Big Rock blog, Day 5: Sushi takes lead; anglers tell us their superstitions

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — The 65th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament has had a lot of movement on Friday.

The day began with four boats that brought in a blue marlin that weighed over 400 pounds while three others missed weight. On Friday, Sushi and Chasin’ A grabbed the top two spots on the leaderboard.

The competition is expected to pick up Saturday as crews work on the final day to not only land on the leaderboard but also get a 500-pound blue marlin. The first one to do that gets the $739,500 prize still up for grabs.

Fishing began Friday at 9 a.m. and runs to 3 p.m. Overall winners will be announced and crowned on Saturday.

You can follow all the action on the Big Rock Twitter account. There will be updates on fish caught and being brought back to the shore to be weighed along with other updates. You can also get the Big Rock app to listen to updates throughout the day. You can also listen here on the Big Rock website.

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Leaderboard

1. Sushi, 484.5 pounds*
2. Chasin’ A, 479.8 pounds*
3. C-Student, 470.2 pounds*
4. Sea Toy, 463.7 pounds
5. Dun-Rite, 425.3 pounds
6. Predator 459.0 pounds
7. Sea Wolf, 408.1 pounds

* Top three boats get the overall prize money.

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7:12 p.m.

While 255 of the 271 boats in the 65th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament were on the water, the rest were devising strategies for Saturday’s final day. Some of that includes some unique superstitions that anglers take up. Eating a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup? Bananas? Claire Curry has heard them all and has more. Click the link at the top of this blog.

5:51 p.m.

Dun-Rite’s blue marlin weighed in at 425.3 pounds. That’s good enough for fifth but won’t be in the top prize money. More on 9OYS News at 6.

Dun-Rite’s blue marlin weigh-in (Big Rock photos)

5:29 p.m.

Dun-Rite, the last boat to have a blue marlin weighed, is not eligible for the Fabulous Fisherman prize for the first fish to weigh over 500 pounds. So Saturday is the last day for that to happen. If it doesn’t, the prize money will roll over to next year, where it’s expected to double.

4:53 p.m.

Chasin’ A’s blue marlin weighs 479.8 pounds, good enough for second place in the tournament.

4:17 p.m.

The Dorothy Marie hooked a blue marlin and was working with it since 2:42 p.m. However, that’s not the case anymore, so fishing is done for the day.

4:09 p.m.

There’s been a lot of activity on the water Friday as at least three blue marlins have been caught. That got Claire Curry thinking about what kind of superstitions the anglers have when on the water. Tune in starting at 5 on 9OYS News for more on this and the day’s activities.

3:13 p.m.

It’s been a busy day with a third boat, Dun-Rite, boating a blue marlin at 3:08 p.m. It will return to Big Rock Landing to be weighed later at around 5 p.m.

2:58 p.m.

Chasin’ A boated a blue marlin at 2:43 p.m., according to the Big Rock website. It will return to Big Rock Landing to be weighed. The ETA is around 4:45 p.m.

2:28 p.m.

Sushi’s blue marlin weighed in at 484.5 pounds. That puts the team in first place on the leaderboard. Charlie Pereira, who is from Cuba, is the captain of the boat. The boat came in fourth in the 2015 tournament.

2:18 p.m.

While everyone hopes a blue marlin that’s 500 pounds or more is brought it, Curtis Strange, the legendary PGA golfer who is part of the Big Rock board, said during the live broadcast on YouTube on Friday that the money from this year’s tournament will be carried over to next year’s tournament if one isn’t boated. That could at least double this year’s prize of $739,500. Strange jokingly said he’s entering next year’s tournament if that happens.

1:32 p.m.

The Big Rock website has updated the details on when Sushi will arrive with its blue marlin. The time of arrival is now slated for around 2 p.m.

11:23 a.m.

The boat Sushi has boated a blue marlin and will return to Big Rock Landing later today to have it weighed. It’s expected to arrive to have the blue marlin weighed at around 2:30 p.m.

11:02 a.m.

If you missed yesterday’s coverage, Abigail Velez had a detailed story on the history of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Ken Watlington’s People & Places focused on a book that was written about the famous tournament. Click here to see his episode and listen to a podcast about it below.

9:24 a.m.

C-Phase got the first release of the day on Friday. That nets the team a $5,000 check.

9 a.m.

It’s likely to be a big day of fishing as 255 of the 271 boats are on the water today. It’s one more boat than the record 254 that went out on the water on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Sea Toy boated a blue marlin that landed second on the leaderboard.

8:22 a.m.

Friday’s blessing of the fleet was carried out earlier Friday morning.

8:19 a.m.

Here’s the weather forecast for Friday. We are in a Weather Alert Day for the potential for strong storms.

8 a.m.

Check out our coverage of the tournament by clicking on our Big Rock Blue Marlin page. Since no fish were caught on Thursday, it made for a slower day of activity.