55′ Jarrett Bay Stands Alone in First Place After Day 1 of Fishing
The Inspiration Sportfishing crew aboard Jarrett Bay hull #22 is no stranger to the winner’s circle, especially at their hometown event, the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. After bringing in the 2nd place fish in the 2012 tournament, Inspiration came roaring out of the gates on day 1 of the 2014 event. In fact, they happened to release the first fish in both the ladies angler tournament (Saturday) and the Big Rock (Monday), while also hooking their prize blue marlin within the first hour of fishing.
Captain Casey Wagner, angler Bruce Brown, mate Cole Wagner and the Inspiration team spent 5 and half hours fighting a blue marlin they hooked at 9:47 am. Nearly one half hour after “lines out” was called at 3 pm, the battle had ended with a blue marlin measuring 129 inches in fork length occupying the cockpit.
By the time Inspiration arrived at the weigh station just after 6 p.m., the docks were crawling with hundreds of people eager to watch the massive fish be hoisted from the boat. Weighing in at 754.3 pounds, this catch is the largest blue marlin the Big Rock Tournament has weighed so far this century and the third largest in tournament history.
During a quick interview with Brown and Captain Wagner, they both agreed it was a team effort, telling of their years of fighting fish together, and the camaraderie aboard the Inspiration. Undoubtedly, an experience none of them will ever forget. Captain Wagner is proud to have the lead but looks on to the remaining days of fishing, stating there are a lot of good fishermen out there.
“We have been blessed … but we work hard at it. It’s a lot of years of fishing, a lot of years of being in this tournament and it’s finally paid off.”
Everyone at Jarrett Bay and locals in the Beaufort/Morehead City area are more than excited for the Wagners and look forward to the rest of the week’s fishing with great anticipation!
