Michael Jordan hooks 24-pound dolphinfish in tournament off North Carolina coast
Basketball great Michael Jordan flexed his angling skills at the 64th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, reeling in a 24-pound dolphinfish off the North Carolina coast this week.
The six-time NBA champion netted the hefty catch on Monday, June 13, in the weeklong fishing competition in Morehead City, according to the tournament’s website.
Jordan’s boat, an 80-foot yacht dubbed “Catch 23,” and his crew weighed in at 5:46 p.m. local time. His is one of 266 boats taking to the water to compete in the annual tournament with hopes of nabbing a top prize worth $5.8 million, a Big Rock official told McClatchy News.
Photos posted on the tournament’s Facebook page show the NBA’s “GOAT” posing proudly alongside his dolphinfish, more commonly known as mahi-mahi, with the caption: “Michael Jordan brings the BULLS to big rock landing.”
Jordan is no stranger to sport fishing, and this is his third year competing in this tournament, according to officials. In 2021, his team nabbed a 25-pound mahi mahi, and the year before that, they reeled in a whopping 442-pound blue marlin.
Jordan acknowledged Monday’s catch “kind of wore me out a little bit.”
“I’ve got a good crew and they hooked it and I just brought it in,” he said, laughing. “I look forward to this tournament every year. Rarely do I get the chance to come down to Morehead City ... but every chance I get, I look forward to coming back. The people have been very nice.”
Jordan’s boat crew also had two blue marlin releases by the Monday weigh-in, officials said, and entered into the winner-take-all dolphin division. The winner takes home a $527,000 prize.
“Catch 23” is placed sixth in the dolphin division as of Tuesday, June 14, while anglers on the “Fly N Fish” reeled in the heaviest dolphinfish at 28.2 pounds, the leaderboard shows.
“We are honored to have (Jordan) fish with us,” a tournament official told McClatchy News. “Stay tuned for more action, you never know if he’ll come back to the scales.”
The competition concludes Saturday, June 19.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Michael Jordan hooks 24-pound dolphinfish in tournament off North Carolina coast."