Military members join in on fishing fun as part of Big Rock, Big Hero program
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — With many service members and veterans in Eastern North Carolina, the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament makes it a point to show appreciation.
Each year, service members are hosted on some of the boats through the Big Rock, Big Hero program. This is the eighth year of the program.
'We're so close to Cherry Point which is a major Marine base and we thought it would be an amazing way to honor and give thanks to those who allow us to do what we're doing today and to have this tournament in the first place,' Big Rock Tournament Director Madison Struyk said.
This year, seven heroes are on board six different boats. There are four Marines, two Army Soldiers and a Coast Guard member.
'With the help of Operation Resolute this year, they've linked us with six servicemembers, and what they do is work with families who have members in the armed forces. And so they work on strengthening this family unit. So it's been a huge help to have them this year because we've been able to get some great heroes who are really deserving of this honor,' Struyk said.
'It gets emotional when you hear about what it means to them to be offshore. That's so much more than just being able to go fishing for the day,' she said. 'Some of them are from here and have been dreaming about doing it for so long or grew up fishing with their family members, so it reminds them of memories in their childhood.'
The honor goes both ways for the military heroes and boat owners. 'Super honored and blessed that so many would take a total stranger out on their boat and just treat me extremely, hospitality and just like I was one of them,' 2024 Big Hero Justin Bishop said. 'It was a great time, really. It was a dream come true.'
'Especially with the help of Operation Resolute, we think we can start to build how many here as we have per year and we have a lot of participants this year that have shown interest in being a host boat for next year,' Struyk said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Big Rock blog: Final day 'BANKWALKER' leads with a 449.7 lb. Blue Marlin
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — It's the final day of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Day 5 saw 269 boats out on the water. Southern Grace boated a blue marlin weighing 653.7 lb. but after review and consultation with marine biologists, The Big Rock Tournament Rules Committee disqualified Southern Grace's fish due to a violation of Rule #24 concerning mutilation. Lady angler Lizzie Montague remains at the top of the Blue Marlin Division with her 449.7lb catch aboard BANKWALKER. Follow our coverage of the 67th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament on our daily blog and on our Big Rock page. WNCT will provide live coverage of every blue marlin weigh-in throughout the tournament on and the WNCT 9 mobile app. Release Division: WAVE PAVER Non-Sonar Division: DEVELOPIN' HABITS Outboard Division: BEST MEDICINE Dolphin Winner Take All: SEA WISH 9:06 AM The first unofficial blue marlin release of the day goes to BUILDER'S CHOICE at 9:06 AM 9:04 AM Lines in! 254 out of 272 boats fishing for Day 6. 8:00 AM The day starts with the traditional blessing of the fleet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Big Rock Blue Marlin boaters share their superstitions for luck
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — Some boaters in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament have their own superstitions to ensure good sailing. Some boaters rules for good luck are: Wearing the same shirt or pair of socks 'Each boat has its own little, little superstition, so to speak. You know, everybody wears colored socks and they may wear white socks and black socks,' weight master Randy Gregory said. 'Who knows? It's just crazy superstition. Yeah. Sometimes they make them bite, sometimes it doesn't.' 'My favorite one is I have a red big blue marlin sure that I love, and I have called striped marlin on the fly in Cabo San Lucas,' Big Rock board member Tommy Bennett said. 'I've called Blue Marlin on the floor in Guatemala wearing that shirt. And it is my my lucky fishing shirt.' Throwing Oreo cookies and beer over the bow of the boat to feed the fish 'You take Oreo cookies over the bar You take them and you present them to the Billfish gods and you come in there like that and then, you know, you shake up some beers and you spray it off the stern,' weight master Randy Gregory said. 'You know, it kind of attracts the fish.' Never bring bananas on the boat 'It's a really old wives tale. Bananas are not really easy, and they cause other fruit around them to rot. I think it dates back to colonial days,' research assistant at NC State Paul Rudershausen said. 'So you should definitely not take bananas on a boat. Especially on Friday the 13th.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Boat in Big Rock Tournament caught on fire, no injuries reported
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — On day five of the Big Rock Tournament, a boat caught on fire. Madison Struyk, Executive Director of the Big Rock Tournament, said that the U.S. Coast Guard rescued all five passengers, and no injuries were reported. The people are being brought in by another boat out on the waters, which was not participating in the tournament. The ETA for the passengers is 11:45 a.m. at the docks. The boat's name is Raptor. WNCT will provide updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
