Jimmy Johnson's Championship Fishing Week Returns To Atlantic City In July

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring fishing tournament is back in Atlantic City this summer. The $1 million in prizes is up for grabs during Championship Fishing Week, running from July 10-16.

The Super Bowl-winning head coach is now in the Hall of Fame and is back in New Jersey for the second straight year with his contest. Johnson began the Quest for the Ring back in 2012, where it’s run annually.

The original tournament takes place in South Florida, with the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood hosting.

Johnson started up an AC version of this last year, and is back for some more great competition. Along with the Atlantic City Sports Commission, the tournament is held at the Frank S. Farley State Marina at the Golden Nugget.

There’s a fair amount of celebrating, as well, as there’s a party scheduled for each night of the week. This includes closing festivities at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Jimmy Johnson’s Fish Week Atlantic City

Johnson’s fishing week seemed to be a hit a year ago, and looks like it will provide plenty of excitement again. The week-long tournament features lots of different individual events, as well as an overall team champion.

These are broken down into categories based on what participants are fishing for. Options include:

• White Marlin
• Blue Marlin
• Tuna
• Wahoo
• Dolphin

The tournament awards the top two contestants for each category. The first three fishes account for 90% of this overall prize pool (30% each), while the last two receive 5% apiece.

There are also daily optionals available for each species.

Additionally, the Quest for the Ring showcases a winner-take-all battle, with its Catch and Release division. Here, 90% of the profits go to one winner.

The remaining 10% gets donated to help the Recreational Fishing Alliance. This organization launched in 1996 “to safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs, and ensure the long-term sustainability of US saltwater fisheries.”

The general entry fee for Champion Fishing Week in AC is $5,000. Competitors can choose to enter into every possible event and the entire $1 million prize for $30,000, too.

Outside of winning some sizable cash payouts, teams remain focused on the ultimate reward. That is the winner of the Championship Rings, which is the squad that earns the largest amount of the overall purse between every category. Last year, Roll Grove took home the honor in AC.

As mentioned, fishing is only half the fun during the week. The Golden Nugget and Hard Rock AC offer parties that bookend the event (among several others). The casinos also include some of their participating restaurants in the team dining night.

Atlantic City’s Quest for the Ring

Johnson’s 2021 event didn’t have any shortage of star power when it came to AC for the first time. The iconic Michael Jordan not only participated in the quest, but he fared quite well.

The NBA legend caught a 70-pound white marlin fishing on his 80-foot Viking boat named Catch 23.

This actually held the lead for this category initially, finishing in third at the end. Both David Johnson and Donnie Moore registered marlins weighing over 73 pounds.

Jordan’s team, also Catch 23, consisted of seven other fishermen. Combined, they caught 13 fish in total, which was good enough to capture the title in the catch-and-release group. The team’s 2,050 points finished 600 better than second place.

Part of the reason Roll Grove took home the title was the performance from angler Darren Helwig. He caught the only recorded blue marlin, which weighed a staggering 679 pounds.

So if fishing is your thing, make your way down to AC in a few weeks. Fellow anglers can register their teams right on the Quest for the Ring website.

However, don’t expect to find NJ sports betting tournament odds for any of the competitors. The reason is fishing is not on the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s list of approved events.