In the Billfish world most of us are aware of the Billfish Royal Slam (catching all Billfish Species) but you may not be aware that there are five other Royal Slams (Bass, Salmon, Shark, Trout, Tuna). I was aware of the Shark and Tuna slams and even remember thinking how tough both of those would be to get. As a saltwater guy I will be honest and say that I was not aware of the Trout, Bass and Salmon Royal Slams, because I pretty much didn’t care. Until now!

Imagine taking a very respectable goal of catching all Billfish species in your lifetime. You achieve it, you feel pretty good about it and you move on. Maybe you even do it twice or you do it in a short period of time. But imagine taking you goal and just crushing it! Not slightly better or slightly faster, I mean absolutely beating it up and leaving it on the side of the road. That is exactly what Matt Price accomplished when he did something I would have never imagined, he achieved a Royal Slam of Royal Slams! Mr. Price caught all six (6) Royal Slams consisting of forty-six (46) different species of fish that literally spanned the globe.

Matt started seriously gamefishing in 2007. It started out as more of casual affair until he got “hooked” on it. He eventually aimed to get his Billfish Royal Slam after reading an article about the 7th female angler to ever accomplish the Billfish Royal Slam. By 2011, he crossed off the Billfish Royal Slam and was looking or another goal. Rather than tackle one more like most folks, he decided to go for them all. He wanted to accomplish something that had never been done before.

You may think that Matt must be a super lucky fisherman to have found all of these variety of fish and while that may be true, many of his trips did not turn out the way he had planned. Matt is a native of Brisbane, Australia and while a few of the species within the various slams could be caught in his home country, the majority required international trips. He said that he would spend over 200 Hours in planning each trip from finding the right location, right time of year and the right Captain and or guide. Even with all that planning, he said that approximately forty (40) of his trips did not end up the way he wanted. Matt had to take multiple lengthy trips to the U.S, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, Venezuela and of course his home waters in Australia.

When asked what the toughest fish to catch was, Matt told us that it was a toss up between the Dogtooth Tuna and the Porbeagle Shark with the Porbeagle requiring eight (8) trips in three (3) different countries. A lot of people may have called it quits with that kind of commitment, but Matt has an incredibly positive attitude. He was met with many personal challenges during this journey, but he kept focused on “living the dream, instead of dreaming to live”. Matt said he was very fortunate to have met so many great folks that did not even know him, but were willing to help when they heard of his quest.

I know you will all join me in congratulating Matt Price for accomplishing what no other angler in the World has ever done the Royal Slam of Royal Slams!

Billfish Slam

Black Marlin – Brisbane, Australia

Pacific Blue Marlin – Brisbane, Australia

Pacific Sailfish – Mooloolaba, Australia

Swordfish – Texas, USA

Shortbill Spearfish – Hawaii, USA

Striped Marlin – Port Stephens, Australia

White Marlin – North Carolina, USA

Atlantic Blue Marlin – Venezuela

Atlantic Sailfish – Venezuela

Shark Slam

Bronze Whaler – Brisbane, Australia

Black Tip – Cairns, Australia

Hammerhead – Brisbane, Australia

Bull – Brisbane, Australia

Mako – Massachusetts, USA

Porbeagle – New Hampshire, USA

Tope – New Zealand

Tiger – Brisbane, Australia

Blue – Massachusetts, USA

Thresher – New York, USA

Tuna Slam

Blackfin – USVI

Northern Bluefin – Massachusetts, USA

Dogtooth – Fiji

Skipjack – USVI

Yellowfin – Brisbane, Australia

Longtail – Brisbane, Australia

Southern Bluefin – Victoria, Australia

Big Eye – Delaware, USA

Bass Slam

Largemouth – Florida, USA

Smallmouth – South Carolina, USA

Striped – South Carolina, USA

White – South Carolina, USA

Whiterock – Florida, USA

Shoal – Georgia, USA

Rock – New Hampshire, USA

Spotted – South Carolina, USA

Trout Slam

Rainbow – California, USA

Brown – California, USA

Brook – New Hampshire, USA

Golden – California, USA

Cutthroat – Oregon, USA

Bull – Oregon, USA

Lake – Oregon, USA

Salmon Slam