X Rayted & Breakwater Join Forces for BRBMT

Man, what an exciting time of year! Summer is here and the fishing is great. From trolling the Gulf Stream to filling the fish boxes with tasty bottom fish, the fleet has been busy. Hope everyone reading this has had as good of a season as ever.

We just wanted to take the time to put into writing, a short overview of our 64th Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. It was a great one for sure and we thought that you might like to hear how it went. So without further ado, here goes...

Below:

The Cockpit Team from left to right:

Angler - Luke Foster - Released Blue Marlin

2nd Mate - Bryce Jones - Wired multiple white marlin

Angler - Flannery - Released White Marlin

Angler - Wareham - Owner/Operator Carolina Water Adventures

Angler - Christian - Released White Marlin

Angler - Kalnicki - Released White Marlin

1st Mate - Grayson Canipe - Wired 2 Blues and a White Marlin

Not pictured:

Photographer/Videographer: Toby Burton

Camera man/Bridge Mate: Will Lane

First off we will start by saying that it was a freaking awesome tournament, as usual. A lot of boats, a lot of releases and a lot of action. Thankfully, we were a part of said action. Last year after the 63rd BRBMT, Capt. Slick and his friend, Captain Ashley Forrest, owner/operator of Breakwater Charters, entertained the idea of fishing Big Rock together some day. Well after many conversations, going back and forth with questions, concerns and preparation of an attack plan, they decided to make it happen. They assembled a team of quality anglers, guys who work for a living and have a love and passion for the sport, that they felt would work well together. Some of these gentlemen were previous clients, friends and even a fellow charter boat owner. They rallied the troops, put the plan together and headed to the registration booth with money in hand. Little did they know just how their week would unfold.

Left:

Captain Ashley Forrest

Breakwater Charters, LLC

Morehead City, NC

Right:

Captain Mike "Slick" Dupree

X Rayted Fishing Team, LLC

Harkers Island, NC

Well, here we are. Monday morning, June 13th 2022, day one of the 64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. A beautiful day of trolling beautiful water but slow. That is until around 1:30 pm when the crew had made their way into the middle of a group of boats as they followed a body of water that was holding some good sign of life. That's when they crossed paths with two very respected local boats and out of nowhere, a gorgeous white marlin nails the shotgun bait. Our good friend Matt Christian jumps in the chair and brings the fish boat side with a quickness. That gives the team 125 points and puts them on the board, nailing down one of their goals for the tourney. That white one gave the team the confidence that would carry them through the rest of the week, in a field of over 270 of the world's best billfish teams.

"We knew we were in the right area because we had the bait and the water had that look to it. Something just felt right. Then we saw the boats that accompanied us and we knew it was only a matter of getting lucky." -Capt. Slick

Right: 2nd Mate Bryce Jones getting the release on one of 3 white ones that the team caught.

On Tuesday, day 2 of the tourney, the team put yet another flag on the rigger with the release of a second white marlin that was secured by Darren Flannery. That would be 250 points for Breakwater and even more confidence heading into a week they were not expecting.

Left:

Bryce Jones wrangling yet another white one on the final day of the tournament. The team ended up with 3 White Marlin releases overall gaining 375 points in White Marlin release points alone!

- Darren Flannery

- Matt Christian

- Erick Kalnicki

Wednesday was a lay day for the team as the forecast was calling for 35 kt+ sustained winds with gusts up to 45. The Fabulous Fisherman's category had already been secured by another boat on day one so they decided to take the day to re-rig, set drags and make a game plan for the next day. One that will not be soon forgotten by anyone.

Thursday, well as mentioned above, let's just say it was unforgettable. The day started off perfect. After utilizing SatFish and checking winds, currents, SST and altimetry charts, Captain Ashley and Slick had derived a plan of attack and agreed on where they were going. On the way to their initial spot, they took note of birds and hundreds of flyers that were in a specific area. Slick said to Ashley, "Hey man, if worse comes to worst and it's not what we think it is where we are going, we need to come back to this spot." Ashley's response was, "My thoughts exactly. Let's remember this number and depth and we may visit it later."

That spot is key as it would pay great dividends later on.

Below: A pic of the fleet on the heels of Breakwater (Photo by: Capt. Slick)

As the crew arrived at the initial location of where they wanted to start, the other boats started piling in. Including some friends of the waterfront and fellow local charter boats. It's obvious that the water they wanted to fish was no secret and should be holding a fish or two. After a couple of hours of dragging plugs with no signs of billfish other than a hook up here and there from neighboring boats,

Ashley suggested picking up and moving offshore. Slick agreed and mentioned that they should do so in a fashion that they could "carefully" make their way back down to the water they both saw earlier that morning. So that's what they did. However, the further they got offshore, the thicker the grass got and after shagging grass for over an hour, Ashley said, "Pick 'em up fellas, we're gonna run towards the next spot until we get out of this crap." So they did. After about 30 minutes of running, Ashley pulled the sticks back and said, "This is it boys! Get 'em out!" So they did. In less than just a few seconds, they had longs out, dredges, shorts and teasers were on the way. Slick was putting the right side teaser out when he noticed a submarine like shape behind the dredge. Before he could even say anything, she turned and piled on the right short like a lion on a gazelle. Slick screamed out, "BIG BLUE ONE!!!! BIG BLUE ONE!!! 1,000% IT'S THE RIGHT ONE!!!" So, as fast as the spread went out, it came right back in. Mickey Boger was the angler and a hell of one he was. He fought the big girl for over 3.5 hours, never quitting or giving up.

Fighting through cramps, thunderstorms, wind and rain, "Mickey was like a Pit Bull on steroids in the chair. I've never seen someone so focused on the situation at hand quite like that. I'm beyond proud to have had him on the winching end of that rod and reel." -Slick

Left: Angler Mickey Boger during the 3.5 hour fight with his trophy Blue Marlin that included many weather conditions from sunny skies to pouring rain and thunderstorms.

After the grueling 3.5 hour fight that Mickey and the fish had endured, along with a crew of supporters and teammates that played their part, the fight came to an end. Although First Mate Grayson Canipe had taken wraps on the leader multiple times, securing the release, the big girl succumbed to her exhaustion and came up expired. The crew gave every effort possible in trying to revive her majesty but to no avail. Despite their efforts to save the fish, they ended up taping her out right at 485-500 lbs and discussed the situation at hand.

They were pretty sure that she wouldn't place but out of respect for her and the sport, instead of letting her float away and just getting release points, they would take the honorary fish back to the Big Rock Landing where she could be utilized for research by the marine biologist of North Carolina State University and her flesh could be donated to provide meals to the needy. This day will be forever branded in the minds and memories of every member of this team. A bittersweet ending to a marvelous creature and a brotherly bond that can never be broken.

Below: The 64th Annual Big Rock Team "Breakwater" and their 7th place 427 lb Blue Marlin

This epic day was followed by some rest. The team took Friday as their 2nd and final lay day due to weather conditions and focused on getting the boat back in order and ready to fight another fish, if the opportunity presented itself.

The last and final day was just as epic and the team is still in disbelief as to how their tourney ended. The morning of Saturday, their final fishing day, Slick and Ashley sat up in the bridge with Toby Burton (Wyse Fork Fishing) for a half hour discussing the plan. The only piece of water that they saw was in a place that most people would laugh at if they told you where it was. Ashley said that they had fished every piece of good water that had been around and asked Slick what he thought. Slick pointed at his SatFish SST and Altimetry shot and said, "If I was by myself, this is where I would go. Hands down." Ashley responded with, "You trust it that much?". Slick's reply was, "We've fished every body of water out there except that one. It's brand new and untouched as far as we know. I say let's do it. SatFish has yet to let me down." So they did just that. And wouldn't you know that about a half hour after lines in they had yet another bite. This time she grabbed the teaser for a quick second and as everyone looked around to try and spot what they had heard, Capt. Ashley yells out at the top of his lungs, "Holy $h!+!!!! There she is!!! Right short!!!".

And so goes the story, Luke Foster jumps in the chair and within 35 minutes or so, the team has their 4th release of the tourney and another 400 points on the board. She was released heathy as the team taped her out at 350+ pounds.

Right: Mates Grayson (left) & Bryce (right) taking measurements on Luke's Blue one

The day was finished off with a second release. Yes, that's right. Another White one was tricked into the Fish Razr mud flap dredge and piled on the right short just as her predecessors had previously done. She gave Erik Kalnicki a fun fight and was released to swim another day. That makes another 125 points for the team and a cherry on top of an epic, funfilled, exciting tournament. The team finished 7th overall with a 427.8lb Blue Marlin and 18th in release points. They released a total of 3 White one and a Blue one for a tournament total of 775 points. A testament that anybody who puts in the work, has faith and a little bit of luck can do anything they put their mind/s to.

Nice work Team!!!

On behalf of Slick, Ashley, Will, Toby, Erik, Mickey, Luke, Darren, Matt, Richie, Bryce, Grayson and all of their family, friends and supporters, we thank you. From the bottom of our hearts. The outpouring of support, calls, texts, emails, social media tags and so on were overwhelming. Thank you and God bless.

P.S. Below is a pic of Breakwater's secret Omni Sonar apparatus courtesy of the system operator Grayson Canipe. We guess the secret is out now. Lol

Don't forget to check us out on social media. Hope you enjoyed and thanks again!

@slicksnsticks @x_rayted_fishing_team @breakwaterchartersnc @wyseforkfishing @lanewill11 @bogmickey @brycejones2442 @rebaitsfishingnc @cmatthew1978 @satfish @fishrazr

We want to give a huge shout out to the industry providers that support us and help us out. Every little bit counts and we count every little bit.