June 24, 2002 – Long-time Virgin Islands angler John Mueller brought in a 116-inch, 486-pound blue marlin in the weekend's June Moon Tournament that was worth $11,250 to him and the captain and crew of Action I.
"I've been fishing down here for eight years and for marlin a lot longer than that," Mueller, a Wisconsin resident, said. "But the Virgin Islands are it as a destination when it comes to blue marlin."
Action I, a 43-foot Ocean, didn't get on the scoreboard until Day 2 of the third annual tournament, which originated as a big-fish, big-money event coinciding with the June full moon. Sam Jennings of Juno Beach, Florida, aboard his 58-foot Revenge set the pace on Friday, bringing in a 406-pounder measuring 106 3/4 inches long around noon.
Later that same day, another Florida angler, Jim Lambert, aboard his Reel Tight, an 82-foot Merritt, edged Jennings out of top spot with a 419-pound, 107 1/4-inch long catch.
Mueller caught his 486-pounder on Saturday after a 40-minute fight. Capt. Glenn Helton of Action I described the scene: "The fish stayed on top and I backed down on it for about 2½ miles. But we didn't get a good look at it until right at the end. When we did, we saw it was big enough to be a keeper."
Like Revenge the day before, Action I quit fishing to take its big fish to the American Yacht Harbor dock for weighing. "It was hot out there, and we needed to keep the fish at the best weight we could," Helton said. "There's that potential that our fish's weight could be beat at any time." After the weigh-in, the Action I team headed back out to try its luck again.
Last year, a fish caught in the early morning but not taken to the dock for weighing until after lines out at 5:30 p.m. had dehydrated to the point of not being a prize contender. This was in the back of the mind of everyone aboard the 10 boats competing this year.
As boats returned at the end of Day 2, the buzz at the dock was about a 9-year-old angler hooked up and still fighting past nightfall aboard St. Thomas Capt. Eddie Morrison's Marlin Prince. The junior angler, Robert Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, "did great, but the fish ultimately pulled the hook," Morrison said later.
Robert, fishing with his father, Cam; stepmother, Peggy; and 5-year-old brother, Cameron, said afterward that he really enjoyed his fight. "The fish hit two times and then it ran off," he said. "My arms were really tired." He hooked the fish at 5 p.m. and didn't lose it until 7:10 p.m.
Cam Kirkwood had praise for mates Mike Hume and Brendan Day. They "were really great. They taught Robert what to do, but they didn't grab the rod for him. He did it himself."
Robert's stepmother added, "When they finally saw the size of the marlin, that it was 400 to 500 pounds, that's when they started thinking of junior world record more so than the tournament."
The "age 10 and under" junior world record for blue marlin, according to the International Gamefishing Association, is 365 pounds 3 ounces, set by Jeffrey Wettengel aboard Salt Shaker out of Great Camanoe in the British Virgin Islands.
On Sunday, no fish came in for weigh-in, giving Mueller first place, with Lambert second and Jennings third.
"This tournament is really about length more than weight," director Bob Rapuk said. "Federal law says that a marlin has to measure 99 inches — that's from the tip of the bottom of the bill to the fork at the bottom of the tail — to be brought in. But our tournament rules specify fish be 105 inches for the added conservation factor."
The total tournament catch was 61 blue marlin boated or released, for an average of 6.1 per boat. "The bite's terrific. There's nothing slow about the season this year," said Harry Clinton, executive director of the hosting Virgin Islands Game fishing Club. The awards ceremony was held at American Yacht Harbor, with more than a dozen Red Hook restaurants catering the banquet.
The V.I. Gamefishing Club's next event is the children's July Open Tournament, set for the Fourth of July with weigh-in at Offshore Marine in Sub Base. For details, call the club at 775-9144.
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