392.8-pound blue marlin weighed in at Georgetown Landing Marina on opening day
A year ago, the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament set a record for number of blue marlin releases in the 34-year history of the South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series with 45.
The 54th annual tournament got underway Thursday and the docks were again buzzing with activity at Georgetown Landing Marina at the conclusion of another impressive flurry of blue marlin action.
Two blue marlin were caught and brought to the dock for the weigh-in.
The crew aboard Mack 900 hooked up with a blue marlin at 9:04 a.m. and boated the fish, which weighed 392.4 pounds at the scales.
Mister Pete landed a blue marlin in the afternoon and the fish weighed 481 pounds at 6 p.m. before the crowd at the marina.
Blue marlin must measure 105 inches from the fork of the tail to the tip of the lower jaw, six inches above the federally mandated 99-inch minimum size limit, to be weighed in during a S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing event.
Aside from the two weighed in, seven blue marlin were released along with three sailfish by the 69 boats competing on the first day of fishing.
Boats earn points for each billfish released including 600 points for a blue marlin, 300 points for a white marlin and 200 for a sailfish. Only a blue marlin can be weighed in during a series event, and boats receive one point per pound for a weighed blue marlin.
Three boats were unofficially tied for the lead after one day of fishing, as Blue Sky, Frequent Flyer and Reel Hookup all released a blue marlin and a sailfish to accumulate 800 points.
The tournament, the oldest billfish tournament in the state of South Carolina and one of the oldest on the East Coast, continues through Saturday, with boats able to fish two of the three days.
Despite soaring fuel prices, a field of 70 boats is competing in the event, with one opting not to fish on Thursday’s opening day.
According to Amy Dukes, Tournament Coordinator for the series, the 70 boats marks the largest field at Georgetown Landing Marina since 2000.
“We haven’t had this many boats in Georgetown since 2000 when we had 72 boats,” said Dukes. “These guys came to play. That is up five (boats from last year).”
The S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series typically consists of five tournaments, but will only feature three this year for the 34th annual edition of the series.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.