Lower Tournament Buy In, Condensed Calcuttas, Expanded Boundaries, Enhanced Hospitality & the Coveted Championship Ring Await at JJFISHWEEKAC 2025
MIAMI, FL - March, 12 2025 – Jimmy Johnson ‘Quest for the Ring’ Championship Fishing Week (JJFISHWEEKAC) is making its highly anticipated return to Atlantic City, NJ and Ocean City, MD from July 13-19, 2025, bringing another high-energy tournament experience for anglers and their families.
With a refreshed prize structure format designed for lower buy in, greater accessibility and higher competition, JJFISHWEEKAC 2025 will estimate a purse nearing $2 million with tournament buy in starting at $3,000 (comped for early entry teams), condensed Calcuttas so you can fish for more with your Calcutta buy ins, more manageable boundaries, two weigh stations, enhanced hospitality and entertainment, and Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Jimmy Johnson’s legendary Championship Ring and coveted Ring of Honor up for grabs.
Held annually in Atlantic City, NJ in partnership with the Atlantic City Sports Commission, JJFISHWEEKAC is hosted at the Frank S. Farley State Marina, managed by Golden Nugget Casino, Hotel & Marina during the week with weekend events hosted at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. The event is proudly additionally presented annually by Contender Boats, powered by Yamaha Outboards, and guided by Garmin Marine, with an additionally host venue, hosted by Sunset Marina in Ocean City, MD.
Boundaries Update & New Weigh-In Stations:
This year’s event will once again feature a main weigh station in Atlantic City, NJ with nightly hospitality suite experiences, but once again, an additional weigh station will be hosted all week long at Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland, improving accessibility for participants and spectators along the Northeastern coast. In addition, the new boundaries will be 145 miles in any direction from the Atlantic City Headpin to ensure a more manageable experience for all to enjoy and compete.
Additionally, with the weigh station in Ocean City, MD, Ocean City participants will also enjoy expanded hospitality, including a Monday Funday Night Party at Sunset Marina in Ocean City, plus continued hospitality at Sunset Marina all week long. To ensure Ocean City, MD-based teams can fully experience the excitement in Atlantic City, discounted weekend hotel rates and shuttle service will be provided to and from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, allowing all participants to enjoy the end the week’s epic gifting experience and over the top closing awards bash.
You Asked, We Delivered: What’s New for 2025?
The 2025 theme, “Your Input, Our Commitment” reflects direct feedback from past participants, inspiring key enhancements including:
- More Weigh-In Options – Teams can depart from any port and weigh in at either Atlantic City or Sunset Marina in Ocean City, MD.
- Lower Tournament Buy In & Simplified Calcuttas – Reduced tournament entry to $3,000 and Calcutta optionals went from 20 to 12 Calcuttas, with category buy-ins applying to multi-species to increase payouts per category.
- New Daily MVP Calcutta – The Daily Game Ball MVP Calcutta introduces an exciting new way to compete and win daily, where the on the board weight will carry over to the next day and the daily Calcutta applies to multiple species so you don’t have to buy in to each daily Calcutta for each species.
- Enhanced Ocean City Experience – Expanded hospitality, including a Monday Funday Night Party at Ocean City Marina.
More than 80 teams from across the country will battle in multiple categories, fishing for: white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, dolphin, small boat tuna and marlin, yellowfin and bigeye tuna aggregate weight, catch and release, and non-sonar calcuttas for marlin and tuna, and an overall high points champion. Teams will compete for bigger payouts, early entry teams will benefit with an additional $100,000 guaranteed general entry payout (for early registrants), and of course, it wouldn’t be JJFISHWEEK without the ultimate honor — securing the coveted Championship Ring and earning a spot in Coach Jimmy Johnson’s famed Ring of Honor.
In addition to high stakes fishing, JJFISHWEEKAC also delivers unparalleled entertainment for its anglers and their families. The week-long event kick-offs with a celebration at the Golden Nugget Rooftop in Atlantic City on Sunday, July 13. Throughout the week, participants and their guests enjoy daily dockside parties and legendary post-fishing dinners, open bars and games at JJFISHWEEK’s Hospitality Suite.
On Saturday, July 19, JJFISHWEEKAC wraps up at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City with the Ultimate Gifting Experience, where teams will receive over $5,000 in swag and gifts from sponsors, followed by the Closing Awards Bash – an unforgettable night of live entertainment, dinner and dancing.
JJFISHWEEKAC 2025 will continue its commitment to giving back through JJ’s Catch for the Community station where teams have a chance to graciously donate their catch to be filleted and donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City. Last year, over 4,000 pounds of fish were collected to help underserved youth and families in Atlantic City.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit https://questfortheringac.com. To register, visit JJFishWeek.CatchStat.com.
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About FISH HARD EVENTS
Fish Hard Events annually hosts a series of fishing tournaments throughout the year with Coach Jimmy Johnson for Jimmy Johnson’s Championship Fishing Week (JJFISHWEEK) and the culmination is this project, the Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions (TOC), which takes place in Miami Beach as a celebration of the best of the best teams, the celebrities of the sportfishing, who come together to compete for a high stakes tournament weekend. Coach Jimmy Johnson’s Championship Fishing Week has (2) legs, (1) takes place annually in March across South Florida, where teams come from around the country to fish from Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Fl to Palm Beach and celebrate at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino throughout the week, with a $1Mill Guaranteed purse and up to $2Mill est payout annually, and (1) in July, which takes place in Atlantic City, NJ and attracts teams from across the east coast to join in Atlantic City to compete, which another est $2Mill plus up for grabs.
February’s Yamaha Contender Miami Billfish Tournament of Champions is the culmination of the hard work these teams put on annually and brings together the leading teams in sportfishing for a VIP Kick off to South Florida Sailfish season with a weekend of luxury entertainment from local partners and high stakes sportfishing with teams from across the country, hosting a purse of est. $300,000-$400,000 and three days of intense tournament fishing and hospitality events taking place at Miami Beach Marina. Teams that generate a certain amount of dollars throughout the competitive season throughout a variety of different tournaments in the country are invited to join. More information can be found at www.fishhardevents.com or on social @fishhardevents @jjfishweek or @jjfishweekac .
About Visit Atlantic City
Visit Atlantic City is a 501(c)(6) organization formed and funded as a public-private partnership by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to create economic development through leisure tourism, conventions, sporting events, film production and group tourism.
Atlantic City is a premier travel destination on the East Coast with the first Boardwalk to open in the United States. Attracting visitors with its diverse array of tourism offerings, Atlantic City is home to nine casino resorts, an eclectic culinary scene, vibrant history, thrilling entertainment and family-friendly adventures, making it the ultimate destination where celebrations live on and inspire visitors to create memory making moments.
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About the Atlantic City Sports Commission
The Atlantic City Sports Commission was officially formed on January 13, 2015 as a 501 (c)(3) organization with the support of Visit Atlantic City and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to attract sporting events, conventions and competitions to Atlantic City.
For more information, visit www.atlanticcitysports.org. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.