Photo courtesy of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament A record 71 boats of lady anglers participated in the 9th annual Big Rock Lady Angler Tournament.

The New Bern-based Hatterascal, a vessel Hatteras Yachts uses to entertain potential customers, won the 9th annual Big Rock Lady Angler Tournament, edging Fin Chaser by 40 points Saturday when its anglers used circle hooks to catch and release a blue marlin and a sailfish.

The Fin Chaser crew hooked and released two blue marlin on J-hooks, earning 400 points for each release. The Hatterascal scored 640 points for using a circle hook on its blue marlin release and another 200 points for using a circle hook on its sailfish release. The Hatterascal crew gained an additional 315 points overall for using hooks that do not inflict the type of collateral damage that J-hooks are known to cause.

“The Big Rock promotes the use of circle hooks,” said Crystal Watters, the Big Rock’s tournament director. “We’re beginning to see more and more anglers adopt circle hook usage. It sure made a big difference today.”

The win was worth $7,544 to the Hatterascal crew – half of the record $15,088 purse that spawned from the largest-ever Lady Angler field. Saturday morning, 71 boats filled with lady anglers headed offshore in near-perfect conditions, battling for prize money in billfish and gamefish divisions. By the end of the day, 21 boats reported 27 releases. The lady anglers hooked and released 12 blue marlin, nine white marlin and six sailfish.

Even though the billfish division yielded the biggest cash prize, gamefish winners are set to take home $2,514. Ashley Crilly, fishing aboard the Gypsy Angler, won the tuna division with a 64.55-pounder. Delta Dawn angler Lisa Stovall captured the wahoo division with a catch that tipped the scales at 57.3 pounds. Paige Hardison, fishing aboard Double Luv, won the dolphin division with a 40.3-pounder.

Proceeds from the Big Rock Lady Angler event support the Raab Oncology Clinic of Morehead City. Since its inception, the Big Rock Lady Angler event has raised nearly $43,000 for charity.

The lady Angler tournament serves as a kickoff event for the six-day Big Rock that starts Monday.