Posted on 06/04/2005 7:16:09 PM PDT by smoothsailing
SATURDAY, JUNE 04, 2005 12:00 AM
No fish tale: Blue marlin lands in S.C. record book
BY TOMMY BRASWELL
Of The Post and Courier Staff
News of big billfish always spreads quickly throughout the fishing community. Talk of a possible record blue marlin Friday had the docks teeming with curious spectators. There was no doubt this one was a keeper: An 881-pounder.
The news lured local anglers to Charleston Harbor Marina to bear witness to the massive marlin caught in the Charleston Harbor Boater's World Marine Centers Billfish Tournament. When the weigh station opened at 5 p.m., spectators were crowded onto the dock awaiting the arrival of the Rascal, a 50-foot Hatteras owned by Norman Pulliam of Spartanburg. The buzz erupted into a roar as the crowd spied the huge bill and tail sticking high above the gunnels of the boat.
It took 10 men to carry the stretcher bearing the mammoth marlin, and the fish had to be curled up to clear the dock when hoisted onto the electronic scales. When Wayne Waltz of the state Department of Natural Resources called out 881.8 pounds, spectators cheered.
More than two hours later, spectators still were crowding around the fish, delaying Rascal Capt. Mark Rogers' efforts to fillet the fish so it could be smoked. The fish, caught by W.C. "Corky" Taylor of Spartanburg, crushed the old South Carolina record of 752 pounds, 6 ounces, caught in 1993 by Dixon F. Pearce II of Mount Pleasant.
Tom DuPre of Natural Resources measured Rascal's record fish at 134 5/16 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of its tail with a girth of 71-1/2 inches; Pearce's catch measured 129-1/2 inches and had a girth of 64 inches. The world-record Atlantic blue marlin is 1,402 pounds, 2 ounces and was caught off the coast of Brazil.
"It's the thrill of a lifetime," said Taylor, who hooked the fish at 10:21 a.m. Friday. "I'm more thrilled for Norman and Mark."
The fish came into the Rascal's bait spread and sampled two other offerings before coming to the right outrigger bait, a Black Bart lure. Taylor set the hook and settled into the fighting chair for an hour-and-20-minute battle.
"I knew we had a nice fish very early, that it was a keeper," said Taylor, alluding to the 101-inch minimum size limit required in South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series tournaments. "I was just concentrating on the fish. I knew the guys would kill me if I lost it."
Rogers, who is Pulliam's son-in-law, said the fish stripped off about 400 yards of line on its first run and jumped across the surface a little before settling into a deeper fight.
When they got the fish to the boat, mate Douglas Miller took the leader while Norman Pulliam Jr. struck the fish with a flying gaff. Norman Pulliam then added another flying gaff to control the fish, and it took everyone aboard to get the marlin into the cockpit. The boat is equipped with a door in its transom to aid in boating large fish, but this fish was so long the crew had to open the door to the cabin so it would fit inside the cockpit.
"The fish was surprisingly docile. We got the leader just one time, and they were able to get the gaff in it," Rogers said. "You couldn't tell how big it was because the fish stayed straight up. I'm glad it didn't jump near the boat. We would have had a stroke."
The Rascal crew was hesitant to speculate on the fish's weight until it went on the scales. Using a time-tested formula of length times girth squared, divided by 800, they came up with an estimate of 796 pounds, so they knew the South Carolina record was a possibility.
The fish could be worth a potential $167,440 in the tournament, which is the fourth of five tournaments in the South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series. First place, based on points in the tournament, pays $20,000. Rascal is entered in two of the three optional tournaments within a tournament, which are based on the heaviest fish brought to the docks. One is worth $52,380 and the other would pay $95,060.
The final tournament in the Governor's Cup Series, the HMY/Viking MegaDock Billfish Tournament, offers a $1 million bonus for a state-record blue marlin. It will be fished June 29-July 2 out of the Charleston City Marina.
Seventy-three boats are fishing the Charleston Harbor Marina event, which ends today. Seven blue marlin, three white marlin and two sailfish were released Friday.
In the nonbillfish divisions, which pay $2,000, Hew King, fishing aboard My Three Sons, landed a 56-pound dolphin. Guerry Green Sr., fishing aboard Aggressor, caught the leading tuna, a 25.5-pound fish caught Thursday. No boats have weighed a wahoo.
The weigh scales will be open today from 5-7 p.m., with the awards ceremony to follow.
RECORD CATCH
Weight: 881.8 pounds
Caught: Friday, by W.C. "Corky" Taylor of Spartanburg, aboard Rascal, homeported in Georgetown and owned by Norman Pulliam of Spartanburg
Crew: Capt. Mark Rogers, mate Douglas Miller, mate Norman Pulliam Jr., Norman Pulliam Sr., John Simmons, Jimson Dunbar and Anne Brady Moore.
Previous record: 752 pounds, 6 ounces
Caught: June 26, 1993, by Dixon F. Pearce II of Mount Pleasant aboard Risky Business
Nice fish.
I'm so lost without Farmfriend to ping.....
I don't know what to do when I come to a hunting/animal/nature/agri thread.
::cries::
That's a big sumbitch. The only thing bigger than that in South Carolina is Lindsey Graham's bull$hit.
881 pounds is a WHOPPER! We caught a 550 pound blue marlin off the Texas coast a few years ago.
Really amazing...Even more so, when you consider it was caught with a Popeil "Pocket-Fisherman".
Really amazing...Even more so, when you consider it was caught with a Popeil "Pocket-Fisherman".
freepmail to you
OMG! My husband's best friend got one of those (latest toy) when it came out.
Proudly took it to a bridge they always fish off of.
He casted, the line never made it to the water. Just hung there.
Of course, he has not lived that down to this day.
More on this story as it develops.
I registered for access; but I've not received a confirmation email yet.
So I can't see the picture.
Imagine catching a state record fish...in the tournament right before the one where you'd have gotten a $1 million bonus.
WOOOO HOOOO! Big fish!
WOW! Congrats to the angler who landed the monster fish.
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