SUSHI wins Big Rock!

484.5-pound blue marlin wins big payday for SUSHI

SUSHI, a 57-foot Island Boat Works vessel out of Nags Head, won the Heaviest Blue Marlin category in the 2023 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament with a 484.5-pound marlin, and pocketed $2,769,400 for their efforts. They caught the big fish on Friday, June 16 to claim their place atop the leaderboard. Justin Riley was the angler.

CHASIN’ A, based out of the Cayman Islands, took second place with their 479.8-pound marlin, also caught on Friday by 14-year-old angler Carson Moser.

C-STUDENT, the 72-foot Viking, captured third place with their 470.2-pound marlin, which led the contest for much of the week.

Another boat brought a blue marlin with an unofficial weight of 619.4 pounds to the scales, but this fish had two shark bites, which disqualified the fish from the tournament due to a longstanding rule that states fish shall be disqualified if showing signs of “mutilation to the fish, prior to landing or boating the catch, caused by sharks, other fish, mammals, or propellers that remove or penetrate the flesh.”

The Fabulous Fisherman’s Prize, awarded to the first team to weigh a blue marlin weighing at least 500 pounds, went unclaimed in this year’s event. That prize, worth $739,500, will roll over to the 2024 tournament, meaning a bigger-than-average payday awaits the boat to pull off that feat.

Marlin fever wins release category

In the Release category of the 2023 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, MARLIN FEVER took top honors with a total of 2400 points, and earned $133,875. Beginning Day 5 of the 6-day event with only 400 points, they racked up 2000 points on Friday, which put them in the lead for good. SAFARI finished second with 2000 points, followed by OUTLIER with 1725 points.