Big crowd, big fish, big money

It was a big time at Baytowne Marina Saturday night for the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic as a crowd of about 1,000 gathered up and down and around the docks to watch the big fish come in with $1.5 million up for grabs.
And the 79 boats that entered the two-day tournament didn’t disappoint them as fish were steadily going up on the scales.
From the 50-pound dolphin brought in by Jeremy Floden on the Shell Shock Friday to the three big blues on Saturday, it was a tournament of close calls.
Word came in early that two blue marlin were due in at the docks — one around 6 p.m. and the other about 8:30 p.m.
The first was a whopper of a marlin that tilted the scales at 406.3 pounds. It was hauled in by Dave Perry on the Uptoit. The marlin measured 106.5 inches.
Perry also weighed in a 145-pound yellowfin tuna that took first place and top dollar.
But before the 8:30 p.m. promised blue marlin, another one slipped in around 7 p.m.
Capt. Tommy Braden and the crew aboard the Moveable Feast backed in with a blue marlin on ice.
Before they hauled the blue off the boat I asked Capt. Braden how much he thought it weighed — he said, “I hope more than 406.”
Jay Howard of Destin was the angler that landed the marlin.
After hauling it to the scales on a slab on wheels and measured at 103 inches, it was not likely to beat the 406.3 record. But it sure came close, as weighmaster Paul Pristas steadied the fish on the ropes and the weight was revealed on the scales at 405.4 pounds.
Capt. Braden said they caught the blue marlin about 24 hours before bringing it to the scales. He also said they had released one that weighed about 250 pounds, fought a second one and then boated the 400-pounder.
The Moveable Feast also weighed in a 48.6-pound dolphin caught by Eric Anderson, which took second place.
About 7:20 p.m. the Share-E backed in with a 35.9-pound wahoo caught by Sherry Polk. It was first on the board, but only for a little while.
The Gaynel of Gulfport, Miss., backed in at 8:10 p.m. and knocked Share-E down on the board with a 48-pound wahoo.
But one thing is for sure in these kinds of tournaments: Leaders are sure to change.
The Hot, Black and Sticky came in about 9 p.m. with a 48.6-pound wahoo caught by Darrin Hetherly that stepped into first, but only again for a little while.
At five minutes to 10, the Smooth Finish backed in with a 54.7-pound wahoo caught by 12-year-old Aaron Aery. His catch held and was good for $20,533.33.
Although the Hot, Black and Sticky finished in second in the wahoo division, they had entered several of the jackpots and they took home $132,245.
After that first wahoo, Mickey Sears on the Cazador brought in a 130.3-pound tuna for second place. But before the night was over, Sears was knocked down to third by a 142.3-pounder hauled in by Jason Benton on the Hello Darlin’. They weighed in around 9:35 p.m.
The Titanium 5.0 backed in around 8:30 with a 43.7-pound dolphin for a spot on the leaderboard. The dolphin caught by Jan Rosenberg, along with the various jackpots, was good for $78,278.34.
Capt. Tommy Green on the Lucky 2 came in around 8:40 p.m. with a couple of swordfish, both a 100 pounds or better. Although there wasn’t a division for swordfish, Pristas hoisted the fish for a courtesy and to give the crowd a closer look.
While the swordfish was going up, the blue marlin that was promised at 8:30 came in on the C-Ya.
It took several folks to haul the blue off the boat and onto the scales. It measured 106 inches and when it went up and the scales clicked over, it was unbelievable. It was a tenth of a pound shy of matching the blue brought in by the Uptoit.
The blue marlin caught by Joel Broussard tilted the scales at 406.2 as the crowd oohed and aahed at how close the weights were.
Broussard told the folks that it took him about 25 minutes to reel the marlin onto the boat.
But when it was all said and done, the Uptoit, with a winning blue marlin and tuna, took home $437,158.33. The C-Ya with the second place blue marlin went home with $160,965 and the Moveable Feast with the third place blue and second place dolphin pocketed $71,555.
It was an awesome night, with big fish for big money. And I’m sure the big crowd enjoyed every minute of it — as they stayed until the end.