ANNIE O takes lead in release category at Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament
This blue marlin is one of three hooked and released by the ANNIE O in the 61st Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament as of day three.

WOLVERINE still leads heaviest blue marlin category

ANNIE O, based out of Atlantic Beach, N.C., had a big day Wednesday, day three of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. The 60-foot Guthrie started off with the first release of the day. They hooked up to a sailfish early and released it at 9:49 a.m. It was the first release of the day, so they were awarded $5000.

But they didn’t stop there. They went on to release a white marlin just over an hour later at 10:51 a.m. That pushed the ANNIE O into first place in the billfish release category with a current total of 1450 points.

The FULL PULL moves down to second place in the release category with 1200 points. DRILLING & BILLIN is in third, also with 1200 points.

It was overall a slow day for the tournament. Of the 184 boats entered in the event, only 37 fished Wednesday. The others choose a lay day, so fewer fish were boated today, which is to be expected.

Six billfish were released on day three

Aside from ANNIE O’s two releases, four other boats recorded billfish releases on the day. SEA TOY released a white marlin. STARFLITE, SINGULARIS, and FREYJA each released a blue marlin.

Three boats weighed dolphin on Wednesday. None moved into the top three, but DOUBLE TROUBLE out of Beaufort scored $1000 for biggest dolphin of the day with their 17.1-pounder. EL CAZADOR weighed a 14.7 for second place of the day. They also pocketed $1000. REEL AFFAIR weighed a peanut 5.9-pounder.

The heaviest tuna category is still wide open. None have been weighed in yet throughout the tournament.

BILL COLLECTOR still sits alone in the heaviest wahoo category with their 56.5-pounder from Tuesday.

Lines go in again at 9 a.m. this morning. Click here to follow the video link to see all the dock action throughout the day.

And click here to see the full standings and list of activities at the 61st Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

Check out our coverage of day two of the tournament by clicking here.

About Brian Cope 2726 Articles
Brian Cope is the editor of Carolina Sportsman. He has won numerous awards for his writing, photography, and videography. He is a retired Air Force combat communications technician, and has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina. You can reach him at brianc@sportsmannetwork.com.