MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — This year marks the 64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin fishing tournament.
What You Need To Know
Dick Parker started the first Big Rock fishing tournament in 1957
Back then it was called the Fabulous Fishermen's Club
Billfish off the North Carolina coast were only a rumor, but they proved it to be true
Now, the tournament brings in bigger fish with bigger boats and bigger prize money
The tournament started out very different from what it is today. Now, everything is bigger — bigger fish, bigger boats and bigger money — but the legacy lives on.
Beth Parker Henry says fishing is in her family's blood. Her dad, Dick Parker, helped found the very first competition.
“I'm assuming that they were all wooden plank boats probably made in someone's barn or garage-type situation,” Henry said. “Single engine, slow. Now these boats are fast as lightning and are equipped with every accommodation you could want.”
It all started back in 1957. Henry says her dad attended a fishing competition in the Caribbean and wanted to start something similar in his hometown of Morehead City. So Parker started the Fabulous Fisherman's Club when billfish off the North Carolina coast were only a rumor.
The tournament was a success. Although her dad wasn't catching huge blue marlin like the rest of her family is now, Henry says a lot of the excitement is still the same.
“It's an adrenaline rush for sure,” Henry said.
Things have escalated since then. In 1972 the tournament became the current Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament.
Henry says back in 1957, the fish were maybe a couple hundred pounds, but now, just like the tournament and the boats, the fish have grown too.
“Just go down there to the weigh stations when they're bringing in a blue,” Henry said. “And thousands of people are watching it. And it's watched worldwide now.”
Henry says she knows her dad would be proud of how far this tournament has come.
“It's amazing that they all come to our little community and share in our joy and everything,” Henry said. “It's a wonderful thing.”