2000 Classic

96 Boats
The “Early Bird” registration incentive was added.  One ticket for each month  before June went into a $5,000 drawing.  The tournament purse reached $800,000.  The legal limit for blue marlin set at 100”, one inch above federal guidelines.  Harris Garner aboard the “Summer Breeze II” took top honors with a 562 lb. blue marlin.  Wogan Badcock fishing on the boat “Sea Reaper III” took second place in the marlin division with a 338 lb. blue.  The “Sea Reaper III” also won the top boat award tagging 7 billfish.  “Blue” was definitely the color of the day, as Rick Harris on the local Ocean Springs, MS boat “Grand Sun” brought a hefty 646.5 lb. bluefin tuna to the scales.  There were 31 blue marlin, 5 white marlin, and 1 sailfish tagged and released.

Blue Marlin

First              
Summer Breeze II - Harris Garner - 562.0 lbs    
    
Second          
Sea Reaper III - Wogan Badcock  - 338.8 lbs
          

Tuna

First              
Grand Son - Rick Harris - 648.5 lbs    

Second          
Tar Baby - John Harper - 178.2 lbs    

Third            
Happy Hour - David Branton - 166.9 lbs       

 

Dolphin

First              
Think N Thang - Morgan Ryan - 56.4 lbs

Second          
Adventurous - Burcher Gammage - 55.3 lbs       

Third            
Waste’n Away IV - Rick Day - 53.9 lbs      

 

Wahoo

First              
Patriot - Sheri Walsingham - 77.5 lbs      

Second          
Crossfire - Gary Harvey - 77.3 lbs      

Third            
Bad Intentions - Ted Bukaske - 71.2 lbs