What is the Back of the Boat Challenge?

A speed contest anybody of legal drinking age where they record can enter. You shotgun a beer and rig a prepped ballyhoo in one uncut take, and the fastest time wins. It runs two weeks, then the five fastest go to a final.

Record one uncut take and send it as an Instagram direct message to @sportfish_hub. That DM is your entry.

You have to be legal drinking age where you record, 21 in the US and 18 where the local age is 18, and you have to actually be there, not just be from there.

More than $6,000 in sponsor gear from 21 sponsors. Good gear, not cash, the kind you would run on the boat or wear on the dock. The fastest time wins it.

What has to be in the video?

One uncut take with the sound on and a visible clock in the shot the whole way, from the can puncture to the finished bait on the table. The 12 oz can, the running clock, and your hands on the bait all stay in one shot.

Team Harvey, proud to work on the back of a boat

The Back of the Boat Challenge

Q: Can I resubmit my video?

You get one submission. If it has a disqualifying problem, like the bait never got shown or the clock left the shot, you get one resubmit to fix it. You cannot resubmit just because somebody beat your time.

Shotgun a beer. Rig a ballyhoo. Fastest time wins.

Record it anywhere. Any dock, any cockpit, any tournament.

Twenty-one sponsors put up the gear.

Entries closed

DM your video to @sportfish_hub See how it works

What you do

Shotgun the beer

Punch the hole and the clock starts.

Rig the ballyhoo

Bait on the table, hands off, clock stops.

DM the video

One uncut take, clock in the shot, sent to @sportfish_hub.

Who can enter

Legal drinking age where you’re recording. 21 in the US, 18 where the local age is 18. You’ve got to actually be there, not just be from there.

When it runs

Entries closed July 18

Entries closed July 18 at 11:59 PM ET. The five fastest move to the final.

Entries closedClosed Jul 18

The purse

$6,000+

in sponsor gear

21 sponsorsGear, not cash

Good gear, not cash, the kind you’d run on the boat or wear on the dock. Twenty-one sponsors are in, more than $6,000 of gear on the line, and the fastest time wins it. If enough keeps coming I’ll take care of second and third too, not just the winner. See who’s in below.

Win from overseas and the shipping plus any tariffs, taxes, or customs to land the gear in your country are on you. I’ll send it out, what it costs to get there is your end.

The two rounds

How it works

1ROUND 1 · THE FIRST TWO WEEKS

Shotgun and rig

You shotgun the beer and rig a prepped ballyhoo against the clock, one uncut take. It runs two weeks, so you’ve got time to practice and send your best video. Fastest time moves on.

2THE FINAL · TOP 5

The five fastest

When the two weeks are up, the five fastest move to the final and get 72 hours to put up a video. The final’s a different challenge, probably a shot and a different bait, and I’ll lay it out for the five who make it. Same deal, one take, clock in the shot, fastest wins.

Before you send

What your video needs

All of it in one uncut take. This is the video, top to bottom, so go down the list before you hit record.

1One uncut take, sound on, everything in frame
2Visible clock or timer in the shot before anything else
312 oz can in the shot, no koozie, tab still sealed
4Prepped bait, swivel and wire, and egg sinker shown on the table
5Punch the hole and start the clock on camera, then crack the top tab
6Drink it down, then set the empty can upside down in the shot and leave it
7Rig it clean, good enough that it’s not butchered
8Bait on the table, hands off, stop the clock on camera
9Bait close enough to inspect, rig showing, clock still in the same shot

The full rig

The rules, in detail

Tap a row to drop it down. The first one’s open so you can see how it works.

The kit

Swivel rig, naked hoo, your pick.

SWIVEL RIGNAKED HOO

It’s a swivel ballyhoo rig. You start with a prepped ballyhoo, the swivel already attached to a piece of copper rigging wire, and an egg sinker for the chin weight.
Run whatever swivel you want, ringer swivel, EZ bait swivel, or a plain barrel swivel, doesn’t matter to me.
The bait’s prepped already, thawed in saltwater, pooped so the guts are squeezed out the vent, and the backbone broken so it’s limber, same as it’d be brined on ice before a trip.
Naked ballyhoo, no skirt and no chugger head. Just the bait on the swivel, the way it swims. Everybody rigs the same thing.
Any size ballyhoo, dink or horse, your pick.

The setup

One take, 12 oz can, solo is fine.

1 TAKESOLO OK12 OZ

Record it however you want, one camera or two, by yourself or with a buddy. What matters is the can, a visible clock or timer, and your hands on the bait all stay in one uncut shot the whole way. Going solo is fine, you just set the camera so it sees everything.
The clock can be a phone timer, a stopwatch, or any other timer we can clearly read on video. It does not have to be the same phone you are filming with.
One take. No cuts, no edits, no speeding it up. Touch the video and you’re out.
Any brand, but it’s got to be a 12 ounce can. No koozie, we’ve got to be able to see it’s a beer. It just has to be in the shot.
Show the prepped bait, the swivel and wire, and the egg sinker sitting on the table.

The beer

Punch the side, then the tab.

SHOTGUNCAN UPSIDE DOWN

It’s a shotgun. Punch a hole low on the side, get your mouth on it, then crack the top tab and it pours right down. The sealed tab is how we know the can was full and nobody cracked it early.
The clock must start on camera when you punch the hole in the can. Not when you crack the tab, not before the punch, and not after the punch.
Drink the beer. A little down the chin happens, but if you’re pouring it out, I’ll see it, and that won’t go your way.
When it’s empty, set the can down upside down in the shot and leave it. Upside down is the proof, if there’s beer left, it pours out. The can does the talking.

The rig

Lock the head, cut it clean.

HANDS IN SHOTSOUND ON

You know the rig. Wire up through the bottom jaw and out the top lip, the egg sinker slides on and seats tight under the throat, wraps through the gill plates and eye sockets to lock the head, an X over the nose through the swivel to close the mouth, then down the bill and cut it clean, swivel flush on the nose.
Keep your hands and the bait in the shot the whole time, and leave the sound on.
The clock must stop on camera when the finished bait is on the table and your hands are off it.
Want to see the whole rig done? It’s on my Instagram, @steve360fishing.

After the video

We have to see it wasn’t cut.

ONE UNCUT TAKE

The main thing is we have to be able to tell the video wasn’t cut. One take, the visible clock in the shot the whole way, from the can puncture to the bait hitting the table.
After the video, bring the finished bait in close and turn it so the rig shows, but keep the clock in the same shot. There’s no fixed distance from the camera, it just needs to be close enough that I can see the wire, sinker, hooks, and wraps well enough to tell the bait was rigged right. I look at the clock, then the bait, without a break, so the rig can get a real look.
If the clock leaves the shot anywhere between the punch and the bait going down, the video’s dead, because the visible running clock proves the time and proves it wasn’t cut.

The time

Table time minus the punch.

TABLE − PUNCH

Your time is the clock when the bait hits the table minus the clock when you punched the can. We must be able to confirm both the start and the stop on camera, so nobody gets extra time before or after the run.

Judging and fairness

How you win

1
It’s all public
Every video goes up on Instagram, some reels, some stories, but all of them public. Everybody sees every entry, not just me.
2
The automatic outs
A couple things are an automatic out with no arguing them, an edited video, the clock or timer leaving the shot, or the can never getting shown. Those are black and white.
3
The fair call
These rules are there so I can tell the run was done right, not to hunt for a gotcha. We’re judging real videos from the backs of real boats, so if something is unusual or a detail is unclear, I’ll look at the whole run and make the final call based on what the rule is trying to prove. If I can tell the beer was drunk and the rig was done right, I’ll do my best to give you the fair call. That’s the whole point of this, compete hard and have a good time.
4
The rig gets judged
We’re going for time, so we can’t check that every rig swims perfect. It just has to be good, not butchered. Post a bait that’s jacked up for a fast number and the commenters catch it. Once a majority call a rig out, it goes to a review board, a few captains and mates who aren’t entered and stay unnamed. They give me the real-world read, and I make the final call. That keeps it fair and keeps a guy from getting knocked out just because he’s one spot ahead of somebody’s buddy.
5
One video, one submission
Practice at home as many times as you want, but the one you send is the one that counts. One submission, and if it has a disqualifying problem you get one resubmit to fix it, never just because somebody beat your time. So send your best.

The sponsors

Who put up the gear

Twenty-one shops and captains put up the gear. Here’s who’s in and what they threw in the pile.

Woody Creek Distillers

21+

A case of whiskey

DH Yacht Sales

Maui Jim store credit

Everglades Fishing Co

Six pairs of deck boots

Salty Dog Holster Works

A Manly 6.5 fishing tool holster

Island Bait Company

Grundens bibs and a custom dip net

Mag Bay Yachts

A Turtlebox speaker

Ingalls Marine Diesel

A Garmin Instinct 3 GPS watch

Bad Company

A first place gear package

SportFish Hub and Transom Screenprinters

Gear for the top 3 in the final

Miami Marine MGMT

21+

$200 of ZYN

Slouch Couch

A Slouch Couch

Markee Marine

On Cloud 6 sneakers, your size and color

Dead Bait Solutions

Four containers of bait salt

SORD

$200 SORD store credit

Reliable Fuel

A $250 Bass Pro Shops gift card

Spot Zero

Prize dropping soon

Wicked Wells

A Fisherman’s Center gift card

Salty Offshore

Three Salty Offshore Elite subscriptions

Bonefish Mac’s

A $100 dinner gift card

Waterfront Yacht Brokerage

A pair of JL Audio M6-880 marine speakers

Marine Source

A $500 gift card to the location of the winner’s choice

More prizes are still landing, so this list keeps growing.

How to send it

Record one uncut take and DM it to @sportfish_hub. That’s your entry.

Follow @sportfish_hub on Instagram

One submission. If it has a disqualifying problem, like the bait never got shown or the clock left the shot, you get one resubmit to fix it. After that you’re done, and you can’t resubmit just because somebody beat your time.

While you’re here

You came for the challenge. The Hub runs the rest of your season.

Season map

See where the billfish are biting

An interactive world map. Marlin, sail, and tuna by month, hot spot by hot spot. Scrub the calendar and find the bite anywhere.

Open the season map

Back of the Boat Challenge is sponsored and run solely by Sportfish Hub, a project of AH360 Photography LLC, and is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram or Meta. No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win, and the contest is void where prohibited. By entering you confirm you are of legal drinking age in the place you record, you agree the sponsor’s decisions on eligibility and winners are final, and you grant Sportfish Hub permission to repost and credit your video. Product and brand names are listed to describe the prize gear, they belong to their owners and are not endorsements of this contest. Drink responsibly, this whole thing is supposed to be fun.