White Marlin Open Photos

PLEASE READ ALL RULES IN TOURNAMENT BROCHURE CAREFULLY

1. WHITE MARLIN MINIMUM – In order for a white marlin to qualify for prize money and/or billfish points it must be at least 67 inches AND 70 pounds.

2. AMMENDMENT TO GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULES D8 AND D8a
General Tournament Rules D8 and D8a have been modified to read as follows:
Rule D8 – Once a fish is completely in the boat, an angler may use any means to make his boated fish available for weighing. This includes switching his boated fish to another boat to get to the scales, being towed by another boat, or trucking the fish to the scale.
Rule D8a – There are no exceptions as to where a fish can be trucked in from.

3. AMMENDMENT TO TOURNAMENT RULE C10
In an effort to help boats conserve fuel, tournament directors have changed General Tournament Rule C10 to allow boats to pass the sea buoy of their departure inlet no earlier than 4 a.m. Allowing boats more time to reach their fishing destinations will allow them to reduce their speed and conserve fuel.

4. CORRECTION TO GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULE F5 – In the White Marlin Open brochure General Tournament Rule F5 was misprinted. It should read as follows: No protest will be accepted after 3:15 a.m. Saturday August 13th.

5. DEPARTURE INLETS – Boats fishing in the White Marlin Open may leave from any inlet between Rudee Inlet, VA and Barnegat Inlet, NJ. No boat may pass the sea buoy of any inlet prior to 4:00 a.m. on any fishing day. Any boat leaving early will be disqualified for that fishing day. There is a fishing distance limit of 100 nautical miles from the Ocean City Inlet sea buoy. Boats must fish within this limit regardless of the inlet of departure.

6. POLYGRAPH TESTING – Read in the brochure General Rule G7.
Any angler winning $50,000 or more may be subject to a polygraph test. Anglers that are required to take a polygraph test will be contacted by a Tournament Director on Friday August 12^th after 9:15pm to confirm the test time. The tests will take place at the Clarion Hotel on 101^st Street in Ocean City, Conference Rooms 4 & 5. The following test times are predetermined (all tests are scheduled to take place Saturday August 13^th):

First Place White Marlin 9:00AM               Second Place Tuna 12:00AM
First Place Tuna 9:00AM                               Third Place Release Division 12:00AM
First Place Release Division 10:00AM                  Third Place White Marlin 1:00PM
Second Place Release Division 10:00AM                 Second Place Blue Marlin  1:00PM
Second Place White Marlin 11:00AM
First Place Blue Marlin 11:00AM

* The White Marlin Open reserves the right to reschedule and/or cancel any polygraph test, at its discretion, for a different time, date, and/or location.

7. CATCH AND RELEASE REPORTS / SCORING QUESTIONS – All catch and release reports must be turned in to the White Marlin Open by 9:15 p.m. the day fished. Catch and release reports may be submitted in the following ways:
- Submitting catch and release report online by first logging in to your boat at http://www.whitemarlinopen/login, and then submitting the catch report at http://www.whitemarlinopen.com/catch.

- Turning in the catch and release report to the scorers’ table at Harbour Island Marina
- Dropping the catch and release report in the designated Drop Boxes at one of the following marinas: Sunset Marina, O.C. Fishing Center, White Marlin Marina, Bahia Marina

Catch and release reports should NOT BE FAXED except for boats fishing from any inlet other than the Ocean City Inlet– their reports must be faxed to 410-289-4490 by 9:15 p.m. ANY catch & release report not received on time will lose ½ of the value. Any scoring related issues or questions will be handled by the score keeper. If you have a scoring related issue or question, please call 410-289-9229 between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.

8. DECLARING A NON-FISHING DAY – Read General Rules C1 – C5. A representative for your boat must declare a non-fishing day by 8:30 a.m. on the day you are not fishing by 1) calling 410-520-2065 or 2) declaring a non-fishing day by logging in to your boat at http://www.whitemarlinopen.com/login. If you do not report by 8:30 a.m. to 410-520-2065 or online your boat will be counted as fishing that day. No calls need be made, nor will be taken on Friday August 12^th.

9. LOG IN TO www.WhiteMarlinOpen.com
You can update your boat information, add anglers, and submit catch reports online. Simply log in using your boat number and your four-digit access code, both of which can be found on the front of your registration boat packet, to get started. You can log in at http://www.whitemarlinopen.com/login and submit catch reports. Please e-mail contact@whitemarlinopen.com with any questions.

10. PRIZE MONEY PAYOUT PROCEDURE – Representatives from boats receiving prize money must report to the Tournament Table at the awards ceremony (Clarion Hotel 101^st Street) at 4:00 p.m. Saturday August 13^th to complete a Prize Money Distribution Form indicating how the money should be disbursed, including Social Security or Federal Identification Numbers, and signed by the winning angler. Without the Prize Money Distribution Form, no prize money will be dispersed. Prize money checks may not necessarily be dispersed on Saturday August 13^th.

11. VHF 19 – The Tournament designates VHF channel 19 as the frequency for reporting all billfish activity to the committee boats. Read Billfish Points Rule C about the reporting procedure.

12. BLUE MARLIN TIME EXTENSION – Read General Tournament Rule C8. The boat must make every effort to keep the Tournament Directors posted on the status of the fight including relaying information via VHF, cell phone, or Single Side Band to another tournament boat. ALSO – if the boat fighting the blue marlin has another boated fish it intends to weigh, the boat must follow the procedures under General Tournament Rule D7 or the fish will not be weighed.

13. PROTEST – Read General Rule F – All protests in compliance with Rule F will be given to the judges. A majority ruling by the judges is required for a decision. That decision is final. The judges are Captain Robert Gowar, Joseph M. Zimmer, Jr. and Brian Tinkler. The Weighmaster is Dale Timmons.