The December 2025 Buds & Suds Saltwater Challenge continued to live up to its hype, as teams of construction professionals from across North America joined together to compete in the construction industry's premier big game fishing tournament and networking event in Costa Rica.
The 4-day event was held at the prestigious Los Sueños Resort on the central pacific coast of Costa Rica from Dec. 10-14, 2025. The action packed 4-day event included private networking parties, amazing chef-curated dinners, rounds of golf, ATV tours, waterfall adventures, and 2 days of amazing fishing. The festivities culminated in a spectacular fireworks display on the beach, celebrating the camaraderie of the 120 competing anglers.
The competitive heart of the event featured 22 teams battling for the top spot on the leaderboard. The fleet delivered an astounding 86 total billfish releases over two days of competition. The final tally included 44 Sailfish, 41 Blue Marlin, and 1 Black Marlin, and for 25 lucky anglers, the event marked a career milestone as they landed their first-ever Blue Marlin.
Top Finishers and Jackpot Winners
The 1st place overall team was sponsored by Davenport Associates and Bradford White. This team from New England set a new tournament point record of 2,700 points by landing 9 blue marlin during the 2 days of competition! They started strong with 3 blue marlin caught on the first day and pulled away from the competition by catching 6 blue marlin on Day 2 of the tournament. This secured the win for the Day 2 Daily Billfish Release Jackpot and catapulted them into 1st Place Overall. The team was led by Ken Reid from Davenport Associates and included Patrick and Jeremy Melvin from EFR Mechanical and William Forcier from Davenport Associates.
2nd Place went to the Cregger Company and Navien sponsored team from the Carolinas. The “Plumb Crazy” fishing team was anchored by Ryan Moore from Cregger Company and joined by Tradd Bruce, Chris Allen, and Brandon Roberts from TBA Construction and Stephen Ludwig from Ludwig Smith & Walker. This team was in the hunt after catching 2 blue marlin and 2 sailfish on the first day of competition. They jumped up the leaderboard on the second day by catching 13 Sailfish, giving them a total of 2,100 points during the 2 days of fishing.
The 3rd Place team, “Pex Appeal”, sponsored by RWC & Diversified Spec Sales dominated the jackpot categories, cashing in on both the Day 1 Daily Billfish Release Jackpot and the Dorado Jackpot with a tournament-best 38.6lb catch. Their team was led by Lucas Yedica from RWC and Nicholas Vander Plas from Diversified Spec Sales and included Raymond Raab, Connor McGuire, Chase Preddy, and Larry Watson Jr. all from Solomon Plumbing. They caught 5 blue marlin and 1 sailfish, giving them 1,600 points, putting them in the money, and securing their spot on the stage.
Team “Vic Nasty,” sponsored by Plumbers Supply Co. and Victaulic, shattered expectations by landing a new tournament record 155.6 lb. Yellowfin Tuna. The team was sponsored by Plumbers Supply Co. and Victaulic and led by Dean Samsel from Plumbers Supply Co. and Anthony Roach from Victaulic. The team included Cole Stephens from Johnson Melloh, Jack Middleton Jr. from Stewart Richey, and Patrick Hanlon and Rick Dodd from Plumbers Supply Co.
In keeping with our tradition of giving back, the Buds & Suds events donate nearly all the fish caught during the event to local charities in the Jaco area and sponsor Christmas dinner for the children from the Pura Vida Fighting for Kids organization.
As the 2025 Buds & Suds Saltwater Challenge draws to a close, organizers look forward to continuing this tradition of excellence, blending the construction industry with world-class sport fishing and delivering the most unique and exciting big game fishing tournament and networking event to the construction industry.
