Big Fish = Big Money at Blue Rock

The 66th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, out of Morehead City, N.C. featured some astoundingly large payouts as well as some fine fishing.

The June 7-16 event, presented by Jarrett Bay Boatworks, hosted a record-setting fleet of 302 boats competing for a more than $7.5 million purse. With 196 blue marlin, 35 white marlin and 37 sailfish, a total of 268 billfish were given sore jaws during the tournament. The top three teams took home staggering payouts of over $1.8 million each.

“Game Time” was crowned the winner of the Big Rock Tournament with their 516-lb. blue marlin, which dominated the leaderboard all week. They claimed the Levels I, II, III, and IV prizes, totaling $1,816,375.

“Release” earned the title of Fabulous Fishermen by securing the Level V win on Day 1 for boating the first 500-lb. blue marlin of the tournament. Their big catch placed them second overall and also brought in a top payout of $2,215,325 (Level I-IV: $485,575 + Level V: $1,729,750).

The 64′ Jarrett Bay, “Builder’s Choice,” demonstrated that it pays to play. Their 431.8-lb. blue marlin earned them $1,479,000 in the Level VI: Prime Storage Super 20 Division (a $20,000 calcutta), plus an additional $323,050 for their third-place finish in Levels I, II, III, and IV, totaling $1,802,050.

“Ava D’s” 46.2-lb. mahi set a new benchmark in the Level VII: Dolphin Winner Take All Division, sponsored by Parker Boats. The crew earned $603,500 for their catch, which is a record payout for a dolphin in any tournament globally!

“Sandbob” prevailed in the Level VIII Release Division, earning $150,875 plus a daily prize of $50,291.67, for a grand total of $201,167. The team accumulated 2,250 points by releasing five blue marlin and two white marlin in four days of fishing.

“Honky Tonk” won the Level IX Non-Sonar Release Division for releasing three blue marlin, earning a total of $114,750 – $86,062.50 for the weekly prize and $28,687.50 for a daily prize.

“Top Shot” secured the top spot in the Level X & XI Outboard Divisions with four blue marlin releases, earning $50,575.

Teams had multiple opportunities to win part of the $7.5 million purse through daily release cash prizes, overall release point winners, along with daily and weekly prizes for the heaviest dolphin, tuna, and wahoo. For a full list of winners, please visit the 2024 Big Rock Payouts List.