What a day Friday was in the 67th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament

Whew.

What a day it was Friday in the 67th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

And if had nothing to do with the heat or rain.

Things started off well, that is, until the Raptor out of Myrtle Beach caught fire – forcing a rescue of the five aboard.

Then word came of a big blue marlin that was being fought on the Southern Grace, a boat out of Ocean, N.C.

After more than six hours of fighting by two anglers, the fish topped the scales at 653.7 pounds, giving the team the Fabulous Fisherman’s $807,500 prize for the first blue weighing more than 500 pounds.

It set the crew up for a potential bank-buster award of around $3.2 million.

But after the fish was weighed in at a little past 7 p.m., the rules committee consulted with marine biologists and it was determined that the blue suffered from bite marks, one pretty big, which violated tournament rule 24 for mutilated fish.

Anglers Jacob Tingen and Taylor Britt – the two who fought the fish that was determined to have died halfway through the fight – were left to watch their efforts fall by the wayside.

Rule permit more than one angler to fight the fish.

So heading into today’s final round of competition, 23-year-old Lizzie Montague’s 449.7-pounder caught Wednesday remains the overall leader. While the Fabulous Fishman’s award remains up for grabs, her team on Bankwalker out of Pine Knoll Shores – with father Bryant at the wheel – still stands to win almost $2.5 million.

The event features 272 teams battling for a total purse of a little more than $6.3 million. Teams are allowed to fish four of the six days.

If her blue holds up, Lizzie would become the first female angler to win the event since Gigi Wagoner’s 549-pounder in 2005.

In the seriously-competitive release division, Wave Paver of Fort Canaveral, Fla., leads with 2,450 points – followed by Midlothian, Va.-registered Dock Fees and Hatteras-based Sea Creature with 2,000 each. Dock Fees gets the second-place nod based on time of catch.

Sea Wish from Puerto Rico leads the dolphin division with a 47.2-pounder.

Oregon Inlet’s Smoker leads in the tuna category with a 117.4-pounder.

And Bull Pen of Charleston, S.C., is winning the wahoo division with a 60.7-pound fish.

Stick with us for final results after a lengthy and extremely stressful day draws to a close.