TOP DOG’s 914-pound blue marlin wins Big Rock!

TOP DOG won this year's Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, and set a new tournament record with this 914-pound specimen.

Big billfish is a new record for Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

TOP DOG, a 60-foot BC out of Olney, Md., brought a 914-pound blue marlin to the scales of the 61st Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament Saturday afternoon. The big billfish not only put TOP DOG in first place for this year’s tournament, it also broke the tournament record. It was only the second shakeup of the coveted heaviest blue marlin category since day one of the event.

The first shakeup of the top 3 occurred early in the day. THERESA JEAN brought a 582-pound blue marlin to the dock, which vaulted them into second place. They were bumped to third after TOP DOG weighed in.

WOLVERINE, which held the top spot in the heaviest blue marlin category since Monday, dropped to second place with their 588.9-pounder.

Fifteen boats brought blue marlin to the scales during this tournament. The weights ranged from TRIPLE S’s 429.3-pound fish to the 914 caught by TOP DOG.

Billfish Release Category

ANNIE O took first place in the billfish release category with a total of 1850 points. The 60-foot Viking released a blue marlin on Saturday to go along with their three other blue marlins, a white marlin, and a sailfish that they released throughout the week.

DRILLIN & BILLIN finished second with 1600 points. FULL PULL rounded out the top three with 1200 total points.

Ninety-five boats recorded at least one billfish release throughout the week-long event.

Heaviest Dolphin Category

JOB SITE won the heaviest dolphin division with their 53.7-pound bull. SEA WOLF took second with a 48.4-pounder. GAME PLAN’s 39.3 snagged the third place award.

A total of 56 boats weighed dolphinfish during this event.

Heaviest Wahoo Category

UNO MAS won the heaviest wahoo category with their 59.3-pound fish. BILL COLLECTOR grabbed second place with a 56.5-pounder. CAN DO TOO’s 22.2-pound wahoo put them in third place.

Five total wahoo were weighed in during this year’s Big Rock.

Heaviest Tuna

PREDATOR captured the win in the tuna category by a wide margin with their 145.1-pound tuna. VOODOO CHILD finished second with a 39.8-pound tuna. VOODOO CHILD also took third with a 32-pounder.

Click here to see the full standings and payouts for the 61st Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

Read our wrap-up of day five by clicking here.

About Brian Cope 2745 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.