Big Rock's record-breaking marlin catch disqualified

[cjfloyd]

Cant belive this.

The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament Board of Directors has unanimously determined that they have no choice but to disqualify the 883-pound blue marlin caught on June 14, 2010.

It cost the crew of the boat Citation a cash prize of $912,000.

After interviewing members of the crew of the fishing vessel “Citation," review of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament rules, consulting the division of Marine Fisheries as well as the North Carolina Attorney General’s office, the Board agreed there had been a violation of tournament rules but the violation did not involve “dishonesty” or “cheating” on the part of the owners or angler of the “Citation."

The rule violation involves the “mate” not having a Coastal Recreational Fishing License, which is required by North Carolina law and by the Tournament. Participants and crew were reminded of the license requirement at the Captains meeting prior to the Tournament. The mate engaged in fishing activities without a valid license and later obtained a license at 5:51 pm while heading to the weigh station. The fish was boated at 3:16 pm.

"It is an unfortunate situation for the crew of 'Citation' as well as the Tournament itself but for the integrity of the Tournament, Big Rock had no choice but to enforce the rules and disqualify the fish," the Board said in a press release Tuesday.

Because of this disqualification, The Big Rock Board of Directors declare Carnivore the winner with their 528.3-pound blue marlin and in second place, Wet-N-Wild with a 460-pound blue marlin.

Carnivore's win earns the crew a payout of $999,453. Wet-N-Wild pockets $275,322.

[bretabaker]

yeah i heard abt this one - thats gotta sting

[cjfloyd]

That is alot of money over a 5 dollar fishing liscense. That will be a story about a REAL BIG FISH that got away for the grand kids. LOL

[itrap]

OUCH !
That would hurt, BAD!

[Asartin]

They left the first mate on the dock and told him to find his own ride home. That sucks but it really falls on the captain because it was mentioned in the Captains meeting. And to think that the captain just bought that boat two weeks prior to the tournament, $900,000 would have gone a long way to pay for that boat. Catch the fish of a lifetime, during the biggest tournament around here, and then have it disqualified. He should kick his own butt.

[cjfloyd]

suprised they are not going to try and take it to court. put your self in his shoes the fish was caught the right way nothing sketchy you know

[CrownRoyal55]

Ouch!

[Duke]

suprised they are not going to try and take it to court. put your self in his shoes the fish was caught the right way nothing sketchy you know

I dont know what you're talking about...the mate did not have a fishing license, which makes the catch illegal according to tourney rules. It would not stand a chance in court.

[cjfloyd]

any one on the boat could have leader wraped that fish. As far as I know as soon as you touch the leader that fish is caught. some one else on the boat could have touched the leader. You dont need a fishing license to carry around a fish thats already been caught do you. I know the rules are rules but there was no cheating involved is what I am saying

[Duke]

any one on the boat could have leader wraped that fish. As far as I know as soon as you touch the leader that fish is caught. some one else on the boat could have touched the leader. You dont need a fishing license to carry around a fish thats already been caught do you. I know the rules are rules but there was no cheating involved is what I am saying

Uhhhh, I think the cheating is very clear. Tourney rules said the mate must have a fishing license and he clearly did not when they caught the fish. And yes, you do need a license if you're carrying around a fish that is already caught.

[cjfloyd]

Well i guess you and me have a different style of fishing. Cheating to win the tourney, buy for getting to buy a 5 dollar license. How you see that as Cheating, It does not change a thing when it comes to how they caught the fish. I could think of alot things that would be cheating and if it was any one of them I would say that boat and crew got what they deserve. Next time you go to the market and pick up some caught fish to grill dont forget to buy a license

[Duke]

If you want to win a tournament, then you must follow the rules. They didn't, so they paid the price...and a costly one. The tournament directors were right to DQ the fish.

[kitefisher]

i have to agree with Duke on this one. every tourney has its rules, whatever they may be, and must be followed. in this case they didnt. yes, a small, $5 rule, but a rule none-the-less. a big, and costly, lesson learned. either the captain didnt check or knew about it and took a chance. too bad it came back to bite him in the a$$.

[cjfloyd]

If you where the anglers that paid for torney and the boat for the day. I think your opinion would change i can give you all most a millon reasons why$$$

[scout04]

this post was an informative post and not one for debate - to my knowledge no one here is in a position that can change the outcome so lets just leave it that you guys can agree to disagree instead of making this go to a bad place. thanks for all of your replies.

[TipOTexas]

what bad place could it possibly go? I forum like this is based on almost all opinion every body has a different approach and suggestion for doing different things,(leaders, weights, line choice etc) why would this subject be any different? As long as every one remains a gentleman/woman in giving their opinions this type of discussion should be encouraged not derailed. This type of variety of opinionate folks is what makes this one of the greatest forums out there!!!

[lmgreeri]

They didn't just break a tournament rule they also broke the state law. Double whammy and good-bye big bucks and 1st place. It sucks for the fisherman and the boat as a whole that it went down this way. The mate said he had a license but lied. All in all, in a tournament with that much prize money on the line (or even without for that matter) it is the captain's job to make sure his crew is meeting requirements and should have verified the license.

I hope that mate had a nice walk home.

[capt.morgan]

Did they break a rule, yes. Should breaking tournament rules disqualify you, yes. However, the rule was most likely put into place due to the current state law and not for "cheating" purposes. Did they cheat to catch such a large catch, IMHO they did not. Now they may have cheated after the catch, that's up for debate. I believe the article stated that they went and purchased the fishing license after catching the fish. This act alone (not the catching of the fish) could be considered cheating since they were obviously trying to 'deceive/mislead' the officials.

The question in the end is, "should they have been disqualified". In my opinion, yes, due to them breaking the rules. They only 'cheated' after catching the fish, in which I'm guessing all of us would have for nearly 1 million dollars.

Definition of cheating: (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cheat)
1. To deceive by trickery; swindle: cheated customers by overcharging them for purchases.
2. To deprive by trickery; defraud: cheated them of their land.
3. To mislead; fool: illusions that cheat the eye.
4. To elude; escape: cheat death.

[Saltydog]

The rules are the rules he should of got the license,in some states not being licensed like Texas can get you to see the judge,no license no fishing not even to help.Game wardens love tickets and he probably should have gotten one if he's supposed to have one.But that 900k probably got him alot worse nobody will hire him now.