It is Late-Spring/Early-Summer and the days are getting warmer and the Crystal Coast fishing season is getting just as heated. Most of the charter boats are fishing every day that the weather is acceptable and the captains are usually right on the location of the fish. This past week a fleet of 266 boats entered the 64th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Mercenaria, a 72-foot Viking from Cherrystone, Va. reeled in a 572.6-pound blue marlin on Monday and that was the biggest of the eight blue marlins brought in all week. Mercenaria was entered in all levels of the competition and won a record $3.48 million in prizes. That includes the Level V Fabulous Fisherman’s prize of $777,750 they won on Monday. The boat is only the third ever million-dollar winner in tournament history. The field was competing this year for a record $5.85 million purse. Tournament officials believe the $3.48 million payday is the highest for any blue marlin competition globally. The 572.6-pounder reeled in by angler Matthew Brown with Capt. Neil Sykes at the wheel was big enough to win five of the last 10 competitions, but the fishing team wasn’t even sure the catch would clear the tournament’s minimum standard of 400 pounds or 110 inches in length when the fish initially was hooked. However, once the fish was at the side of the boat, its championship size was apparent. The second-place blue marlin of the week was caught on the Wall Hanger. The Brian Allen-captained boat won $426,287.50 for the 556 pound catch reeled in by Stacy Allen. High Yield finished in third place and won with a 536.8-pound blue marlin, worth $283,525 that was reeled in by angler Bernard Linney with Capt. Paul Wiseman at the wheel. Releases were strong all week, with this year’s competition raking in well over 200 to shatter the tournament record of 180 set in 2020.
Newcomers to this $5.85 million dollar billfish tournament might imagine a gigantic rock sticking out of the ocean somewhere offshore, but that’s not the case. In reality, there is no “rock.” What there is is a hard bottom stretch of water approximately 35 miles southeast of Morehead City in a sweet spot where warm Gulf Stream waters and the colder coastal waters meet along the continental shelf. Anglers in the 64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament are looking for spots on the west of the “break,” where the ocean goes from a gentle slope to a steep incline. That’s where they’ll find the “Big Rock,” a fishing hot spot with water depth ranging from 180 to 500 feet. The result of the Gulf Stream current cutting deep into the ocean floor as it veers away from the coastline and moves northeast in the Atlantic Ocean. The location where anglers can encounter once-in-a-lifetime trophies like blue marlin covers an area of about 8-10 miles long by 1 mile in width. It serves as a haven for small reef fish, the type that attracts the larger fish that blue marlin feast on. The topography of the ‘Big Rock’ is unique and conveniently located for anglers to reel in a trophy bill fin. Typically, the Pacific and Atlantic varieties of blue marlin are found in warm, equatorial waters. They are not usually found close to land unless there is a deep drop of 500 to 1,000 fathoms, like the Big Rock.
The flurry of excitement experienced by anglers along the Crystal Coast in the spring is not limited to blue marlin. Cobia have been sighted routinely. This year’s cobia bite has been very good after a couple sparse years. Fish have been good-sized too with some fish in the 60- to near 80-pound class. Cobia is an unusual fish, half shark like with its single dorsal fin, half catfish like with its wide flat head. They have distinctive dark brown bands and white horizontal bands and a white under-belly. Cobia are great fighters and really tasty too! Cobia tastes mild and has a firm, broad-flaked flesh that's white when cooked up and pinkish when raw. The mild flavor is often described as fresh, clean, and buttery. Cobia can grow to nearly 80 inches in length and over 150 pounds over a ten to 15 year lifespan. Because cobia are prized as table fare, and because of their fast growth, cobia are amenable to aquaculture, growing to marketable size in under 2 years.
Additionally, some decent-sized shrimp are being caught from the shore and even the finger mullet have already reached a size big enough to not get gilled in a 3/8-inch mesh cast net. This is a few weeks earlier than usual which is normally around the Fourth of July. Red drum also are being hooked in the Swansboro area in the marshes and in the White Oak river. Massive numbers of Spanish mackerel and bluefish also will be hanging around inlets like Bogue and Ocracoke and they will be reachable with near shore boats making this an ideal time of year for scheduling a family charter. Offshore, anglers can expect to catch yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, wahoo, gaffer and bailer mahi, sailfish, white marlin and blue marlin. To learn more about Carolina fishing, go to my website, www.EmeraldIsleHomesforSaleNC.com and sign up for my blog. Ready to buy or sell? Call me at 919-308-2292. Explore the video tab for my weekly uploads to my YouTube channel. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and receive free donuts at my Flip Flops Donut shop. Text your email address to 919-308-2292 and subscribe to my newsletter. My book, "Live Where You Vacation" is available on Amazon.com.
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