Cape Fear Blue Marlin
Capt. Hunter Blount, boat owner Jim Holmes, and the “Coverage” crew earned first place at the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament with this 821.2 lb. marlin they hooked on a Black Bart lure in 80 fathoms of water on the 380 Line. It was the crew’s second billfish tournament victory in three weeks as they also took the top spot in the Hatteras Village Offshore Open.
Fishing out of Morehead City, the “Coverage” crew got a worthy reason to make the 69 mile run to Wrightsville Beach when they boated a massive blue marlin on Saturday, May 31, the final day of the Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament. The 821.2 lb. blue marlin they hauled to the scales earned the crew 1232 points, blowing away the field in the event and securing the second Governor’s Cup billfish tournament win for the crew in less than a month.
Capt. Hunter Blount, his father Bill, boat owner Jim Holmes, J.D. Payne, J.D. Morgan, and Morgan Morgan teamed back up for the event after winning the Hatteras Village Offshore Open a few weeks prior, and Dak Millis joined the crew aboard the 61’ Sportsman.
After pulling the hooks on a large blue marlin on Thursday, the “Coverage” team sat Friday out and chose to fish their final day Saturday, along with just two other boats.
Starting around the 405 loran line in 100 fathoms, the crew worked their way offshore after hearing of a marlin hookup by a fellow boat, but they found only a few dolphin and tough trolling conditions.
“The ‘Piracy’ hooked a blue early outside of us, so we headed offshore,” Hunter Blount explained. “There was terrible scattered grass, so we worked our way back inshore to a real thin piece of clean water we found.”
While the spread wasn’t fouling as much, the crew didn’t find any action after trolling south to the 330 line, and Blount decided to make a move inshore.
“I’d had all I could take,” he reported. “We headed back in to 80 fathoms around the 380 and that’s where we hooked the fish.”
With less than an hour left before the lines-out time, the crew got a surprise strike on a Black Bart lure at 2:24 that afternoon.
“Nobody on the boat saw that bite,” Blount said. “It snuck in underneath our noses. As soon as that fish bit it peeled line off really hard and started jumping out away from the boat. We felt like it was a nice fish but didn’t get a good look at it.”
Holmes took the chair and began battling the fish, which stayed in the water for much of the next half-hour, keeping the crew in suspense about its true size. Payne was able to grab the leader around 30 minutes into the fight, and the crew got their first solid view of the marlin
“There was no question about whether it was big enough once we got the leader,” Blount said.
The outcome wasn’t yet certain, however, as the fish took off again, forcing Payne to dump the leader.
“She peeled off a bunch of line right then,” Blount continued. “We got back to 20-30’ from the knot a couple more times, and J.D. got the leader again but had to let it go.”
The scenario replayed itself several times, with the fish taking a few more leaps on the leader, but Payne was finally able to work the fish in range and Morgan Morgan sunk a flying gaff in it.
Another quickly followed, but the huge fish still wasn’t done.
“She still had some kick in her when we got the flyers in,” Blount said. “The boys did a real good job hanging on and keeping her near the boat.”
After a final kick, the anglers slid the marlin through the boat’s transom door. Measurements taken aboard estimated the giant fish at 814 lbs. as the crew took a happy ride towards Masonboro Inlet.
“Coverage” weren’t the only crew to land a large blue marlin in the tournament, as the “J&B” team weighed in a 447 lb. fish and added a white marlin release to earn 572 points and second place. Releasing the first blue marlin in the tournament earned “Eye Catcher” 400 points and third place.
More information on the event and a full leaderboard are available at www.capefearbluemarlintournament.com.
