A boat registered out of
Raleigh caught the first
marlin of the 67th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in
Morehead City.
Lizzie Montague caught a 449.7-pound
blue marlin on Wednesday.
“Unreal,” Montague said. “It’s been a lifelong dream of
mine, so I cannot even fathom it.
“I’m still in shock.”
It took Montague nearly three hours to
reel the marlin in after hooking it at 2:19 p.m. Wednesday.
Montague said she’s fished at the Big Rock tournament since she was 13 years old.
“[It was a] team effort,” Lizzie
Montague said. “[I had the] Captain, captain’s help.”
Bryant Montague, Lizzie’s father,
captained the 60-foot Sportsman boat called Bankwalker at the tournament. Raleigh is the port listed for the boat on Big Rock’s
website.
“When I left this morning, I told the
good Lord, I said, ‘You steer the boat today,’” Bryant Montague said.
The marlin caught by the Montagues was
50.3 pounds less than the threshold needed to win the Big Rock’s Level V
Fabulous Fisherman’s prize of $807,500 for landing the tournament’s first
500-pound blue marlin.
Bankwalker is entered in Levels I through V, VII and VIII divisions
and remains in contention for more than $2.3 million in prize money. However,
Bankwalker is not entered in Level VI, which carries a $1.43 million payout for
the Winner Take All marlin category.
Dr. LeRoy Allen, a two-time Big Rock winner, previously owned
Bankwalker.
“It’s been a blessing to us because
we’ve sunk some money into [it], but this is my last one,” Bryant Montague
said.
The tournament continues through
Saturday.
“It’s a crazy day,” Bryant Montague
said on Wednesday.
