The Billfish Royal Slam

According to Zachary Bellapigna, the IGFA’s angler recognition coordinator, in order to qualify for the Billfish Royal Slam Club, an angler must catch each of the following species over the course of their lifetime: Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sailfish, Atlantic blue marlin, Pacific blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, white marlin, swordfish and any species of spearfish (the IGFA holds line-class records only for Atlantic and shortbill spearfish, but they do maintain all-tackle records for all species of spearfish, including Mediterranean and roundscale). ¶ Fish do not need to be harvested to qualify; photos of the angler and fish and/or contact information of witnesses to the catches are required as part of the application process, and IGFA angling rules must be followed. ¶ “Members of the IGFA Billfish Royal Slam Club are recognized as some of the most dedicated and accomplished billfish anglers on the planet, and each member is listed in the annual IGFA World Record Game Fishes book and on the IGFA’s website,” Bellapigna says. “Members of the club also receive a custom, hand-signed certificate featuring artwork from IGFA Hall of Famer Guy Harvey.” To learn more, visit igfa.org.