517-pound blue marlin earns $2+ million
On the final day of the 67th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City, NC, BIG TROUBLE brought a 517-pound blue marlin to the scales and earned $2,285,125.
This purse included the Fabulous Fisherman’s Prize of $807,500 for being the first boat of the event to weigh a blue marlin that exceeded 500 pounds.
Capt. Chris Daniels was at the helm, and Brandon Creech was on the rod when the big fish hit, and he landed the beast after a 30-minute fight.
“I’ve been fishing this tournament for 15 years, and this is the first check I’ve ever pulled,” said Creech. “It all happened so fast. The fight was less than 30 minutes. I thank God for it, the owner, Capt. Chris Daniels, and our amazing crew.”
BANKWALKER took second place with a 449.7-pound blue marlin. Lizzie Montague reeled in the big fish, which was worth $603,750.
“It was the coolest experience of my life. I’ll never take it for granted,” said Montague.
Her dad, Bryant Montague captains BANKWALKER. He said she was the right one to be on the rod.
“If there’s a million-dollar fish on the line, Lizzie’s in the chair,” he said. “She’s smooth, steady and never gets rattled. I’d put her up against any man out there.”
No other boats weighed an eligible blue marlin that met the minimum weight to get on the leaderboard.
SOUTHERN GRACE did bring a blue marlin to the scales which met the minimum weight requirement, but their fish was disqualified based on the tournament’s mutilation rule, a ruling the team gracefully accepted.
“We would like to commend the crew of SOUTHERN GRACE for their exceptional catch and display of sportsmanship,” said Big Rock officials.
Record releases
At least two historic firsts took place in this year’s Big Rock. For the first time ever, the entire fleet of 272 boats took a lay day on the same day, with all fishing the next morning.
Another first was the number of billfish released, a record of 420 total billfish, which included 238 blue marlin, 109 sailfish and 73 white marlin.
A total of$6,325,875 was paid out during this year’s tournament.
Tournament officials also offered special recognition to the teams of WASTE KNOT and REEL LINEMAN for voluntarily pulling their lines with time still on the clock and money still on the table in order to assist a boat taking on water.
COST PLUS, a non-tournament boat, was also recognized for rescuing five tournament participants from a boat that caught fire and burned.
To see all the results of the 67th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, visit https://thebigrock.com.
Be the first to comment