From the literary era of Ernest Hemmingway, to the early days of television to the fast paced, technical-savvy offshore anglers of the 21st century, the blue marlin reigns as one of the most storied big-game sportfish on the Atlantic seaboard.
Each year, Atlantic Beach and, Morehead City fill up with boats and crews visiting to compete in the Big Rock Marlin Tournament. This year’s tournament, the 56th annual, will be held June 6-14.
Veteran captains, crews and big-game anglers pay entry fees of up to $18,000 to pit their skills against these formidable fighting fish at cash prizes that can approach a million dollars.
Last year, Capt. Buddy Hooper of Hatteras and the crew of the Hatteras Fever II won almost a half-million dollars for bringing to the scales the winning fish, a 465.3-pound blue. The all-time record fish was an 831-pounder caught in 2000 by Summertime Blues, a boat based in Kiawah Island, S.C.
Cash prizes go to the three largest blue marlin brought to the scales that weigh at least 400 pounds, along with daily prizes and prizes in tuna, dolphin and wahoo categories.
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