Big Fish Classic One For The Record Books

Big Fish Classic One For The Record Books
The crew on the Pumpin Hard took first in several divisions during the 6th Big Fish Classic last weekend including single heaviest fish with a 455-pound blue marlin. Photo courtesy Fish in OC

OCEAN CITY- The 6th Annual Huk Big Fish Classic last weekend it was once again a huge success with plenty of big fish, as the name implies, hauled to the scale at the historic docks at Talbot Street.

The Big Fish Classic was held last weekend on the pier at Talbot Street, which is essentially the epicenter for Ocean City’s rich fishing history. The Big Fish Classic is a two-day, 32-hour tournament where the largest fish caught of any species is rewarded. Boats and teams of anglers had to decide to fish in one of two 32-hour slots, either Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday. There were several categories for which anglers and boats will be rewarded, but the essence of the event is bringing the biggest fish to the historic Talbot Street docks.

The crew on the Pumpin Hard nearly swept most of the major categories including the single heaviest fish, a 455-pound blue marlin brought to the scale on Saturday. Captain Dan Burt and the crew on the Pumpin Hard swept all of the categories related to the single heaviest fish in the tournament and also took first place in each of the heaviest stringer categories and earned a tournament-high $199,771 in combined prize money.

The crew on the M.J.”s took second in the single biggest fish division with a 438-pound blue marlin weighed just 15 minutes before the Pumpin Hard’s new record breaker. M.J.’s also took second in each of the stringer categories with 477 total pounds and earned $63,351 in prize money.

The crew on the Hubris took third overall in the single heaviest fish division with a 345-pound blue marlin and earned $18,915 in prize money. The crew on the Whiskey Kilo finished third in the heaviest stringer category with 473 total pounds and earned $12,848.

The Rebel took first in the heaviest swordfish division with a 294-pounder worth $19,350. The award for the single heaviest white marlin went to the crew on the Lovin Life with a 72-pounder worth $31,500.

The billfish bite was red hot throughout the weekend tournament was evidenced by some remarkable release numbers. For example, the Gret’s Three J’s took first in the billfish release division with 12 white marlin releases and two blue marlin releases and earned $10,080 in prize money. The Reel Chaos was second in the billfish release division with 10 white marlin releases and one blue marlin release and earned $4,320 in prize money.

The crew on the No Limits also had a big weekend in the Big Fish Classic, taking first place in the heaviest yellowfin tuna division with a 112-pounder and also first place in the heaviest meat fish division with a 51-pound dolphin and earned a combined $30,712 in prize money. The FFMD took first in the heaviest tuna division with a 118-pounder worth $14,625.

The Chaser took second and third place in the heaviest tuna division and also took first in the heaviest tuna stringer division and earned $54,585 in prize money. The Goin In Deep took second in the heaviest tuna stringer division and earned $6,750 in prize money.

The Primary Search took second int the heaviest meat fish division with a 49-pound wahoo and earned $13,500 in prize money. The Sea Wolf took third in the division and earned $2,700. The No Limit took first in the small boat winner-take-all division and earned $15,840 in prize money. The Over Billin took second in the small boat calcutta and earned $2,430. The Restless Lady II took third in the heaviest yellowfin division and earned $2,025 in prize money.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.