Bluewater Customers Claim One of the World’s Largest Tournament Payouts Ever

With a colorful history of over 60 years, the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament has had more than its share of excitement, huge crowds and massive fish. Held every year in early June in Morehead City, NC, the Big Rock regularly draws America’s top billfishing teams and is watched by spectators around the world. The week-long tournament offers prizes for the heaviest blue marlin and other gamefish weighed, total billfish release points, daily pots, and a variety of other payouts.

Some have called the Big Rock the ‘Super Bowl of fishing,’ and that may be an apt description in terms of the huge crowds and global attention the event garners. But unlike playoff football, the week starts off with the tournament completely up for grabs by an enormous field of teams. Sure, experience, skill, luck, equipment and teamwork come into play, but moreso than perhaps any other sport, an amateur greenhorn could be just as likely to reel in the winning fish as a lifelong veteran in another boat nearby. Granted, the caliber of the boats, equipment and their crews play a big part in any success, it’s not entirely dumb luck.

While none of the fish weighed during the week came close to the tournament record 914-pound blue marlin caught back in 2019, this 64th edition of the tournament completely shattered records in other ways. With an incredible 266 teams and over 1,500 anglers entered, the total available purse of payouts soared to $5,858,875 this year.

2022 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

As has happened in the majority of recent Big Rock tournaments, Monday, the first day of fishing, was packed with hook-up activity, boated fish and spectator anticipation, as the field of teams scrambled to bring in the first big fish and lock-in a guaranteed check in the “Fabulous Fisherman” division.

Angler Matthew Brown told Big Rock TV that day, “It was a slow beginning, but before long I heard, ‘Matt, you’re up!’” Captain Neil Sykes described the fight and the rest of the experience, “The fish ate a plug on the left short, it was a pretty bite. Then it took off jumping away from the boat before taking a u-turn and greyhounding towards us. I had to push up the throttle to get away before it put too much belly in the line. After all that jumping, I think it just wore itself out. Fifteen minutes later we had it next to the boat and it just laid there to give us a good look and an easy gaff shot.” The tournament has minimum weight and length rules for qualifying fish, so becoming skilled in quickly sizing up a fish at boatside is essential, but still nerve-racking. “When it was jumping I didn’t think it was big enough, but when it rolled over next to the boat I could see it was short, but really fat. I was more nervous on the ride home, staring at it, hoping it was over five-hundred.”

Mercifully, the MTU-powered Mercenaria made that trip to the scales more quickly than most of the fleet could have. By 2:04pm they had weighed in their blue marlin at a respectable 572.6 pounds and set the bar for the rest of the tournament. Having entered the Fabulous Fisherman division, and in bringing the first blue marlin over 500 pounds to the scales, Mercenaria had just ensured themselves at least $777,750 in guaranteed prize money.

Over the course of that Monday afternoon and in the coming days, several more blue marlin were weighed. And each time, the Mercenaria team and their supporters sat on pins and needles as the boats would run in from offshore and hoist their fish. Ultimately, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief each time, as the scale was read out to the eager crowd at Big Rock Landing—no one brought in a bigger blue marlin the rest of the week, and Mercenaria won a total payout of a whopping $3,489,813—the second largest individual billfish tournament payout in history and certainly the largest for the Big Rock. Sykes added, “I’m so glad it hung on all week and super happy for my boss and crew, they all deserved it!”

Sistership Success

Luck, timing and skill all come into play to win the heaviest marlin prize in the Big Rock. But categories for billfish release points are arguably the most competitive. The release division typically becomes a showdown between the top teams with vast amounts of experience fishing together, along with the hottest hour-to-hour knowledge of where the bite is most dependable. Range, speed, coordination and communication are essential to reeling in and releasing the greatest number of blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish over the course of the week.

Coincidentally, another new Viking 72, Safari, owned by long-time Bluewater customers did just that—winning the billfish release category in 2022. Anglers Robert McNeill and Brett Goulding finished the week with a 650 point lead over the next two boats and walked away with another sizable chunk of that record purse—what amounted to $111,562.50 for their hard work.

Robert McNeill guesses he’s fished over twenty Big Rock tournaments by now, doing so in nearly a half-dozen sportfish convertibles sold to his family by Bluewater Sales Professional Clark Sneed. All of Safari’s experience fishing together certainly was on display, as was their beautiful new 72C, and they deserve every accolade!

The 72C also seems to have good harmonics, essential in not spooking any fish away. Particularly during the Big Rock, the Captain recounts seeing fish everywhere, “the sides, corner, all over…” and raved about the sonar, but says that’s not what helped them find the fish; it’s still all about locating that different patch of water along a break. McNeill interjected about the importance of the omnidirectional sonar, pointing out that once you find the good water holding fish, the sonar is key in helping to stay on top of them while trying to lure a bite.

McNeill agreed that the team and the boat were dialed in like never before. In over twenty years of big game fishing, he’s never had such a great season of blue marlin fishing off North Carolina, and winning the Big Rock release division certainly marked Safari’s best showing yet.

But Wait, There’s More!

Additionally, Bluewater customers and friends aboard the Roshambo, Mack 900 and Sea Toy all managed to notch daily jackpots for their feats in releasing the first billfish on 4 out of 6 days. The Jarrett Bay Marlin Fever also placed 2nd (on time) in the non-sonar release category, and had the Junior Angler Release champion, Henry Daniel.

Mercenaria, Safari, Fender Bender, Viking 62 Demo, Inspiration, Chainlink, Sea Striker… the list goes on and on of Bluewater customers who have made history with big winnings in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament over the years. The Bluewater team is incredibly excited for our customers to be rewarded for all their efforts in rising to the top of the billfish tournament world, and we’ll proudly keep doing our part to help them stay there!