🏆 DROP BACK CHARTERS TAKES EARLY LEAD IN 2026 DRP TAGGING — CAN THEY HOLD THE TITLE?

May 19, 2026 — The 2026 mahi tagging season is off to a blistering start, and the early lead belongs to one familiar name.

Drop Back Charters, running under Captain Jon Reynolds with mate Billy Dunn (@harpoonbilly), has jumped ahead of the fleet with 44 DRP tag deployments so far this year — setting the pace in a competition that's shaping up to be the tightest in recent memory.

But if Drop Back wants to keep that title through the summer push, they'll have to hold off a hungry pack that's breathing down their necks.

📊 The Early Leaderboard

According to the latest DRP tagging dashboard, here's how the top boats stack up:

| Vessel | Tags Deployed | |---|---| | 🥇 Drop Back | 44 | | 🥈 Hook & Cook | 35 | | 🥉 Killin' Time II | 32 | | Thomas Flyer | 21 | | Cool Cat | 20 |

277 total DRP tag deployments have been recorded across the fleet so far in 2026, along with 9 reported recaptures — real data points feeding directly into migration and population research.

📈 The Competition Is Real

Hook & Cook sits just 9 tags behind. Killin' Time II — a proven tagging machine that stacked 669 tags from a private boat to take the overall crown in 2025 — is lurking at 32 with plenty of season left.

Drop Back knows what's at stake. Last year, the Top Charter Boat title went to Captain Jon Reynolds (also of Drop Back Charters) with 138 mahi tagged and released — more than any other charter operation in the world.

Now the crew is fighting to make it back-to-back. But with the summer offshore bite still ramping up, the margin is razor-thin.

"We're just getting started," Harpoon Billy told S.A.F.E. "The fish are here, the gear is ready, and we're not giving up the lead without a fight."

🌊 Why DRP Tagging Matters

The Dolphinfish Research Program — run by Beyond Our Shores Foundation — relies on charter captains and private anglers to tag healthy fish and record release data. When those fish are recaptured, scientists get critical intelligence on:

• Migration patterns through the Atlantic and Caribbean
• Growth rates and age-class distribution
• Stock health and population estimates

In 2025, the program logged 1,750 tagged dolphinfish and 43 recaptures — data that feeds directly into fishery management decisions.

Every tag deployed by Drop Back and the rest of the fleet is a data point that helps scientists manage this resource for the next generation of anglers.

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🤝 Thank You to the Sponsors

The DRP tagging program is made possible by partners who believe in science-based conservation:

Guy Harvey Foundation · Grady-White Boats · AFTCO · Uncle JB's Outdoors · Grupo Coen · devtech

Their support keeps tagging equipment in captains' hands and data flowing to researchers.

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👊 Get Involved

Want to contribute to real fishery science while you fish?

• Charter captains: Learn how to tag with the DRP
• Anglers: Book a trip with S.A.F.E. Verified Charters — many of our member captains participate in tagging programs
• Support the mission: Join S.A.F.E. and help fund conservation-driven charter operations

The leaderboard will shift as summer hits and the bite turns on. But right now, one thing is clear: Drop Back Charters has thrown down the gauntlet for 2026.

Can they hold the title? Keep watching.

Header image: Screenshot from the DRP tagging dashboard — live data as of May 2026. Map by Wessley Mener.