Article by Larry Budd
It is just so hard to believe we are at the end of July! For myself and many others I talk to this season feels like it has flown by this year. Nonetheless here were at the top of August with a full 3 weeks of offshore tournaments ahead of us, including some of our largest, and of course the White Marlin Open which is the largest and richest marlin tournament in the world. The 11th Annual Big Fish Classic which was held last weekend set the stage for the August events with some amazing catches and a near record purse for the event of $1,158,500.
While many would share that this has been one of the toughest seasons for yellowfin tuna they have seen in 20 years, there have been some really notable bigeye catches both in and outside of tournaments. This was on display at the Big Fish Classic. For those unfamiliar with this tournament, it has a unique format as compared to all the over events. Anglers get to choose to fish one of two 32 hour fishing ‘windows’. For this year they were either Friday from 7AM to Saturday at 3PM, or Saturday from 7AM to Sunday at 3PM. This gives crews the opportunity to hit two morning bites as well as an evening and overnight one. While they can chose to return early if they have something big they want to weigh, most stay out for the full 32 hours.
88 boats entered the field this year to compete for that large purse. Since the weather overnight last Friday to Saturday looked questionable, only 15 boats selected to fish the first ‘window’, with the remaining 73 departing Saturday morning. We expected the scales to be slow on Friday and they were totally slow! While several nice fish were caught on Friday, not one of the 15 boats fishing that day decided to come to the scales, choosing instead to stay out for their full 32 hours.
We knew we would see some action on Saturday as the first set of boats finished their windows. What we were not expecting was a tournament record stringer from the first boat to the scales! The “MJ’s” cruised into the dock at the Talbot Street Pier shortly after scales opened and reported 6 bigeye tuna onboard! The tournament has a stringer award for 5 of any type of legal fish and one for tuna, so things were looking good for the “MJ’s”. The crew selected their 5 heaviest and their combined weight was 1,077.5 lbs! On top of that, the largest was 73” and 288 lbs. with the average at 215 lbs. They fished south of the Wilmington Canyon and started out blue marlin fishing. About an hour in on the first day, they saw no marlin bites, but got hit with a bigeye. After getting that one to the boat they decided to change tactics and fish for more bigeye for a stringer. They caught 2 more that first day and missed another 2. The last 3 fish came on Saturday morning when they hooked up a triple, getting all 3 in the box. The big one caught by JD Messley was the last one. That stringer remained unchallenged and took 1st Place in that calcutta. Their largest single fish at 288 lbs. however slipped to 2nd Place for Heaviest Tuna and also took 3rd Place for overall Big Fish.
We had heard rumors on Friday that the “Primary Search” had a large 73” bigeye on ice, so there was anticipation on the dock when they pulled up Saturday. They were fishing in 1000 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon. The big tuna hit at 8:30 PM and anglers Joe Tull and Steve Strawbridge fought the tuna for only 38 minutes. While this fish was a little shorter than the “MJ’s”, its girth measured 64.5”! All eyes were on the scale as they raised the fish, and when weighmaster Coconut Hedges shouted out 305 pounds the crowds erupted! Also a tournament record, it held on to take not only 1st Place in the Heaviest Tuna calcutta, but also 2nd Place in the Big Fish calcutta taking home $151,393.
Overall 9 boats hit the scales that day filling in all of the Tuna and Heavy Divisions, but no billfish. With 73 boats still working the water, there was a high expectation for change on the last day of the event.
The “Under Taker” kicked off Day 3 with a strong catch. Capt. Corey Kennington had run the boat up to the Spencer Canyon and was trolling in only 500’ of water along the 100 fathom line. It was sunset on Saturday when angler Michael Barry connected with a white marlin on a naked ballyhoo, taking only 10 minutes to boat the fish. That marlin was 71” long and weighed 68 lbs. As the only qualifying white weighed, it swept those calcuttas and actually took 3rd Place for Heaviest Billfish earning the second largest tournament payout of $162,022.
As if that catch was not a great way to start the day, the next boat kept the momentum rolling and took it up a notch. The mighty “Ro Sham Bo” pulled up to the T-Pier with a blue marlin flag flying. They had started fishing in the Washington Canyon and found no love, so they tooled down to the Baltimore Canyon to fish on Sunday. In the early morning, they saw some action on the teaser reel and a short time later Rusty Shriver connected with the blue on the short rigger. Capt. Willie Zimmerman reported he made one big circle with the fish, and after only 28 minutes it was at the boat. 1st gaff shot hit home and in the boat it came. It was their only bite save for a small mako. The deckhands called out the measurements before bringing it up to the dock. 117 inches, well above the federal and tournament minimums. The big tunas were definitely in trouble in the Big Fish calcutta! The big blue tipped the scales at 535 lbs. jumping the “Ro Sham Bo” to 1st Place fish for Heaviest Fish where it stayed, earning the crew the largest payout of the event of $320,392.
One area where you don’t see much of at the scales is the Billfish Release Division as there is nothing to weigh. This was a shame at this year’s Big Fish Classic as some of the best catches of the year so far were reported! The “Kilo Charlie” took top honors with an amazing 2350 points for releasing 22 white marlin and 1 blue marlin. They spent Saturday behind the Spencer Canyon in 800 fathoms going 10 for 16 on whites and 1 for 1 on blue marlin. Sunday saw them further south in 1100 fathoms behind the Baltimore Canyon going 12 for 12 on whites. Two great single day releases!
2nd Place went to the “Billfisher” who caught 18 white marlin, releasing 17 in their 32 hour window fishing from the Carteret Canyon to the Baltimore. Their record was 4 on day 1 and 14 on day 2. Notable was that all the anglers were kids with the oldest at 17. While the tournament allows for anglers to pass the rod and help land fish, Capt. Jon Duffie does not! All these youth anglers hooked and reeled in these marlin on their own.
Rounding out the categories were “Poorman” who took 2nd Place for Heaviest Billfish with a 95.5 lb. swordfish they caught during the day in the Washington Canyon. The “Split Bill” also caught a sword in the Wilmington Canyon at 105.5 lbs. securing the Winner Take All for swords and other calcuttas. They had not entered the Heaviest Billfish Calcutta.
The Heaviest Dolphin was from “Off The Hook” with a 41” and 27.5 lb. dolphin they caught bailing in the Washington Canyon. Since no qualifying wahoo were weighed, the payout for that mahi was over $41K!
The “Reel Moore” locked into the top of the leaderboard and the WTA for Heaviest Yellowfin Tuna with a 118.5 lb. allison they caught in the Spencer Canyon on the shotgun with a ballyhoo. You can see our full coverage and pictures starting on page 60.
Overall, it was a pretty amazing event with 24 boats weighing some amazing fish. Hopefully the flurry of billfish activity and bigeye bite remains as we get to the big August Tournaments. This weekend sees the Ocean City Marlin Club’s ‘Heel’s & Reel’s” Ladies Tournament and the Marlins for Mason Billfish Release Tournament. Details are in our Upcoming Tournament post.
Until next time share what you are catching. §