PREDATOR misses mark by 6 pounds
The first day of the 2020 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament was full of action. Six boats brought blue marlin to the scales, but none reached the 500-pound mark, leaving more than $500,000 of prize money for some lucky crew.
The first boat to bring a 500-pound (or heavier) blue marlin to the scales in this tournament pockets that prize of half-a-million dollars, so it’s still up for grabs as the tournament cranks back up at 9 a.m.
PREDATOR, a 57-foot Leonard Rigsbee based in Hatteras, N.C. and owned by Bill and Theresa Bonner, brought the heaviest one to the scales. Their 494.2-pound blue marlin was the last one to hit the docks on Day One. Missing that big payday by less than six pounds is a tough break, but they still lead the Heaviest Blue Marlin category.
It was a big day in the Billfish Release category. Fifty boats released a total of 57 billfish. Of the 57, 46 were blue marlin, eight were white marlin, and three were sailfish.
ORRSMAN leads in the Release Category after they released three blue marlins on Day One. The 61-foot Weaver is the lone boat with 1200 points. MISS PEGGY SUE II, ANN WARRICK, OUTNUMBERED, and HORSE PLAY each released two blue marlins and racked up 800 points apiece.
PEGGY released first blue marlin of 2020 Big Rock
SEA HOUND is in sixth place with 525 points. Thirty-four boats are tied with 400 points each, so it’s a tight race. Nine boats have 125 points apiece.
PEGGY, a 60-foot Briglia owned by Doug Abrams out of Raleigh, N.C. released the first blue marlin of the tournament. They hooked up at 9:08 a.m., just eight minutes after lines in. At 9:26, they released the fish.
In the Dolphin Category, PERSISTENCE, based out of Beaufort, N.C., leads, taking top honors on Day One with a 47.5-pound dolphin. SALT LICK, a 36-foot Yellowfin out of Atlantic Beach, N.C. weighed the second heaviest mahi, a 46.2-pound fish. FIN PRINT, a 62-foot Paul Mann from Morehead City, N.C., rounded out the top three with a 29.1-pound dolphin.
A total of 18 boats weighed dolphins on Day One.
HAMMER TIME leads wahoo category
HAMMER TIME took first place for Day One in the Heaviest Wahoo category. The 54-foot Spencer from Carolina Beach, N.C. weighed in a 47.6-pound wahoo. SECOND CHANCE, a 28-foot Bertram from Greenville, N.C., weighed a 16.8 pounder for second place on the day.
No tuna were weighed on Day One.
Still up for grabs on Day Two is the $500,000+ prize money for the first boat to bring a 500-pound blue marlin to the scales. As this is the 62nd Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, prize money is also awarded to the boat that releases the 62nd billfish of the tournament. Based on Day One’s numbers, that should happen on Day Two.
Check out thebigrock.com for the full leaderboard.
Be the first to comment