SEA HORSE

NOW 1ST PLACE IT LOOKS LIKE
MOREHEAD CITY — A rules violation has cost the Citation its record-setting win in the 52nd Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

Angler Andy Thomossan, who caught the record-setting 883-pound blue marlin Monday, said Sunday afternoon tournament officials had stripped the Hatteras-boat of the win, the record and the $912,825 prize money from the $1.66 million purse.

“No record. No money. No fish. No nothing,” Thomossan said, adding the rules violation was that one of the crew didn't have a fishing license as required.

Thomossan said he first got wind something might be wrong at Saturday night’s awards banquet, and Sunday morning the tournament sent out a news release said the board of directors was withholding presentation of the prize money until “an alleged rules violation by the top team has been totally researched.”

Tournament director Crystal Watters, who sent out the e-mail news release, couldn’t be immediately reached immediately for comment. The captain of the Citation, Eric Holmes, also couldn’t immediately be reached Sunday.

With the Citation being stripped of its win, the winning boat will now be Carnivore, which is captained by Ed Petrilli of Cape Carteret. Angler John Parks of Jacksonville caught a 528.3-pound blue marlin Wednesday.

Neither Petrilli nor Parks could be immediately reached for comment Sunday
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ytmorris

It was the mate who forgot to buy the license. $15.00 cost them 1 million.

SEA HORSE

OK so I read that the boat that got disqualified is a Hatteras Charter boat. On a charter boat all of the people on board are covered by a blanket license the boat pay's for every year. I have to assume the rules stated everyone in the crew must possess a N Carolina fishing license and since the boat was not a charter for the tournament they loose. I wonder who dropped a dime on them ???

finntastic

I'd hate to be that mate! I am sure he will go into hiding for a while and will not be invited back on the boat!

ytmorris

The blanket rule doesn't apply here. Every angler and crew has to have a license. He told the captain after the fish had been killed and then when they polygraphed the captain and asked if they had done anything against the rules, it was over from there. Apparently he told the captain before the tourny that he had it but he never gave the captain a hard copy. I heard this from a mate on another boat that knows all these guys. This is not 1st hand information but it is pretty reliable. The word on the docks was they put him on the docks in MHC last night and sent him packing back to Hatteras.

jfishnc

My guess is that Mate will have to find another line of work. $15 bucks just cost him his livelihood

Libra

Thats one mate that'll have a tough time finding work as a mate again, if he really did tell the Captain that he had a license. I'd sure hate to know that I caused the winning fish to be DQ'ed and the winnings go from almost a million to zero.

dell30rb

I can't believe they use a polygraph test. They polygraphed the whole crew too. PS. If the mate told the captain he had the license then why did the captain fail the test?

dell30rb

I also just find it hard to believe they were dq'd over that. In some tourneys there are penalty offenses and there are disqualifying offenses. Its not like they cheated. Or did anything illegal cause someone else caught the fish.

ytmorris

Read my earlier post. He told the captain he had it before they started and then told the truth after the fish had been killed. When you have this kind of money on the line, they want to make sure that everything in legit and all the rules were followed. A lot of tournaments require a poly before awards. I promise, the boys on the Carnivore aren't complaining. It is a shame though that the boat, crew, and captain have to get run through the ringer, but it is what it is.

Baby Huey

All big money tournaments polygraph the winning angler and captain. There is a lot of money and egos involved in these events and everything needs to be double checked.

That is a shame for the angler, but the Captain should have demanded a hard copy from everyone before leaving the dock. Id send that mate's ass packing too; accidental or not, there is too much at stake to try to sneak around some rule. Irresponsible...

cranford taxidermy

Dell rules are rules. He messed up he cost the crew a million dollars.Captain needs to take blame also for not eeing that all had a license. Key word see not ask. Why have rules if your not going to enforce them. They knew upfront a license was required.

Shag

So supposedly the captain knew the truth on Monday? ;?

llord

Absurb they polygragh with a million bucks on the line?? Why is that absurb? If you had 15Gs in a tourney wouldnt you want the truth?

westco

They were poly'd on Tuesday more than likely.

robbiedon

From the Rules section on the Big Rock Website


2. RULES MEETING - At least one person from each boat should be represented and is responsible for knowing the rules including any changes that may take place at the Captain's Meeting on Saturday evening, prior to the tournament at the Civic Center.


HMS Permits
All boats must have one of the following valid permits - HMS Angling (recreational), HMS Charter/Headboat, or Atlantic Tunas General Category Permit (commercial). Permits will be valid from the date of issuance through December 31, 2010. Permits must be on board the vessel when engaged in fishing. The Big Rock Tournament is a registered recreational HMS tournament. For more information - www.nmfspermits.com or (888)-872-8862.

North Carolina Recreational Fishing License: As of 01/01/2009
The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will require a recreational fishing license for anyone participating in fishing aboard a vessel. This includes a license for the captain, the mate and the anglers. These individual licenses can be purchased on a 10-day, annual or lifetime basis.
252-726-7021. http://www.ncfisheries.net/recreational/NCCRFL.htm

Participant is responsible for knowing all state and federal regulations or any recent changes that may occur.

They broke a rule. Are you saying that the rule they broke is not as important as the other rules of the tournament? Who gets to decide which rules are acceptable to break and still win the money and which ones aren't. When you are talking about giving away close to 1.3 million dollars (1st place plus winning the prize for the 1st blue over 500lbs) I can't imagine a tournament that wouldn't use a polygraph. They can't claim they didn't know it was a rule because that in and of itself is a violation of rule #2. Nobody screwd these guys but themselves. It is hard to believe a professional mate wouldn't have a fishing license unless he isn't from NC. The ones I feel for are the Anglers on the boat. Presumably they paid money to fish in the tournament caught a winning fish and through no fault of their own they are toast. I heard earlier today that there also might be an issue involving the 3rd place boat and their HMS license. Has anyone heard anything about that.

llord

I heard about that, dunno fo shore

cranford taxidermy

I'm just a little 195cc truimph and even i saw fit to get my HMS permit. If i root around out there long enough I may get lucky

dell30rb

I just have an issue with the use of the polygraph itself. I learned from my law prof. at ncsu they are inaccurate and are responsible for putting more innocent people behind bars than anything else.

There is also an act passed in 1988 by congress which limits the ability of public and private agencies to use polygraph tests. I don't remember the exact details of the act but its possible the Big Rock's use of the test is actually illegal.

Just seems like a shady practice. I understand a privately run fishing tourney can probably do whatever they want, but poly testing and interrogating the crew seems like a bit much.

llord

Wow