13th Annual Big 3 Fishing Tournament Raises More than $1million for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands

E.J. & Terry Jaxtimer honored through the installation of The Jaxtimer Family Leadership Award

Harwich Port – July 2026
The Big 3 Fishing Tournament & Gala, held on July 9th and 10th, has raised more than $1million for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands—the most ever raised in the events history. The event, now in its 13th year, has anglers competing for first place in the striped bass, bluefish and bluefin tuna species. The gala portion of the event honored founding Big 3 committee members E.J. and Terry Jaxtimer with The Jaxtimer Family Leadership Award.

The tournament kicked off with lines in on Thursday from 5am-2pm in waters surrounding Cape Cod and Nantucket. Weigh stations opened from 2pm-4pm at Harwich Port Boat Yard and Hyannis Marina. The Captain’s Reception and awards ceremony opened at 5pm, post fishing, at Harwich Port Boat Yard, thanks to the generosity of the Our Family. Friday’s Big 3 Gala featured a roof top cocktail hour starting at 5:30pm, followed by dinner, a live auction and post event live music and dancing at Wychmere Beach Club’s venue, Dune.

The tournament was sold out, capping attendance for Friday’s Gala at 250 guests, with 39 boats registered to fish the tournament. Big 3 Tournament founders, E.J. and Terry Jaxtimer, were honored this year with the installation of The Jaxtimer Family Leadership Award. In future years, this prestigious award will recognize extraordinary individuals whose dedication, philanthropy, advocacy, and community leadership creates a lasting impact for children and families throughout Cape Cod & the Islands.

This year’s tournament winners taking home first place were: Nick Coehlo aboard AFISHINSEA with a 15.38lb striped bass, Chris Clark aboard In Reel Time with an 11.64 bluefish and Drew Austin aboard the GinaMarie in the bluefin tuna category. The youth angler with the heaviest fish was Hunter Clark and the Lady Angler with the heaviest fish was Stella Rose.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our Cape & Islands community” said JR Mell, Regional Director of BBBS of Cape Cod & the Islands. “This year’s record-breaking event will not only enable us to reach our goal of matching 1,000 kids with a mentor by 2028 but lay the groundwork for our next strategic plan. The tournament and gala is only possible because of the hard work and dedication of the Big 3 Committee Members: Alex Theoharidis, Jonas Baker, Jeff Leerink, Shawn DeLude, John Our, Chris Cooney, Chris Lynch, Courtney Bridge, Kendall Sullivan, Ben Crago, Kyle Prussing, Brian Dennison, Christopher Clark, John Cushing, Ryan Our, Dave Delancey, Chase Deluga, Tyler Aalto, Chuck Bilezikian, Heather Mitchell, Brianna Bourque and Elena Lynch whose commitment and dedication has led to this event’s success.”

Since inception, the Big 3 Fishing Tournament has raised more than $5.5M and contributed to the agency creating over 1,500 new mentoring friendships for under-resourced youth on the Cape and the Islands. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering for BBBS of Cape Cod & the Islands,  making a donation, or joining the Big3 Committee, please visit www.capebigs.org. Save the date for the 14th tournament & gala on July 8 and July 9, 2027.