The Big Rock: Inside the High-Stakes Hunt for the Elusive Million-Dollar Marlin

by Bethany Bradsher, Curtis Strange (Foreword)

For one week every summer a fleet of top-of-the-line sportfishing boats launch out from Morehead City, North Carolina, to take part in the East Coast’s premiere fishing event, The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Thousands of fans and followers crowd the dock to watch the weigh-ins as the boats compete for millions of dollars in prizes. Even more follow the excitement online.The biggest prize money is reserved for two largest blue marlin of the tournament, and the first boat to land a marlin weighing over 500 pounds.For the first time in the sixty-year history of The Big Rock, noted sports journalist and author Bethany Bradsher takes you behind the scenes for all the action. Skill, strategy, and a healthy dose of luck all combine to crown the eventual winners, and Bradsher brings you aboard with unforgettable characters and epic tales of sportfishing at its finest, including a few that “got away.” The Big Rock is full of fabulous fish tales that just happen to be true.“This book provides a golden opportunity for readers to experience all of the excitement of the tournament from the inside.” Golfing legend and Big Rock board member Curtis Strange, from the Foreword

183 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2020

Reviews

[Lona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book, and I'm grateful my daughter bought it and let me borrow it. My family has spent decades vacationing along the Crystal Coast from time to time and are familiar with Captain Stacy, the Sanitary Fish Market, the marlin statue, and the landing. We were aware of the Big Rock Tournament but never knew a lot about it. This book opened my eyes, and I'll start following the tournament on social media.

Not only were the locations The Big Rock familiar, but the author wrote an engaging story with characters I appreciated. Even though I've never been billfishing, the action was clear and interesting.

The Big Rock was a surprising find that I'll remember each time we return to the Crystal Coast.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been to the Big Rock but...

This book conveys the excitement generated by this tournament and it feels as if I was there. You cannot put it down because you want to know the weight of the next fish going to the landing and what happens the next day. Tournament fishing is a little luck, but alot of preparation, teamwork and execution and this book conveys all those aspects. The 2019 epilogue was the icing on the cake!!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in a little town directly adjacent to Morehead City & can attest to the fact that the Big Rock is something we look forward to every year. Following Big Rock radio & speeding to the weigh station is something we just do around here during the second week of June. I found this book at our local flea market this past winter & had to buy it because I didn’t even know it existed. I’m glad I did, because I enjoyed it very much! It was crazy to read about people I actually knew once upon a time… The first day of fishing for the 66th annual tournament begins tomorrow, so I definitely read this at the right time. Ready for lines in!!