June 11, 2021; Biloxi, Mississippi:
By Capt. Dave Lear
Sixteen-year-old Scotty Cooper made the most of his opportunities. In the past the junior angler has lost out to other family members, but Friday morning he scampered into the fighting chair first and promptly fought and released a blue marlin. A short while later he repeated the feat, only this time the blue was boated. CE, an 80-foot Viking based in Point Clear, Alabama, was the first boat to the scales when they opened at 3 pm at the Point Cadet Marina. Scott Cooper is the boat’s owner and Captain George Crenshaw is on the flying bridge.
“Conditions were good, it was fishy,” the senior Cooper explained before the weight was announced. “It was just us and Fleur de Lis out there and we got lucky two times right out of the gate.” Both marlin were fooled by live blackfin tunas.
“It was awesome,” Scotty added. “Those were my first two blue marlin in the fighting chair. My brother and dad usually grab the rod.” CE’s fish registered 548.6 pounds on the digital scale. The fight lasted one hour and 20 minutes. It taped out at 111.5 inches, which is measured from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail. The MGCBC has a minimum length requirement of 110 inches for blue marlin to promote conservation.
“It was rough on the way out, two- to four-footers,” Capt. Crenshaw reported following the obligatory photo scrum after Weigh master Jack Teschel announced the verdict. “Today the seas were around two feet and the blue water temperature was 80 degrees. The grass was so thick you could walk on it. I had to bob and weave between mats. It was so bad it was clogging the pumps on the tuna tubes.”
Crenshaw said both fish were caught in the Ram Powell rig area. Current was slow—less than a knot—and there wasn’t much bait around. It took the team three hours to catch eight blackfins, which are kept alive in submerged and aerated tubes on the boat’s transom.
C- Student has reported boating a blue measuring 126 inches, but won’t return Friday evening. In cases like that the fish are stuffed into insulated fish bags and packed with ice to retain weight. With the amount of money on the line, ounces lost could mean a huge difference. The scales open again Saturday at 3 pm. Boats must be inside designated markers by 6 pm to score fish, but the scales will remain open until all qualifiers are weighed.
In addition to blue marlin, teams earn points for catch and release of undersized blues, white marlin, sailfish and spearfish. Catches are verified by video footage, with indicators to prove legitimate scores.
For the 25th anniversary edition, swordfish are also an eligible species. Fish must measure at least 60 inches and the last team to break the current state record of 242 pounds will win a payout of $300,000.
Gamefish are also eligible catches. Tuna, wahoo and dolphin (mahi mahi) weighing at least 20 pounds count. Earlier reports of large yellowfin and good dolphin around the floating grass lines should produce some hefty entries on Saturday night.
The 25th annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic has a field of 101 boats competing for $1.815 million in prize money. If an angler breaks the existing Mississippi blue marlin record of 1054.6 pounds, he or she will win a fully outfitted Nissan Titan Platinum 4×4 pick-up, presented by Petro Nissan of Hattiesburg.
