OCEAN CITY- The 4th annual Huk Big Fish Classic last weekend at the historic docks at Talbot Street was once again a big success with several big fish caught in various species leading to plenty of action at the scale.
The Huk Big Fish Classic was set for late July, but a rare midsummer nor’easter moved the event to last weekend. Even with Hurricane Irma looming and the conditions largely uncertain, event organizers held the tournament anyway and were not disappointed with the results. The main goal for participants is to weigh the single largest fish of any species at the docks at Talbot Street, which is essentially the birthplace of offshore fishing in Ocean City, and there were plenty of fish weighed at the scale all weekend long.
Participating boats competed in one of two 32-hour windows to catch the biggest fish of any species. Boats and teams of anglers had to choose to fish in one of the two 32-hour time frames, either Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday. The biggest single fish was a 145-pound shark caught by the crew on the Restless Lady that was ultimately worth $61,935.
However, it was the crew on the No Quarter that dominated the 2017 Big Fish Classic, finishing first or near the top in several categories and collecting the tournament’s top cash prize of $62,968. The No Quarter had the second heaviest fish, a 128-pound shark, the heaviest stringer weight, the heaviest yellowfin tuna and the heaviest dolphin.
So, in the heaviest single fish category, it was the Restless Lady taking first, the No Quarter was second and the MJ’s was third with an 88-pound wahoo worth $8,610. In the heaviest stringer category, it was the No Quarter in first with 281 pounds and the Moore Bills in second with 242 pounds worth $9,180. The Absolut Pleasure was third in the heaviest stringer category, but also weighed the heaviest white marlin and earned $29,609. The Always Something weighed the heaviest billfish, an 86-pound swordfish worth $27,158.
