MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — Bak Bar made last call June 15 at the 49th Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament’s weigh station with a 613-pounder to win $800,839 from the event’s record $1,568,950 purse.
Captain Tommy Lewis of Huger, S.C., reached Morehead City just after 11 p.m. with a blue marlin that his son, Montukie, fought nearly 6 hours before landing. Fifteen hours later, when no bigger fish were caught during the final hours of fishing, the Bak Bar crew began an after-hours celebration.
The win almost didn’t happen. Bak Bar’s blue marlin got tail wrapped and died near the bottom of the ocean four hours into the fight. For the next two hours, Montukie Lewis had to carefully reel in the dead giant; he couldn’t set the drag too tight in rough seas nor reel too fast for fear of breaking the line.
“It was dead weight with a big fish at the very bottom,” the younger Lewis said. “It was rough out there. I had to give back as much (line) as I took. I didn’t make much headway for a long time. I had to find a happy medium, but I only got tired at the end.”
Once the fish was in the boat, Lewis’ fatigue disappeared as the Bak Bar crew knew it had the potential winner.
Bak Bar’s catch knocked Licketysplit from the top spot on the Big Rock leader board. Licketysplit, captained by Bobby Scarborough of Hatteras, took the lead Friday afternoon with a 567-pounder reeled in by Grimesland angler David Williams. But the lead didn’t survive the night.
Licketysplit tried to return the favor the next afternoon with a hookup three minutes before the tournament ended. Unfortunately, the fish threw the hook. The boat’s crew received $258,752 for placing second.
Maggie, captained by Randy Bryant of Morehead City, finished third with a 505-pound blue marlin landed June 15 by Beaufort angler Butch Bryant. The Maggie crew earned $171,835.
Catches by Bak Bar, Licketysplit and Maggie knocked Safari from the leader board. Safari, captained by Mark Harris of Dania Beach, Fla., was the tournament’s inaugural leader with a 473.5-pounder reeled in by angler Brett Goulding. Safari was in line to win $1.2 million as fishing got underway June 15. A little more than 14 hours later, the boat was out of the money.
Anglers on 170-of-184 boats were eligible to fish the final day. Anglers recorded 22 releases the final day of competition, raising the six-day total of releases to 96 blue marlin, 45 white marlin and 31 sailfish. This is an all-time blue marlin and overall release (172) record for Big Rock competitions.
Sea Striker, captained by Adrian Holler, Newport, captured first place in the release division with 1,600 points, His angler, Curtis Struyk of Atlantic Beach, had four blue marlin releases, including a Big Rock-record three June 13, which put the Sea Striker crew in line to win $92,239.
Sea Toy, captained by Bull Tolson, Manteo, finished second in the release division with 1,440 points on three blue marlin releases, including one on a circle hook. Anglers Frank Daniels Jr. and Joe Hodge helped their team win $59,074.
Sea Hag, captained by Ken Kramer, Morehead City, recorded two sailfish release Saturday to take third in the release division. The Sea Hag, which featured lady anglers, was able to reel in four sailfish, two white marlin and a blue marlin and tally 1,300 points to win $33,164. Jessica Ledford, Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick and Carly Ledford shared Sea Hag angling duties during the tournament.
Carolina Gentlemen, captained by Skipper Gentry of Morehead City held third place for 28 minutes with a 422.5-pounder reeled in by Morehead City angler Robbie Willis. Gentry and crew won the 40-and-under small-boat category worth $5,000.
Tailwalker captain Fred Walker and angler Sean Cooper, Morehead City, won $4,900 June 12 for scoring the 49th billfish release of the tournament.
Yellowfin, a boat captained by Jeff Garner, Morehead City, captured the tuna division with a 69.4-pounder reeled in by Steve Rollins of Brighton, Utah, a catch worth $7,536. Sea/Sea, captained by Brad Langdon of Newport, won the wahoo division with a 45.25-pounder, worth $7,065, reeled in by Bill Mills of Jacksonville. Buck Wild, captained by Parrish Warren of Rocky Point, won the dolphin division with a 52.1-pounder caught by Wes Davis of Wilmington, a mahi worth $6,594.
Big Rock officials will present more than $100,000 in tournament proceeds to area charities at a separate ceremony later during June.
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