WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Former UNC basketball player gets Big Rock win

Jun 18, 2011

Former UNC basketball player Travis Stephenson's 652.8 pound blue marlin caught on the first day of the Big Rock Blue Marlin fishing tournament was enough to give him the Big Rock title.

Stephenson's catch hit the line just after noon Tuesday. In a little over an hour the crew of the boat Double B had the fish on board. "It was a text book catch," Stephenson told WRAL.

Stephenson's crew takes home $524,375 in prize money for first place.  Second place went to Blue Water and angler Jeffrey Gregg for his 580.6 pound catch. Angler Kevin Travis and his team Sushi took third with a 467.4 pound blue marlin. Second place earned $191,050 and third gets $126,700.

Last year the boat Citation caught a whopping 883 pound marlin and would have won the tournament. But one of the crewmen didn't have a tournament required fishing license so they were disqualified and lost $890,000.

Does Stephenson have his fishing license? "Oh yeah, I have it! " he quickly replied. "We wouldn't let anyone on board (Monday) morning without visual proof."

Stephenson's only day to fish in the Big Rock was Monday. He had to get back to work on Tuesday as the vice-president of retail sales for Flanders Corporation.

The former Clayton Comet star already has a national championship ring he earned as a senior playing basketball at North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Michigan to win the 1993 national championship.