MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — Day 5 of the 63rd annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament netted some excitement, but the big news came late in the day.

WideSpread, which was one of four boats to land a blue marlin on Thursday, landed the only marlin on Friday out of 260 boats to fish. Their catch was a whopper, 656.5 pounds, to take the overall lead with one day of fishing left.

It’s unclear if a boat has ever placed twice on the overall leaderboard.

Saturday is the final day of the Big Rock. Fishing runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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LEADERBOARD

  1. WideSpread, 656.5 pounds (caught Friday)
  2. Natural, 521.6 pounds (caught Tuesday)
  3. Outnumbered, 512.4 pounds (caught Thursday)
  4. WideSpread, 479.2 pounds (caught Thursday)
  5. Following Seas, 448.8 pounds (caught Monday)
  6. Anticipation, 446.8 pounds (caught Thursday)
  7. Dancin Outlaw, 419.3 pounds (caught Thursday)

Friday’s coverage

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10:37 p.m.

They said they’d be back Friday and they were right.

WideSpread boated the only blue marlin on Day 5 of the tournament. It was a big one, weighing in at 656.6 pounds. That vaulted the team to first place in the overall standings. Their catch from Thursday now falls to fourth place.

Cole Pirrung, 19, from Raleigh, was the angler who brought in Friday’s fish. It landed him and the team $1.678,250 million.

It was a four-hour fight, Pirrung said, He also said the boat had some luck earlier but nothing worth reeling in. After a team pep talk, he said they landed the blue marlin about 10 minutes later.

  • (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)
  • (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)
  • (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)
  • (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)
  • Cole Pirrung with the fish WideSpread caught on Friday (Big Rock Blue Marlin photo via YouTube)
  • (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)
  • Pirrung family with the fish that was caught Friday (Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament photo via YouTube)

9:56 p.m.

WideSpread is now expected to arrive at Big Rock Landing to weigh its blue around 10:30 p.m., officials said on the tournament website.

7:42 p.m.

WNCT’s Kelci O’Donnell got the chance to go out on one of the boats participating in the Big Rock. Check out her report below.

Feel Good Friday: Day of fishing at Big Rock can be fun and beautiful but also a challenge to reel in ‘the big one’

6:17 p.m.

WideSpread has boated its second blue marlin of the tournament. They are expected to return to the Big Rock Landing station to weigh it around 11 p.m.

4:50 p.m.

We’re down to one boat, WideSpread, still hooked with a blue marlin. That’s the same boat that currently sits in third place on the leaderboard after boating a blue marlin on Thursday.

The other boats unhooked their lines and are done for the day. Kelci O’Donnell is live from Big Rock Landing with more on 9OYS News starting at 5.

3:01 p.m.

It’s 3 p.m. and the hooks are out of the water. It’s been a rough day for the 260 anglers trying to land a blue with none so far caught to bring to the weigh station. There are still four hooked up at the moment (WideSpread, Post Call, Game Changer and Reel E Bugging). We’ll keep you posted on if any land a blue marlin.

12:34 p.m.

The Big Rock Blue Tournament goes deeper than just the fish in the sea. As the 63rd annual tournament nears completion, 9OYS takes a closer look at what the tournament does for the community.

9OYS takes closer look at how Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament works to support local charities

12:15 p.m.

With 260 boats on the water, it’s a big day of fishing at the Big Rock. So far, no blue marlin have been reeled in to take to the weigh station.

10:12 a.m.

Boat ‘Baby J’ has $5,000 headed their way for the first release of the day on Day 5 of the 63rd annual Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament.

9:23 a.m.

Off to a busy start this morning! 260 boats are fishing offshore today, 10 are laying. 4 boats are currently hooked up tune in to Big Rock Radio or thebigrock.com.

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Thursday’s coverage

Blog: Big day of catches shakes up Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament leaderboard; Natural remains at top spot

Kelci O’Donnell got to spend a day on one of the boats participating in the 63rd annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. She’ll have a report on what it’s like on the high seas along with the competition at the big event during Friday’s newscast.

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Wednesday’s coverage

Blog: No blue marlin caught on Day 3 of 63rd annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

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Tuesday’s coverage

Natural catches 521.6-pound marlin to take tourney lead

‘We’re seeing really good, solid traffic’: airport directors react to uptick in travel amid Big Rock Tournament

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Monday’s coverage

First day wraps up with Following Seas landing first blue marlin at 448.8 pounds