TODAY’S TALKER

Jordan’s crew hauls in 442.3-pound blue marlin in tournament

Apparently, Michael Jordan is pretty good at fishing, too.

The six-time NBA champion and the crew of his 80-foot fishing boat named “Catch 23” hauled in a 442.3-pound blue marlin on Tuesday at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, an event held annually off the coast of Morehead City, North Carolina, that attracts anglers from across the world. It’s the sixth-largest marlin caught so far during the tournament, which boasts a $3.3 million overall purse.

Jordan’s boat had been in fifth place until a boat came in later with a 450-pound blue marlin.

The fish wasn’t big enough to place in the top three, so it is not eligible for prize money. But Jordan and his crew still have two more days to catch a bigger marlin and collect some prize money. The leading blue marlin weighed in at 494.2 pounds.

Jordan looked on with smiles as the boat docked and workers hoisted the fish to be weighed on shore. The owner of the Charlotte Hornets later posed for pictures with the rest of his crew alongside the marlin as onlookers cheered and asked for autographs.

“I would love to be back with a little bit bigger fish,”Jordan said in a brief interview posted on the tournament’s Facebook page.

The tournament pays out for the three largest blue marlins boated with the winner taking home $1.1 million for the largest fish. There is also a $550,000 prize for the first boat to land a 500-pound blue marlin.

Tournament director Crystal Hesmer said the atmosphere on shore was “electric” when Jordan’s boat, which included Tar Heel blue colors on the side, pulled into the dock to unload the marlin to be weighed.