The 2014 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic got off to a quick start Friday at the Point Cadet Marina behind the Golden Nugget casino. The field of 63 boats parted Biloxi Thursday for the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico and immediately reported several tagged and released billfish ranging from white marlin, to sailfish and blue marlin. Tournament director Bobby Carter received the phone call he anxiously awaited around 11:30 Friday morning that a blue marlin had been caught and the fish was headed back to Biloxi to be weighed.
The fish was caught by Deb Hebert of Orange Beach, Ala., and tipped the scales at 843.7 pounds.
It was the third largest blue marlin to be entered during the 17 years of the Billfish Classic and was caught aboard the Iona Louise, also out of Orange Beach. The fish was 127.5-inches long with a 74-inch girth.
It also marked Herbert first blue marlin to fight and ultimately land and could be worth more than $170,000 when the tournament ends at 8 pm Saturday.
“Amazing, just amazing,” Herbert said after a three-hour fight with the massive marlin. “The fish was hooked at 7 am (Friday) and I really didn’t know if I was going to get it in or not. But about two hours into the fight, I decided that I was not going to quit.
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