2nd Day of Big Rock

Yesterday was the 2nd day of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament with no new catches. See details below

Releases dominate Big Rock's second day

Bruce Paul, Media Director

June 12, 2007

Billfish releases and gamefish weigh-ins dominated the action Tuesday as the 49th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament completed its second day of competition.Anglers battled 53 billfish, including 33 blue marlin Tuesday but none were deemed large enough to meet the tournament minimum of 400 pounds.That leaves the Wrightsville Beach-based Safari atop the leader board with the 473.5-pounder that angler Brett Goulding reeled in Monday afternoon. Safari, owned by John McNeill, Jr. of Whiteville and captained by Mark Harris, Dania Beach, Fla., grabbed the tournament’s inaugural lead and managed to hold on despite the best two days of Big Rock billfish fishing in more than 10 years.“It was as good a day of fishing that I can recall in a long, long time,” said Big Rock board member Randy Ramsey, who handles radio communications with competitors throughout the tournament. “It’s the best two days of fishing in many, many years … especially for blue marlin. We had 33 blue marlin today and, by anybody’s standards, that’s outstanding fishing.”Anglers have tallied 89 billfish releases in two days, including 52 blue marlin releases.

For full details and other Big Rock information, go to www.thebigrock.com