Phil Heasley was the big winner of the White Marlin Open with a 76.5 pound fish that brought him the big prize of $2.8 million.
The rules came together for the man from Naples, Florida to allow him to pick up the purse that would have gone to the second and third place finishers.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that it is the smallest catch since 2012 and the second-smallest since the year 2000.
Meanwhile, the paper reports that Jim Conway’s blue marlin was the biggest in the last five years even though it lost its tail while being transported to shore.
It gave him a $258-thousand purse.
Finally, a 236.5 pound tuna brought in $767-thousand for Rich Koszlya.
