Big Rock Day 3: 'Free Ranger' jumps to second as a 597-pound blue marlin shakes the leaderboard

Day 3 of the 68th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament shook the leaderboard for the first time since Marlin Fever's record-setting 919.9-pound blue marlin hit the scales Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday's fleet — 259 of the 278 registered boats — went fishing and produced multiple qualifying weigh-ins through the afternoon, with the heaviest of the day, a 597.4-pound blue marlin aboard Free Ranger, vaulting the boat from outside the top three straight to second place.

It was the second qualifying fish of the week for Free Ranger. The boat already had a 436.2-pound blue marlin on the boards from Day 1; the heavier 597.4 supersedes it under the Heaviest Blue Marlin standings. If Free Ranger holds second through Saturday, the boat is in line for an estimated $467,963 prize purse.

Builder's Choice followed with a 530-pound blue marlin, sliding into fourth on the overall leaderboard behind Tuesday's Hit N Run entry (549.2 pounds). A third boat, Fender Bender, hooked up around 2:48 p.m. and boated their fish near 4:30 p.m., with an evening weigh-in expected at Big Rock Landing.

Provisional standings — Heaviest Blue Marlin (as of Wednesday evening)

1. Marlin Fever — 919.9 lb (Day 2)
2. Free Ranger — 597.4 lb (Day 3)
3. Hit N Run — 549.2 lb (Day 2)
4. Builder's Choice — 530.0 lb (Day 3)
5. Savanna Leigh — 439.2 lb (Day 1)

On the release side, Marsh Madness leads the Outstanding Release Division with one blue marlin, four white marlin, and one sailfish release credited. Day 1's tournament-wide total was 73 billfish releases (31 blue marlin, 27 white marlin, 15 sailfish) across the 219 boats that fished Monday. Tournament-record release counts from prior years (420 in 2025) came out of strong back halves, so the release picture can still move dramatically through Friday and Saturday.

Lines stay open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Saturday, with the scales running at Big Rock Landing until 7 p.m. Each boat fishes four of the six available days, so a deep fleet remains in rotation. Marlin Fever — captained by Cameron Guthrie with angler Connor Daniel aboard the 63-foot Jarrett Bay — still controls the Fabulous Fisherman Award ($871,250) for the first blue marlin over 500 pounds, and the projected top-prize purse if the 919.9 holds remains in the multimillion-dollar range.

Numbers above are provisional and pulled from the live tournament feed; final standings may shift as catches are certified and as the back half of the week unfolds. We'll update tomorrow.

Sources

• Big Rock Live Leaderboard — Reeltime
• WITN — Big Rock Day 3 coverage
• WCTI — Big Rock Day 3 coverage
• Carolina Sportsman — Day 2 record context

— Science of Fishing Editorial