Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament 2007
“Bak Bar” made last call at the 49th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament’s weigh station Friday night, June 15, weighing in a 613-pounder to win $800,839 from the event’s $1,568,950 purse.
“Bak Bar” captain Tommy Lewis, from Huger, SC, reached Morehead City just after 11:00 p.m. with a blue marlin that his son, Montukie, needed nearly six hours to land. Fifteen hours later, when no bigger fish were caught on Saturday during the final hours of fishing, the “Bak Bar “crew began an after-hours celebration.
The “Bak Bar” win almost didn’t happen. Bak Bar’s blue marlin got tail wrapped and died near the bottom of the ocean four hours into the fight. For the next two hours, Montukie Lewis had to carefully reel in the dead giant. He couldn’t set the drag too tight in rough seas or reel too fast for fear of breaking the line.
“It was dead weight with a big fish at the very bottom,” the younger Lewis said. “It was rough out there. I had to give back as much (line) as I took. I didn’t make much headway for a long time. I had to find a happy medium … .but I only got tired at the end.”
Once the fish was in the boat, Lewis wasn’t tired at all. The entire “Bak Bar” crew knew they had the potential winner.
“We knew (the fish) was longer than the others,” Lewis said. “It’s a good one … a big fish. This is my happiest day. It feels great to be in this position.”
Lewis’s catch was an early Father’s Day present for his dad. Ironically, all five blue marlin brought to the Big Rock scales Friday were reportedly caught by father-son teams.
The “Bak Bar” catch knocked “Licketysplit” from the top spot on the Big Rock leader board. “Licketysplit,” captained by Bobby Scarborough out of Hatteras, took the Big Rock lead Friday afternoon with a 567-pounder reeled in by Grimesland angler David Williams. But that lead didn’t even last the night.
“Licketysplit” tried to return the favor Saturday afternoon with a hookup three minutes before the tournament ended. Unfortunately for “Licketysplit,” the fish threw the hook and got away.
“Licketysplit” competitors received $258,752 for placing second.
“Maggie,” captained by Randy Bryant out of Morehead City, finished in third place with a 505-pound blue marlin landed Friday by Beaufort angler Butch Bryant. The “Maggie” crew received $171,835 for finishing third.
Catches by Bak Bar, Licketysplit, and Maggie knocked “Safari” from the leader board Friday. “Safari,” captained by Mark Harris out of Dania Beach, FL, was the tournament’s inaugural leader with a 473.5-pounder reeled in by angler Brett Goulding.
“Safari” was in line to win $1.2 million as fishing got underway Friday. A little more than 14 hours later, they were out of the money.
Anglers on 170-of-184 boats were eligible to fish Saturday. Anglers recorded 22 releases on the final day of competition, raising the six-day total of releases to 96 blue marlin, 45 white marlin, and 31 sailfish. This is an all-time blue marlin and overall release (172) record for Big Rock competitions.
“Sea Striker,” captained by Adrian Holler out of Newport, NC, captured first place in the release division with 1,600 points, His angler, Curtis Struyk from Atlantic Beach, had four blue marlin releases, including a Big Rock record three on Wednesday. This put the “Sea Striker” crew in line to win $92,239.
“Sea Toy,” captained by Bull Tolson from Manteo, finished second in the release division with 1,440 points on three blue marlin releases, including one on a circle hook. “Sea Toy” anglers Frank Daniels, Jr. and Joe Hodge helped their team win $59,074.
“Sea Hag,” captained by Ken Kramer out of Morehead City, recorded two sailfish releases Saturday to take third in the release division. The “Sea Hag,” which featured lady anglers, was able to reel in four sailfish, two white marlin, and a blue marlin and tally 1,300 points to win $33,164. Jessica Ledford, Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick, and Carly Ledford shared “Sea Hag” angling duties during the tournament.
The “Carolina Gentleman,” captained by Skipper Gentry from Morehead City, held third place for 28 minutes with a 422.5-pounder reeled in by Morehead City angler Robbie Willis. Gentry and crew won the 40-and-under small boat category worth $5,000.
“Tailwalker” captain Fred Walker and angler Sean Cooper, out of Morehead City, won $4,900 for scoring the 49th billfish release of the tournament. Walker and Cooper accomplished this feat Tuesday.
“Yellowfin,” a Morehead City boat captained by Jeff Garner, captured the tuna division with a 69.4-pounder reeled in by Steve Rollins of Brighton, UT. The “Yellowfin” catch proved to be worth $7,536.
“Sea I Sea,” captained by Brad Langdon, out of Newport, won the wahoo division with a 45.25-pounder reeled in Wednesday by Bill Mills of Jacksonville. That fish turned out to be worth $7,065.
“Buck Wild,” captained by Parrish Warren from Rocky Point, won the dolphin division with a 52.1-pounder caught Wednesday by Wes Davis out of Wilmington. That netted the “Buck Wild” team $6,594.
After six days of competition, 36 boats won a share of the event’s purse.
The six-day competition wrapped up Saturday night at the Crystal Coast Civic Center where winners gathered for an awards dinner and a distribution of winnings. Big Rock officials will also present more than $100,000 in tournament proceeds to area charities at a separate ceremony later this month.
