64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament kicks off in Morehead City
Posted June 13, 2022 5:28 p.m. EDT
Updated June 14, 2022 9:30 a.m. EDT
Morehead City, N.C. — The 64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament kicked off in Morehead City, and organizers said the turnout for fishing boats and crowds of spectators has rivaled last year’s record-setting numbers.
Both groups have overcome another record-setting surge in the cost of gas, which has driven up the competition’s economic impact on Carteret County.
Boats set out early Monday morning to begin the six-day fishing tourney, and it didn’t take long for the first blue marlin of the Big Rock to be strung up from the landing.
Virginia Beach-based boat Mercenaria brought back the first marlin just before 2 p.m., securing a cash prize of $777,000 for the 572-pound fish.
Organizers told WRAL News that the competitors weren’t the only ones thinking about money heading into the tournament.
The director of the Big Rock said altogether, they expected the field to spend $4 million on diesel fuel alone from Monday to Saturday.
“We were a little concerned about fuel prices,” Big Rock Executive Director Madison Struyk said. “I know for a lot of people coming from up north it was going to have a really big impact on their travel plans.”
But when the boats made their way into the Atlantic, there were 266 crews hunting for marlin, only four less than last year’s record setting field of 270 boats.
The director said even the crowds have looked bigger as more people return to in-person events.
“So not only are we a huge event during the summer here, people plan their vacations around here, come into town and make plans to visit family,” Struyk said. “But we are also a nonprofit, so our entire mission is based around charity first.”
For the third straight year, all eyes were on Catch 23.
Michael Jordan’s boat caught two blue marlin before 3 p.m., but after weighing in at less than 400 pounds each, they both had to be released.
Still, organizers said Jordan was consistently a big draw for the crowd, meaning more meals, hotel stays, and filled up tanks to pump into Morehead’s economy.
“Last year we were able to give a million dollars away to charity,” Struyk said. “So all of the money that is coming into Morehead is staying in eastern North Carolina, and that’s what’s super important to us.”
