With the bleachers packed and crowds huddled around the scales, Jon Warrington weighed in a 170.8-pound yellowfin tuna, earning the Albany, Ga., angler an immediate top slot on the leaderboard in the private boat division. The easy win was a stark contrast to the hard fight of two hours and 20 minutes it took to haul in the monster tuna aboard the Legal Dose.

Sitting in the sea of faces was Destin Mayor Craig Barker, back in town after a week in Louisiana.

“I’d come out on the docks every afternoon if I could to watch the history being made,” Barker said.

With boats backed up five deep, there was no evidence of the red tide that Okaloosa County officials had issued a warning about a few hours earlier.

“The fishermen are noticing it, but hopefully there will be enough of a north wind to blow it out of here,” said Helen Donaldson, executive director of the Rodeo.

With the yellowfin tuna being the heavyhitter of the night, 8-year-old Destinite Rachel McMullin’s catch was the lightweight. But the crowd favorite savored a big victory with a 17.4-pound king mackerel that she landed in the fare-carrying division aboard the Merri Kohl.

— William Hatfield

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