Lights Out Boston Angling Club Battles Through the Atlantic Division for Six Months to Reach the SFC Zane Grey Championship Playoffs
Boston, MA – It started out as a fishing season, with a set schedule of events, but as Lights Out Boston Angling Club dug in, it became a saga. The team fought its way through an Atlantic Division schedule that became more grueling with each passing week, facing down weather, long offshore runs, and a season-long rivalry with the hard-charging New Jersey Sea Birds. When one’s rivals rise to the occasion, the competition drives teams like those in the SFC to truly test their mettle and raise the stakes, day after fishing day.
The hard work has yielded results, including a trio of key tournament wins to end the regular season in style, and a ticket to the 2025 SFC Zane Grey Championship Playoff at Corazon Cabo Resort & Spa, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, October 19th and 20th.
Campaigning aboard the Viking 62 Lights Out, boat owner Capt. Rob Carmichael, along with Capt. Tyler Dufresne and the crew endured the punishing pace of the regular-season circuit, clawing for points and pride at every stop.
“Every time we left the slip, we knew the Sea Birds would be out there gunning for us, and that fueled us,” said Dufresne. “We didn’t win every fight, but we never backed down, and we learned how to win when it mattered most. And we’re going to try to carry it on to Cabo.”
Here’s a Breakdown of Lights Out Boston AC Results in the Atlantic Division Tournaments
- 2025 SFC Fort Lauderdale Billfish Open (April 17–19) – Lights Out takes 4th place.
- 2025 SFC Walker’s Cay Open (May 30–June 1) — Lights Out had a 2nd place finish to the victorious NJ Sea Birds.
- 2025 SFC Huk Charleston Billfish Cup (June 6–8) – Lights Out takes 3rd place.
- 2025 SFC Martha’s Vineyard Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic (July 14–18) – Lights Out won the tournament with 47 white marlin releases including Casey Carmichael’s 10 releases (SFC female-angler record) leading to a one-day tally of 39 releases.
- 2025 SFC Huk Big Fish Classic (July 25–27) – Lights Out wins 1st place besting the 2nd-place New Jersey Sea Birds.
- 2025 SFC MidAtlantic Tournament (August 17–23) – Lights Out takes 1st place (3400 pts) edging the NJ Sea Birds (2950 pts) on the last fishing day of the tournament and the regular season with an incredible run of 18 white marlin releases to the Sea Birds six white marlin and one blue marlin released (both excellent efforts).
Each result revealed the arc of the story of this season: From early growing pains in Florida to a near miss in Charleston, redemption in Oak Bluffs with a statement victory, and a gritty final push at the MidAtlantic where Lights Out outlasted all comers.
“This team really came together midseason, and Oak Bluffs was the turning point,” said Drew Dolben, team owner of Lights Out Boston AC. “We could bring it, when it mattered. That kind of catch rate we put up can put pressure on every other boat. We proved—to ourselves—that we could fish with anyone, anywhere.”
The rivalry with the Sea Birds began eventually defined the entire division, a back-and-forth dogfight that pushed both teams to the limit and set the stage for their inevitable head-on collision in The MidAtlantic, the regular-season finale, with Lights Out in first place going in, trailed by the Sea Birds just 300 points back. But that’s not all since the two teams had, through mutual respect and good-natured ribbing, become friendly, spending time together off the water as the season progressed.
“It’s one thing to fish individual tournaments,” said Capt. Rob Carmichael. “It’s another thing to fish a tournament series, like the SFC and trade blows for an entire season, especially with teams as tough as the Sea Birds. That kind of pressure doesn’t weaken you—it toughens you up. And this crew knows what we’re made of. We’re prepared for the battles ahead.”
Rivalry Renewed: The Playoff Stage
Lights Out Boston AC now heads into the SFC Zane Grey Championship Playoffs, where destiny (and points totals) bring them face-to-face once again with their Atlantic nemesis, the New Jersey Sea Birds, along with the top two teams from the Gulf Division: The Third Coast Renegades Angling Club and the Texas Lone Stars Angling Club have both proven they can find and catch fish at a blistering pace.
“It’s really up for grabs, we’re all starting at zero points for the SFC Championship,” Carmichael said. “It all comes down to who finds the fish and makes the bites count.”
It’s a collision course. Six months of the grind, a mix of heartbreak and triumph, have led to this. And as the Lights Out Boston Angling Club prepares for one last run at everlasting glory and the SFC trophy, one thing is certain: Rivalries forged in each division’s regular season will ultimately define the battles at the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs.
About Lights Out Boston Angling Club
Lights Out boat owners Captain Rob Carmichael and his wife Jackie Hayes have worked as an entrepreneurial team since 1998, founding and building multiple successful businesses. Since 2020, Lights Out has established itself as a force in Sport Fishing Tournaments with solid tournament showings from Zane Grey Cabo, the Carolina Billfish Classic (Charlston, SC), Oak Bluffs Bluewater Classic (Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Big Game Battle (Nantucket, MA), Tri-State Canyon Shootout (Block Island, RI), and Bluefin Blast (Nantucket, MA). The history of Lights Out success is what attracted Team Owner, Drew Dolben to sign Lights Out to represent the Boston Angling Club competing in the Sport Fishing Championship League.
For more information, visit bostonlightsout.com or follow on Instagram (@lightsoutbostonac)