Dozens of boats. Hundreds of women. One shelter. Pete Fox started the Texas Women Anglers Tournament in 1984 with the same idea his family still runs it on today — women fishing for women, with every dollar that doesn't go to the winners going to The Purple Door, the Coastal Bend's shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Forty-plus years and $130,000 later, the fishing is still real and the community is still the point. The Saturday weigh-in at Fisherman's Wharf — themed boats parading in (Candy Land, Wizard of Oz, Mardi Gras), full costumes, money sprayers, smoke machines, multi-million-dollar yachts turned into parade floats, beads thrown to the crowd, the kind of cheering you'd expect at actual Mardi Gras — pulls a bigger audience than several mega-money tournaments on this coast. The shirts are everywhere for a reason.
Why this tournament exists
Every dollar that doesn't go to the winners goes to The Purple Door(formerly Women's Shelter of South Texas)
“The only fishing tournament where the size of the prize is matched by what gets sent to people who need it.”
Empowers survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault to transition to a safe, healthy environment. Confidential, free of charge, available to anyone in the Coastal Bend.
Total raised for The Purple Door to date
$130,000+
Service area
Coastal Bend (Corpus Christi + surrounding counties)
Port A Local has no financial relationship with the tournament or the charity — we're a local site that thinks more eyes on this work is the right move.
The Day
What to expect
Friday evening is the warm-up: registration, dinner, a concert, and the cash-pot announcements at the downtown reception venue (we'll list the spot once it's publicly announced). Boats depart at 8 PM. The room fills with women who've been coming for years, women fishing their first tournament, daughters who've graduated from the dock to the deck, and the families that built this thing in the 1980s.
Saturday morning is the long day on the water. Lines in at 6:30 AM. Boats fish offshore for billfish (blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish — release only) and bring back dolphin, tuna, and wahoo for the scale. The overall trophy is points from billfish plus 1 point per pound across the other three. Out-of-town anglers are gone before most spectators are awake.
Here's what you don't see at every other tournament: the boats leave the docks at sunrise looking like the tournament boats they are. Towers up, outriggers stowed, crew in shorts and team shirts, electronics fired up. All business. The transformation happens on the run home. By the time they blast through the little jetties before the 7:30 PM cutoff, the props are deployed, crews are in full costume, smoke machines are armed. Then the harbor fills with decorated boats — circling, idling, finishing the decor, getting their timing right — sometimes for an hour before they back into the dock. That harbor-circle window is the spectacle before the spectacle. Boats from the Aransas Pass channel out to Roberts Point Park, all themed up, all waiting their turn. Worth getting to the wharf by 6 to see it.
When the boats finally back into Fisherman's Wharf, what arrives doesn't really resemble a fishing tournament weigh-in. Crews fully themed — Candy Land, Wizard of Oz, Mariachi, Disney, Mardi Gras, whatever the team committed to in March. Money sprayers. Smoke machines. Beads tossed to the crowd onshore. Balloons and beach balls flying between boats and the dock. Mariachi bands and brass sections appearing out of nowhere on the foredecks. Singers up on the captain's bridge. The crowd cheers like it's actual Mardi Gras. And all of it is happening on multi-million-dollar offshore sportfishers — the same boats that pulled out of the harbor at sunrise as tournament rigs, no decor, all business. Awards go to best-decorated boat, most-original theme, and best costumes, separate from the catches. This is the part that makes the crowd here bigger than at several Triple-Crown-circuit tournaments.
Sunday is the awards ceremony, a check presentation to The Purple Door, and the moment you remember why this tournament exists. The 2025 edition handed out $403,809 in prizes across 14 money winners — and an undisclosed-but-substantial figure to the shelter. Both numbers are the point.
Run of show
Schedule
Updated as we hear from the host. Check back the day before for any wind-driven changes.
Fri Aug 21 · 4 PM
Registration + dinner + concert (downtown reception)
Doors open at the downtown reception venue (location announced closer to the event). Anglers check in, pay cash-pot entries, the room fills up. Public welcome to the dinner and concert.
Fri Aug 21 · 8 PM
Boats depart
Tournament boats leave the harbor for their staging anchorages. No fishing yet — official lines-in is Saturday morning.
Sat Aug 22 · 6:30 AM
Lines in the water
Official tournament start. Bay and offshore divisions fish until the weigh-in deadline. Long day. Friendly competition.
Sat Aug 22 · 5 PM
Scale opens at Fisherman's Wharf
Public, free to watch. First boats start trickling in. Bay-division boats often arrive first — shorter run home from the inshore grounds.
Sat Aug 22 · ~6 PM – 7:30 PM
Harbor circle (the spectacle before the spectacle)
Boats blast through the little jetties before the 7:30 PM cutoff, having transformed during the run home — props out, crews in costume, smoke machines armed. Then they circle and idle in the harbor finishing decor and waiting their turn at the dock. Best viewing window for the spectacle before the docking parade. Get to the wharf by 6.
Sat Aug 22 · 7:30 PM hard cutoff
All boats inside the little jetties
No boat that hasn't crossed the jetties by 7:30 PM is eligible to weigh in. Hard line. Then the themed parade docking begins — boats back into Fisherman's Wharf one by one.
Sat Aug 22 · evening
Cash pot reveals + costume/decor awards
After the scale closes, the cash-pot winners get called along with awards for best-decorated boat, most-original theme, and best costumes — separate categories from the catches. Then the post-weigh-in social rolls into the night.
Sun Aug 23 · morning
Awards ceremony + shelter check presentation
Division winners, top boat, top angler. Then the moment that makes this tournament what it is — the check handover to The Purple Door, with someone from the shelter on stage.
Plan ahead
Good to know
- Watching is free
- Friday's downtown reception and Saturday's Fisherman's Wharf weigh-in are open to the public. Bring a chair, a hat, and cash for the bar.
- Awards beyond the fish
- Best-decorated boat, most-original theme, and best costumes are real award categories. Anglers commit. Past themes include Candy Land, Wizard of Oz, Mariachi, Mardi Gras, and full Disney production numbers.
- Women only on the boats
- All anglers must be women. Captains can be any gender — many are dads, husbands, brothers running the boat for a daughter / wife / sister. Don't underestimate the number of mom-daughter teams that win money.
- Especially for daughters
- Bring the kids — Saturday's weigh-in is the loudest, most fun part of the weekend if you have small humans, beads-catching gear recommended. But the bigger thing: Texas girls who spend a weekend at TWAT grow up knowing that women run multi-million-dollar offshore boats, fight billfish, work the scale, and headline the whole spectacle. The next-generation pipeline is the quiet engine of this whole tournament.
- Best viewing window
- Get to Fisherman's Wharf by 6 PM Saturday. The harbor-circle hour (decorated boats blasting in through the jetties, then circling and idling while they finish their costumes) is its own show before the docking parade kicks off after the 7:30 PM cutoff.
- Where to park
- Fisherman's Wharf weigh-in lot fills fast Saturday around 4:30 PM — get there earlier or walk from downtown. Friday reception parking will be listed once the venue is publicly announced.
- Tournament app
- Live leaderboards run through the Reel Time Apps platform — Texas Women Angler Tournament app on iOS + Android. Download before Saturday.
- Date is tentative
- We've slotted Aug 21–23 based on the 2025 pattern (4th weekend of August). Will update as soon as the official site posts confirmed 2026 dates.
Send us a photo
Got a Texas Women Anglers photo? We want it.
Past tournaments, your team's themed boat in the parade, your kid on the dock, costumes, the check presentation to The Purple Door — anything from past years that shows what this weekend actually feels like. We'll feature them in the gallery leading up to August.
Day-of, the same inbox loads weigh-in photos in real time. Tag the team, the boat, the year — anonymous is fine.
We won't publish your email or full name unless you ask us to. Anonymous is the default.
Live · 2026 (40+ years on)
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.
Billfish (Release)
Blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish — release-only, points-based.
Scored by
Releases
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)
Brought to the scale. Heaviest dolphin scores.
Scored by
Weight
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Tuna
Brought to the scale. Heaviest tuna scores.
Scored by
Weight
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Wahoo
Brought to the scale. Heaviest wahoo scores.
Scored by
Weight
Live leaderboard fills in as fish hit the scale. Check back during weigh-in windows or refresh the page.
Special award
M.L. Walker Perpetual Trophy (Overall Top Boat)
The marquee trophy. Awarded to the boat with the most total points across all divisions (billfish points + 1 point per pound for dolphin, tuna, and wahoo). Engraved with every winning boat going back decades — the perpetual trophy is the through-line.
All registered boats.
Special award
Top Woman Angler
Highest individual angler across the field — the lineage carried since 1989.
All registered anglers.
Special award
Cash Pots
Optional side bets paid in Friday night and called Saturday after the weigh-in. Multiple pot categories.
Opt-in per category.
Special award
Best-Decorated Boat / Theme / Costumes
Three separate awards for the spectacle side of the weigh-in. Voted on by judges at the wharf.
Every boat in the field is eligible.
The divisions
Six categories. One tournament.
Adult and Junior brackets in Bay-Surf and Offshore; everyone-eligible elsewhere. Tap any division for its rules.
Billfish (Release)
Most ReleasedBlue marlin, white marlin, sailfish — release-only, points-based.
Rules
Release-only. Points awarded per species per official scoring matrix. Video verification with the day's designated object visible. Billfish points feed directly into the overall trophy calculation.
Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)
HeaviestBrought to the scale. Heaviest dolphin scores.
Rules
Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to the overall trophy. Single biggest fish per boat in division.
Tuna
HeaviestBrought to the scale. Heaviest tuna scores.
Rules
Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to the overall trophy. Single biggest fish per boat in division.
Wahoo
HeaviestBrought to the scale. Heaviest wahoo scores.
Rules
Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to the overall trophy. Single biggest fish per boat in division.
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 (forthcoming — confirming via official site) · official rules linked below are the source of truth.
Across every division
- ▸All registered anglers must be women. Captains can be any gender.
- ▸Anyone may set the hook, then hand the rod to a woman angler — she reels the fish in entirely on her own with no further assistance to the rod or reel.
- ▸All fish must be caught on rod and reel with hooks only.
- ▸Boats depart Friday at 8 PM; lines in the water Saturday at 6:30 AM.
- ▸Weigh-in opens Saturday at 5 PM at Fisherman's Wharf; all boats must be inside the Port A little jetties by 7:30 PM.
- ▸Billfish (Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Sailfish) are catch-and-release ONLY.
- ▸Video verification required for every fish — the day's designated object (revealed at Friday registration) must be visible in the frame.
- ▸Overall trophy = points from billfish + 1 point per pound for dolphin, tuna, and wahoo.
- ▸Cash pots are opt-in and paid out per category Saturday evening.
- ▸Live leaderboards run through the official Texas Women Angler Tournament app (Reel Time Apps).
By division
Billfish (Release)
- ·Release-only. Points awarded per species per the official scoring matrix.
- ·Video required with the day's designated object visible.
- ·Billfish points feed directly into the overall trophy calculation — the ceiling on what a boat can score.
Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)
- ·Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to overall.
- ·Single biggest fish per boat scores in this category.
Tuna
- ·Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to overall.
- ·Single biggest fish per boat scores in this category.
Wahoo
- ·Weight-based. 1 point per pound contributes to overall.
- ·Single biggest fish per boat scores in this category.
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.
2025
2025 edition2024
Aug 23–25, 2024Overall
Top Boat (M.L. Walker Perpetual Trophy)Crew of Instigator
Instigator
840.9 total points. Caught and released the 1st-place white marlin and the 2nd-place blue marlin.
SourceSpectacle
Best Decorated BoatCrew of Ambush
Ambush
Theme: "Texas Women Anglers Tournament — A Performance." The judges agreed.
Special
TWAT Legacy AwardPenny Slingerland
Recognition for years of contribution to the tournament. Awarded at the Sunday ceremony.
2020
Aug 21–23, 2020 (ran through COVID)Overall
Top Boat (M.L. Walker Perpetual Trophy)Crew of Rebecca — Jae White, Rebecca Ramming, Cole Scott, Megan Keller
Rebecca
654.6 total points. Released 5 white marlin and 1 sailfish; weighed 1 dorado. Field: 44 boats released 50 billfish across the weekend; the year's cash pots paid out $388,800 to winners.
SourceSpectacle
Best Decorated Boat (1st)Crew of Suthern's Pride
Suthern's Pride
Walk West took 2nd; the Rebecca (overall winner) took 3rd in best-decorated.
1989
Founding scale
Documented field size18 boats · 50+ women anglers
First documented year-by-year scale of the tournament. The format proves out — and becomes a fixture of August.
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 merch
No online store. The merch tent is the merch.
TWAT shirts have shown up at high school football games in Houston, on the docks in the Florida Keys, and in family photos from three different states. The reason they're a flex isn't a marketing budget — it's that there's no online store. You either know somebody who got one, or you were at the tournament. That's the whole supply chain.
Day one of the tournament weekend, the merch tent draws a crowd before the first cast hits the water. It's the same energy as Masters week or a sold-out tour stop: this gear exists for these three days, on this stretch of dock, and after Sunday it's done. Every shirt sold is another beat for The Purple Door.
“Wearing one is like saying 'I was at the Masters' — except when somebody asks where you got it, the answer opens a much better conversation.”
Proceeds support: The Purple Door (Coastal Bend shelter)
We don't sell or fulfill any of this — we just think the gear is worth covering. Spot one in the wild? Send a photo and we'll build a sightings gallery.
Day-of coverage
Live from the wharf
This page goes live as the first themed boat parades into Fisherman's Wharf Saturday evening. Real-time leaderboard updates, weigh-in photos, costume + boat-decor highlights, and the check presentation to The Purple Door all land here as they happen. If you're at the wharf with a phone, send shots to hello@theportalocal.com — they go straight into the feed with credit.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can men fish?+
No. Anglers are women only. Men can captain, crew, mate, or watch from the dock — many do.
How much goes to the shelter?+
The tournament is family-run and the shelter check is presented at the Sunday awards. Past totals have been substantial but the exact figure varies year to year. The 2025 prize purse alone was over $403K — the engine that funds the giving.
What's The Purple Door?+
The Coastal Bend's shelter and crisis intervention organization for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Formerly called the Women's Shelter of South Texas. Based in Corpus Christi. All services confidential and free.
I'm not a fishing person — should I still come?+
Yes — and especially for Saturday's weigh-in. Themed boats, costumes, beads thrown from the deck, money sprayers, beach balls bouncing across the crowd. People come for the spectacle and stay for the cause. The Friday-evening reception is also open to the public — music, food, a real community on the floor.
How do I register to fish?+
Through the official site at texaswomenanglers.org. Registration usually opens in late spring / early summer.
Can I donate to The Purple Door directly?+
Yes — purpledoortx.org. The tournament's check is one source; ongoing donations matter equally.