Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament could have one hell of a finish

Well, we’re on the final day of the 42nd annual Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament and it’s anybody’s game at this point.

After Thursdays competition, the team on Jupiter, Fla.-based Catch 23, owned by NBA Hall of Fame member Michael Jordan, sits in the lead that it held the first day, relinquished, then gained back.

Catch 23 enters the final day with 1,200 points on 10 white marline and two blue marlin.

But Thursday afternoon, the team’s lead was in question as word quickly spread that a qualifying blue marlin was coming to the scales.

That fish – that ended up weighing 601.1 pounds – was caught by angler Jeff Bruce on the Play It By Ear out of Oregon Inlet.

The blue, coupled with three white marlin, boosted the team into third place.

The team on the Virginia Beach-based Waterman sits in second place with 975 points on a pair of blues and seven whites.

If it’s lead holds up, Catch 23 currently is looking at a payday of $479,718 based on several entry levels.

Waterman’s could pocket $140,670.

But as we all know, in the world of competitive bill-money fishing, don’t cash the check until the whistle blows.

This year’s tournament features 88 team competing for a payout of approximately $1.3 million

All that stood to the side as anxious teams watched the tournament crew fumble to get the big marlin weighed.

When it was finally over, angler Jeff Bruce posed for pictures next to his trophy that vaulted his team into contention.

Steve Ash, fishing on the Strokin’, still has the leading dolphin with a 49.4-pound bull. Mary-Renn Ash, on the same boat, leads the tuna division with a 45.9-pound yellowfin.

And Brandon Creech on the Big Trouble has the bigger wahoo at 49.3 pounds.

After Thursday’s competition, anglers had caught 246 fish – 15 blue marlin, 185 whites, 12 sailfish, 28 dolphin, 3 wahoo and 3 yellowfin tuna.

Stay tuned, as Friday’s finale could cause some excitement and some crazy changes to the leaderboard.