Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament 2005
“Size Matters,” a Maryland-based boat captained by Josh Ruskey, survived a late scare by former champion “Dancin’ Outlaw” to hold on and win the 47th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.
“Dancin’ Outlaw,” a Morehead City charter boat and winner of the 41st Big Rock in 1999, arrived at the scales Saturday afternoon with a blue marlin that topped out at 507 pounds. That was good enough for third place, but not enough to displace the 529-pounder reeled in Friday by lady angler Gigi Wagoner of Frederick, MD.
Wagoner became just the fourth woman in Big Rock history to land the winning fish. She’s the first lady angler to win the top angler prize since Kathy Keel accomplished the feat in 1993.
Wagoner had never caught or boated a blue marlin before this week. On the first day of the Big Rock she released a blue, and her second blue marlin catch was the tournament winner.
She fought her winning fish about an hour before bringing it to gaff. The fish measured 110.5 inches-which was slightly longer than any other blue marlin caught this week. “(This blue marlin) went straight down. He smoked the 80 (reel). We got him up to the boat and he went straight down again,” said Wagoner.
“That’s exciting, but it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Wagoner, moments after the learning that the “Dancin’ Outlaw” catch didn’t weigh enough to knock “Size Matters” out of first place.
“Size Matters” entered all levels of the tournament to capture $677,800 from the Big Rock’s $1,378,375 purse. “Gambler,” a Hatteras charter boat captained by Steve Garrett, finished second and collected $249,955. “Dancin’ Outlaw,” which bumped the “Lady Lou V” 500-pound catch from the leader board, receives $165,970.
Finishing second is a bittersweet reward for Garrett and the “Gambler” fishing team. “Gambler” finished second once before, finishing runner-up to the “Summertime Blues” in 2000 when angler Ron Wallschlager of Kiawah Island, SC, landed a Big Rock record 831-pounder to win the 42nd annual event. Garrett-who led the 47th Big Rock for four days and the 42nd Big Rock for two days-learned the hard way (twice) that size matters.
“How exciting … we couldn’t have had a better tournament,” said Big Rock tournament director Crystal Watters. “The weather was great throughout the week. Somebody caught a large blue marlin every day. It was exciting for the fans at the weigh station right up to the very last minute.”
The 47th Big Rock turned out to the closest contest in the history of the event. Just 22 pounds separated the three overall winners, and “Lady Lou V” finished out of the money by just seven pounds.
“Everyone had a shot to win … right up to the end,” said Watters. “Anglers tell us they were hooked up to bigger blue marlin than the ones that finished on the leader board. That’s what makes this a great tournament. You never know what’s going to happen.”
“Big Easy,” a Hatteras-based boat captained by Clifton Parker, captured the billfish release division to win $66,538. The “Big Easy” scored 1050 points and finished the tournament with a “grand slam,” releasing two blue marlins, a white marlin, and a sailfish.
“Second Chance,” a Weddington, NC-based boat captained by Dale Prox, finished second in the release standings with 800 points. “Second Chance” receives $39,140 for being the first to release two blue marlins.
“Wave Runner,” a Morehead City charter boat captained by Bruce Pollock, finished third in the release division. “Wave Runner” collects $19,570 for being the second boat to release two blue marlins and score 800 points.
Overall gamefish division winners receive $7,225. Wahoo and tuna division leaders remained unchanged since the first two days of competition. “Release,” captained by Rom Whitaker, weighed in a 70.70-pound wahoo Tuesday, and “Frequent Flyer,” captained by Glen Loftin, captured the tuna division with a 109.05-pounder landed Monday. “Southern Exposure,” captained by Rob Gollahon, won the dolphin division with a 60.15-pounder caught Friday.
For more complete information on the weekly and daily winners, you can visit www.thebigrock.com.
