White Marlin Open Blog
It's been an exciting week here in Ocean City, with over $2 million in prize money about to be distributed tomorrow afternoon! Three hundred boats from up and down the eastern seaboard, with more than 1500 anglers from all over the country, fished the waters from Norfolk to Wilmington canyons, brought in record numbers of fish. We saw the second largest blue marlin in tournament history, caught on Tuesday. We saw a local boy, a man who met his wife at Harbour Island and proposed to her here at the scales in 2001, catch a fish worth almost $1 million. We saw a dolphin miss a state record by half a pound. For the second year in a row, we have three white marlin over 80 pounds (last year being the first year in 30 years for that to occur), and for the first time in tournament history, the top three dolphin are all over 50 pounds.
Come back starting in January for information about the 2009 tournament. Next year, fishing starts on August 3!
Posted on August 08, 2008.
As tournament director Andy Motsko just announced, Friday has been almost as busy as Monday! Follow the
leaderboard for all the latest developments. We have weighed in a
first place (tied) white, a
second place blue, a
second and
third (tied) tuna, a
first and
third place wahoo, and a
second place dolphin. The only fish we haven't seen is a shark! No records were broken today in terms of size, money, or number of fish, but the excitement at Harbour Island hasn't suffered because of it. Stay tuned, the scales are open for another 90 miniutes!
Posted on August 08, 2008.
First place white marlin, first place wahoo, and the second qualifying blue of the tournament. Friday has been another hectic day here at Harbour Island, after two quiet evenings. The Hatterascal brought in a double-header of sorts: a white good for a first place tie at 81 lbs., caught by angler Rodger Mooney, worth $200,000, and a first place wahoo at 47 lbs., caught by angler Bob Hoste. Less than an hour later, the Press Time out of Ocean City hoisted a 534 lb. blue onto the scales, taking a bite out of Robert Lockwood's winnings. Angler Ronald Marquette's fish is currently worth $130,000.
Posted on August 08, 2008.
The Jezebel, carrying angler Joe Maffei and his first place wahoo, just left the scales. Maffei, whose fish is currently worth about $15,000 (counting that daily meat fish calcutta), really delighted the crowd with his prize-winning fish.
Posted on August 07, 2008.
Boy, is it a big one. A 172 pound bluefin tuna, nabbed aboard the Miss Andrea, is currently pulling angler Jimmy Hahn around $170,000. The Miss Andrea is certainly not afraid of the scales this week. They've been up here every day they have fished, and are currently holding both first and third place in the tuna calcuttas!
Posted on August 07, 2008.
The Kokomo, one of our Cape May boats, brought a second place dolphin up to us around 6:30pm. Angler Dave Bowman currently stands to win about $12,500 for his fish, $9,000 of which is for Wednesday's dolphin meat fish calcutta. You can follow the daily meat fish winners on the M calcutta leaderboard.
Posted on August 06, 2008.
When the scales go quiet, as they have today, the tournament directors try to think up different was to entertain the crowd. DJ Paulo of Talk Radio 101.1's Hot Spots Fishing show took guesstimates from the crowd for future-director Garrett Motsko's weight. The winning guesser, Kyle Weeks, got to get the customary "scales shot" with his catch.
Posted on August 06, 2008.
Twenty four Twenty three Eighteen Seventeen and counting down. The number of boats fishing today is decreasing as people call in to report lay days. With the vast majority of boats having fished both Monday and Tuesday, it would be asking a lot of the various crews to go out three days in a row. Offshore weather reports 6 foot seas and possible thunderstorms this afternoon.
There may still be some excitement at Harbour Island tonight. There are two $10,000 prizes for the daily meat fish (dolphin and wahoo) and only one boat has to go out and grab a big white for the whole leaderboard to be turned upside down. Stay tuned to WhiteMarlinOpen.com and the MarlinCam after 4pm (weather permitting) to keep on top of any developments.
Posted on August 06, 2008.
The Last Run out of Morgan, New Jersey is at the scales with the second largest blue marlin ever caught in tournament history. Angler Robert Lockwood out of South Amboy, New Jersey, landed the 935.5 lb. fish with the help of his crew. As you can see here, the fish barely fit on the boat. The $600,000 in prize money (as of now) could certainly go a long way towards a larger vessel!
Posted on August 05, 2008.
Check the Leaderboard to see the first and second place tunas (Dan McCarthy on the Risky Business at 109 lbs. and John McBride on the Miss Andrea at 108).
We also have our first wahoo of the tournament! George MacLean on the Fin Chaser wheeled a 40.5 lb. wahoo to the scales here at Harbour Island. George is out of Reading, Pennsylvania.
Posted on August 05, 2008.
With clouds looming overhead and the crowd noticeably thinner than last night, Tuesday got off to a slow start. No boats awaited the opening of the scales at 4pm, but by 4:30 the C. Hawk had pulled up with angler Rodney Arbogast and his 98.5 lb. bluefin tuna aboard. Rodney's fish, currently worth about $26,000, was caught at about 11:30am. The C. Hawk saw 6 billfish strikes today!
Posted on August 05, 2008.
The tournament directors all agree: this was the busiest day at the scales in tournament history. There were over 40 fish weighed in at Harbour Island. Not all of them went home winners, of course, but the crowd certainly got their fill. The current first place tuna was landed aboard the Ocean Dan-Sar by angler Shawn Cook.
Posted on August 04, 2008.
There has been
non-stop action at Harbour Island this year. The fish are coming in so quickly and changing the leaderboard so frequently that first place doesn't stay first place any longer than the boat stays at the dock. The white marlin and tuna calcuttas have filled up, with fish taking all the big spots. The top white to beat is the 81 lb. white marlin brought to the scales by Tommy Hinkle from Berlin, Maryland. The Fish Whistle sails out of Indian River, Delaware.
Posted on August 04, 2008.
Two boats have come to Harbour Island today only to go home empty handed. The Matador came in at 4:30 with a 53 pound white marlin, and the Over the Top is currently docked with a 432.5 pound blue. Both fish failed to meet the WMO's stringent weight minimums, and so the leader board remains mostly empty.
Posted on August 04, 2008.
Our confidential informants tell us that there are about a dozen boats on the radar approximately 10 nautical miles from Harbour Island. They're all making their way towards us, several sporting billfish flags from their rigging.
Posted on August 04, 2008.
Kenny Read, fishing on the Liquid Assets out of Ocean Pines, nabbed first place on the first day of the largest billfish tournament in the world. Reed, a native of Berlin, Maryland, stands to win about $270,000 if no other fish knocks him out of first place. Given that it's not even 5pm on Monday, that seems like a tall order. Stranger things have happened, however.
Posted on August 04, 2008.
It looks like the marlin have gotten here just in time for the White Marlin Open! There have been many reports of a
very hot marlin bite in the Norfolk and working it's way up to the Washington Canyon. One of these billfish could be worth over $1 million!
Posted on July 31, 2008.
In order to help boats conserve fuel, the White Marlin Open has amended General Rule I D. Boats may now pass the sea buoy at the Ocean City Inlet, Indian River Inlet, and Cape May Inlet
no earlier than 3:30 a.m. instead of 5:00 a.m. Allowing boats to run at a slower, more economical speed to reach their fishing destinations can reduce fuel consumption up to 1/3, thus saving money.
All other tournament rules regarding fishing times remain the same.
Posted on July 23, 2008.
The results for the blue marlin category of last year’s White Marlin Open became final on Monday July 14, 2008 when Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Groton ruled on several motions for summary judgment that were before him. Judge Groton ruled that the White Marlin Open was well within its rights to reschedule polygraph tests for the first and third place blue marlin winners. This ruling resulted in both the first and third place blue marlin remaining qualified. Judge Groton also ruled that the second place blue marlin be disqualified due to failure of 2 polygraph examinations and failure of the crew member who caught the fish to be registered as an angler. This resulted in the third place blue marlin becoming the second place blue. There is no third place blue marlin.
The White Marlin Open is pleased with the decisions of Judge Groton and feels that the integrity of the White Marlin Open was preserved through the involvement of the judicial system.
You can read more about the judge’s final ruling at The Dispatch’s website.
Posted on July 22, 2008.
For the first time ever, the White Marlin Open is allowing boats to register to fish in the tournament online! Simply visit our registration page, enter your boat and credit card information, and your are registered for the tournament!
If you have any technical questions about registration, please contact the webmaster. For all other questions regarding registration, including procedures, marina contact information, or available slips, please contact our Registration Desk.
Posted on July 08, 2008.
Does your boat need a home for the WMO? It’s not too late to find a slip! There are numerous private slips still available. For help finding a boat slip, please contact Jim Motsko at 410-289-9229.
Posted on July 01, 2008.
Federal law mandates that as of January 1, 2008 all anglers participating in either a billfish tournament or a tournament with a billfish division which bestows points, prizes, or awards for Atlantic billfish (white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish or spearfish) must deploy only non-offset circle hooks when using natural bait or natural/artificial lure combinations. Anglers in these tournaments may use J-hooks only in artificial lures.
Due to this new law, the IGFA has revised its rule stating that the hook “must be firmly embedded in or firmly attached to the bait.” The rule now states that “circle hooks may be rigged in front of bait or bait/lure combos as long as the distance from the bait and the hook is no more than one hook’s length.” This information was provided by Jason Schratwieser, Conservation Director of the IGFA.
Posted on July 01, 2008.
The marlin are coming, the marlin are coming! There have been reports of very good blue marlin fishing along with a few whites being caught off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina as the fish make their annual migration north toward the Washington, Poor Man’s and Baltimore Canyons. Marlin fishing in Ocean City is expected to heat up soon!
Posted on June 17, 2008.
Is your company looking for a new form of advertising? Not quite sure how to reach your target audience? Becoming an official White Marlin Open sponsor is a great way to spend your marketing dollars. We offer a variety of sponsorship levels to accommodate any budget and to help you get your product or service in front of a unique group of consumers! Contact Sponsorship Coordinator Sasha Motsko,
sashamarie@mchsi.com, today for more information!
Posted on June 17, 2008.
The first white marlin of the season was caught on Monday June 9th by Jim Miner fishing aboard the “Judge” with Captain Blaine Champlin. Jim caught and released the fish outside the Norfolk Canyon. The Town of Ocean City will award him with a $5,000 prize for his catch. You can read more about Jim’s catch, and other local sport fishing news in the Coastal Fisherman.
Posted on June 17, 2008.
The unique format of the White Marlin Open permits an unlimited number of anglers per boat, which not only allows for unlimited chances to catch the big one, but also creates a way to reduce the per-angler cost to fish. More anglers means more people to share entry fees, dockage, and fuel costs, but may also mean more people to share in the winnings!
If you are thinking about participating again this year or if it will be your first time, go ahead and invite a friend along!
Posted on June 17, 2008.
The White Marlin Open is pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website. The tournament will be focusing on the web this year, bringing you the ability to register to fish, enter your catch reports, and track your standings, all online! Please stay tuned as we bring these features to you.
Posted on June 12, 2008.
The NMFS’s new Management Plan did not impose a 5 year ban on recreational catches of Atlantic white marlin, but should effectively reduce the recreational mortality rate through expanded use of circle hooks. On May 8, 2007 the NMFS has officially delayed the mandatory use of circle hooks for Atlantic Billfish Tournaments through 2008.
Read more about the NMFS’s plan in our Conservation section.
Posted on June 01, 2008.
