A Wilmington-based team of anglers grabbed the early lead, and share of the $1.9 million purse, during the 58th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament this week.
The Marlin Gull, a Wilmington-based, 54-foot Buddy Cannady captained by Kenny Midgett, reeled in a 564.8-pound blue marlin on Monday to win $433,500 and take the lead on the tournament’s first day.
Coinjock, North Carolina, angler William McSpadden and the crew got a bit of good luck in taking the Fabulous Fisherman prize, given to the first boat to reel in a marlin that weighs at least 500 pounds. Another boat got to the docks 40 minutes earlier with a marlin catch, but it came in a little light at 476.2 pounds, leaving the prize open for the Marlin Gull crew.
“When we heard (over the radio) that the first one didn’t make it, we had another ‘Hooray’ and some high fives all around,” McSpadden said in a press release. “We knew we were in the money.”
McSpadden hooked the blue marlin 81 minutes into the competition’s first day and it took another 94 minutes to reel in the big fish.
While the Marlin Gull ended Monday as the tournament leader, the crew was eclipsed on Tuesday when Ashley Lauren, out of Clayton, reeled in a 621.4-pound blue marlin.
At the end of day two total blue marlin releases were nine, total boated blues three, including Lauren’s winning 621.4-pounder.
The Big Rock is one of the country’s biggest and most renowned fishing tournaments, drawing 174 participants for this year’s event, including entrants from as Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana and Texas.
In addition to six boats entered from Wilmington and one from Carolina Beach, the tournament also included the Tuna Trappe, a 57-foot Island Boatworks based out of Wrightsville Beach and captained by Steve Cramer.
Organizers of the Big Rock Tournament, Morehead City, said the $1.9 million in prize money offered this year make it the second-biggest payout of any sporting event in the country, behind only the U.S. Open golf tournament, which is scheduled to be played this weekend in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
Email [email protected]
