Carterican claims top Big Rock Kids prize

For the second straight year, a fishing boat with major Wilson connections has claimed the top prize in the Big Rock Kids Tournament, a July offshoot of the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament held each June out of Morehead City.

Carterican — which is owned by brothers Jamie Smith of Wilson and Lee Smith, who now resides in Morehead City — took home the top prize in the fourth edition of the Big Rock Kids Tournament that turned from a two-day event into a wild, one-day shootout July 13 on the Gulf Stream due to rough seas the first two scheduled days. The tournament was extended to July 14.

Carterican, captained by Lee Smith, racked up 1,050 points without even hooking up with a blue marlin in the tournament in which all fish are released. Instead, the all-girl crew of five rising eighth graders, including Smith’s daughter, Baker, caught and released seven sailfish that were good for the tournament’s trophy and top prize of $28,600.

“You get the shots and make them count and it’s always fun to win,” said Lee Smith. “That’s what we do it for. But the Big Rock does a really great job of just putting on their tournaments with the staff that they have and the organization that they have, it’s one of the best tournaments.”

Carterican follows the 2023 Big Rock Kids win by Marlin Fever, owned by the Daniel family of Wilson County. Reel Developers was the second-place boat behind Carterican, while Sensation placed third in Big Rock Kids.

While the Carterican has seen major success in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in the past, including winning the Fabulous Fisherman’s prize in 2018, the 2024 Big Rock was not memorable for the Smith brothers. Getting a win in the Big Rock Kids doesn’t pay nearly as much, Lee Smith said, but it’s a lot of fun.

“It’s probably a lot less stressful,” he said of the Big Rock Kids. “I know the captains are all looking at it a little bit differently, but hey, we just want to make sure that these kids have fun, and anything that happens beyond that with any prize money or awards or anything is extra.”

Because it’s a total release tournament, Smith said light tackle is used.

“The rods are not as heavy,” he explained. “We’re not using the big reels like you’re used to seeing, like the regular Big Rock where you’re actually trying to get the fish boatside and on the leader and then trying to boat it, you know, gaff it and boat it. Since the kids tournament is all-release on billfish, we can use lighter tackle. It’s easier for the kids to hold the tackle and reel.”

Smith said the tournament turning into a one-day affair didn’t change the Carterican’s strategy, adding that the girls did a great job of bringing in the sailfish that were hooked up. Each crew member — Savannah Penny, Anderson Shatterly, Anna Kate Salter, Georgie Landry and Baker — landed at least one sailfish, while Savannah and Anderson each caught two. Anna Kate also brought in a dolphin fish.

“These girls are tough. They had a really fun time,” said Lee Smith. “I think there’s only one or two boats that fished two days of the tournament of their two fishing days. The majority of the boats fished only one day, and that was Sunday (July 14) because of how bad the weather was leading up to Sunday.”

But it was smooth sailing that day.

“It was really exciting and a really cool experience,” Baker Smith said after her first experience fishing in a tournament. “I’ve been kind of doing it for a little while, though, like a little bit every year — mostly in the summer, though.”

Her older sister, Susie, has fished in the Big Rock Kids before aging out. Now Baker has gotten hooked on deep sea fishing, but not so much for the fish as for the friends.

“It was really cool to be able to, like, do it with people that I know and people that I have a fun time with,” she said.

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