After 254 of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament’s 271 competing boats motored out from Morehead City on Tuesday’s second day of the competition, just 14 headed offshore Wednesday due to a small craft advisory from the National Weather Service due to high winds.
That didn’t stop the crews from Predator and Sea Wolf from landing blue marlins.
The 57-foot Predator returned to the docks with a catch that weighed 459 pounds, good for third place. That trailed the 470.2-pound blue marlin landed by current leader C- Student on Monday and the 463.7-pound fish caught by Sea Toy on Tuesday.
The 47-foot Sea Wolf was due back at the docks around 7 p.m. on Wednesday with its catch.
For now, the Fabulous Fisherman prize remains up for grabs. The $739,500 payout goes to the first boat to report catching a blue marlin weighing 500 pounds or more.
Competing boats are eligible to fish from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on four of the six days to the tournament, which started Monday and will end Saturday.
Last year, Mercenary totaled more than $2.7 million in prize money — including the Fabulous Fisherman haul — for their 572.6-pound marlin.
Leaders through three days in other categories include:
- Heaviest Wahoo: Weldor’s Ark, 59.7 pounds
- Heaviest Tuna: High Yield, 42.8 pounds
- Heaviest Dolphin: Skip Hook, 59.3 pounds
