the start.
2023
$45K split to two beneficiaries
$25,000 to Harte Research Institute for Sportfish Science. $20,000 to the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund. The two-charity model proves out at scale.
2024 (Jul 17–20)
Record $845K payout · Sigsbee Deep wins
Anglers caught and released 187 billfish across 3 days (9 BM, 8 WM, 170 sailfish). Sigsbee Deep wins overall with 14 sailfish + 1 BM + 1 tuna + 1 dorado. Vamonos 2nd at 1,641 pts.
2026 (8th annual)
Mid-July (TBD on official site)
Eighth edition. Same format. Same restaurant. Same 40-boat cap. Same two beneficiaries.
Why this page exists
Three years in is when an event stops being a maybe and becomes the thing locals plan around. We're hosting the festival here because the Virginia's On The Baycrew earned it — and because every event on this island deserves a digital home that isn't a Facebook post.
Send us a photo
Got a Pachanga photo? Send it.
Virginia's deck during tournament week, your boat coming back at sunset, a billfish video frame, the awards-night check-presentation — anything from past Pachangas. We'll feature them leading up to July.
Day-of, the same inbox loads release videos and dock-return shots in real time. Tag the boat, the species, the day.
We won't publish your email or full name unless you ask us to. Anonymous is the default.
Live · 8th annual (2026)
Leaderboards
One panel per division. Empty until weigh-ins start; updates in real time during weigh-in windows. We cite the official board at the pavilion as the source of truth and flag any pre-official entry as unofficial.
Blue Marlin (Release)
Catch-and-release only. Highest per-species point value.
Scored by
Releases
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
White Marlin (Release)
Catch-and-release only.
Scored by
Releases
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Sailfish (Release)
Catch-and-release only. Most-released species; volume matters.
Scored by
Releases
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Special award
Grand Champion (Top Boat)
Highest total points across all three billfish species + side-species credit (sailfish are the most-numerous; tuna and dorado catches that come up incidental can also score per official rules).
All registered boats.
Special award
Top Angler
Highest individual angler points across the field.
All registered anglers.
Special award
Sport Fishing Championship Points
Pachanga is part of the Sport Fishing Championship platform. Cumulative points roll into the broader SFC season standings.
Boats registered with SFC.
Special award
Pool Payouts
Mandatory + optional billfish pool structure typical of Texas Gulf billfish tournaments. 2024 record total payout: $845,000.
Per-pool opt-in.
The divisions
Six categories. One tournament.
Adult and Junior brackets in Bay-Surf and Offshore; everyone-eligible elsewhere. Tap any division for its rules.
Blue Marlin (Release)
Most ReleasedCatch-and-release only. Highest per-species point value.
Rules
Release-only. Video verification required for all releases. Highest-value billfish in the points matrix.
White Marlin (Release)
Most ReleasedCatch-and-release only.
Rules
Release-only. Video verification required. Mid-tier billfish point value.
Sailfish (Release)
Most ReleasedCatch-and-release only. Most-released species; volume matters.
Rules
Release-only. Video verification required. Lower per-fish points than marlin, but high catch rate makes sailfish often decisive in the overall standings.
Read before fishing
Rules & regulations
The full rules live on the official site. Our summary covers the universal rules + per-division specifics so you can read in 90 seconds. Always verify against the official rules before registering.
Tournament rules
Editorial summary · 2026 (8th annual) · official rules linked below are the source of truth.
Across every division
- ▸Field is strictly capped at 40 boats. Once it fills, registration closes.
- ▸All fishing must occur within a 100-nautical-mile fence from the tip of the south jetty.
- ▸Catch-and-release ONLY for all billfish (blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish). No fish is brought to the scale.
- ▸Video verification required for every billfish release — angler in frame, leader visible, hook position confirmed.
- ▸Boats may depart from any Texas port; all releases verified through the Sport Fishing Championship live-update platform.
- ▸Tournament HQ is Virginia's on the Bay, 815 Trout St, Port Aransas — check-in, captain's meeting, evening updates, and awards all happen here.
By division
Blue Marlin (Release)
- ·Release-only with the highest per-fish point value of the three billfish species.
- ·Video verification required.
White Marlin (Release)
- ·Release-only with mid-tier per-fish point value.
- ·Video verification required.
Sailfish (Release)
- ·Release-only with lower per-fish points but typically the highest-volume species in the catch.
- ·Sailfish counts often decide the overall standings.
Have an older rules edition? Boatmen Inc. records, scanned PDFs, photos of historic posters — send to hello@theportalocal.com and we'll add it to the archive with credit.
The perpetual trophy
Past champions
Highlights from the lineage. The full archive is being assembled — if you have a winner from a missing year, send us the record and we'll add it with credit.
Past champions
Selected winners from the perpetual trophy lineage. Sources cited per entry where verified.
2024
Jul 17-20, 2024Overall
Grand Champion + Overall Billfish ChampionCrew of Sigsbee Deep
Sigsbee Deep
1,700 points. Crew released 14 sailfish (most in the tournament) + 1 blue marlin + 1 tuna + 1 dorado. Same crew finished 4th at Texas Legends 2024 — a remarkable two-tournament summer.
SourceOverall
2nd PlaceCrew of Vamonos (63-foot Spencer)
Vamonos
1,641 points. 7 sailfish + 3 blue marlin releases.
Source2019
Jul 17-20, 2019Founding edition
Inaugural PachangaFirst field of 40 boats
Co-founder Gabe Goodman launches the tournament out of Virginia's on the Bay. Catch-and-release-only billfish format with the 40-boat cap and 100-mile fence — same architecture as today.
Building this archive. Have results, photos, or family records from past Roundups? Send them to hello@theportalocal.com — credit goes back to whoever sourced the win.
The record book
Milestones & records
Verified milestones from the tournament's run. Records we can't verify (biggest fish ever, longest streak) stay out — send us provenance and they go in.
Inaugural edition
2019Year One
Gabe Goodman launches Pachanga out of Virginia's on the Bay. Field capped at 40 boats from day one — by design, not by accident.
Field cap
Always40 boats max
The only marquee Tournament Season tournament that strictly turns boats away. Smaller field by design.
Fishing fence
Always100 nautical miles
All fishing must occur within 100 nm of the south jetty's tip. Geographic constraint keeps the field accountable.
Format
AlwaysCatch-and-release only
Every billfish — blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish — released alive with video verification. No fish goes to the scale.
Two-beneficiary giving
2023$45,000 split
$25,000 to Harte Research Institute for Sportfish Science. $20,000 to the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund. The dual-charity model proves out at scale.
Record payout
2024$845,000
Total payout to anglers across mandatory + optional pools. 187 billfish released across 3 days (9 blue marlin + 8 white marlin + 170 sailfish).
The actual Pachanga
Saturday nightHeadline band
Virginia's shuts down the entire parking lot for the awards night. Headline music act brought in. Charity checks presented between sets. Open to anyone who shows up — the awards aren't just announced, they're celebrated.
Editions to date
20268 annual
Eighth edition. Same restaurant. Same 40-boat cap. Same two beneficiaries. Same locally-run team.
Day-of coverage
Live from Virginia's
This page goes live as the first boats return to Virginia's Thursday evening. Real-time leaderboard updates, billfish-release video stills as they're verified through the Sport Fishing Championship platform, and the deck-side energy at the restaurant all land here as they happen. If you're at Virginia's with a phone, send shots to hello@theportalocal.com — they go straight into the feed with credit.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can I just show up to watch?+
Yes. Virginia's on the Bay is a public restaurant — the upstairs deck and bar are open during tournament evenings, and the live updates run on the screens. Get there by 5 PM Friday or Saturday for the best vibe.
Why is the field capped at 40?+
Smaller field = more accountable competition + the team can actually run the operation tightly. Bigger tournaments with 80+ boats (Texas Legends) trade tightness for purse size; Pachanga goes the other way. Both choices work; Pachanga's choice is what makes it Pachanga.
What does 'Pachanga' mean?+
Spanish for 'party.' The tournament has the energy to match — Virginia's deck, music, food, captains rotating in and out as the boats come back. Different tone from the Triple Crown gravity of Texas Legends; closer to TWAT's spectacle without the costumes.
Can I fish if I'm not from Texas?+
Yes. Boats register from across the Gulf Coast and beyond. The 100-mile fence applies regardless of home port, but you have to register early — the cap is real.
Where do the donations actually go?+
Harte Research Institute for Sportfish Science (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) — they study the same billfish populations Pachanga catches. And the Port Aransas Scholarship Fund — local kids going to college. Documented donation totals in the milestones panel below.
How do I register to fish?+
Through billfishpachanga.com. Spots fill on a rolling basis once registration opens; early-bird discount usually runs through mid-June.