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'Dream Come True' | Ocean City Anglers Catch Record-Breaking 914-Pound Marlin

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WJZ) -- Several Maryland anglers brought home a record-breaking catch at a fishing tournament in North Carolina this weekend.

The crew of the Ocean City-based Top Dog reeled in a 914-pound blue marlin at The Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament in Morehead City, about 100 miles northeast of Wilmington, setting a tournament record.

"This has been my dream my whole life and I'm doing it right now. It truly is a dream come true," said Phillip "Moonpie" Williams, a mate on the boat.

CONGRATULATIONS to the TOP DOG on their 914lb BLUE MARLIN!!! A TOURNAMENT RECORD! ???? Grace Bell Photography

Posted by The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament on Saturday, June 15, 2019

Perhaps the hardest part was trying to get the fish back to the landing scales.

"We tried for a long time to get that thing in the boat, it was just, he wasn't coming," Williams said. "We had done all we could do at that point, we just had to come home and string it up. It worked out."

For Top Dog owner Todd Dickerson, catching the marlin on Father's Day had an extra meaning -- his dad died exactly four months prior.

"He started me fishing in Ocean City, Maryland, for the White Marlin Open and all those tournaments," Dickerson said. "If you don't believe there's somebody upstairs keeping an eye on you, I mean this is believing right here. I'd give anything to have him here right now."

All in all, it was a trip the crew will remember for a lifetime.

"Record crowds, new record fish, I mean just incredible," Dickerson said.

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