OCEAN CITY- The 28th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament is underway with dozens of boats and hundreds of anglers descending on the resort area for a three-day search for the burly behemoths in the canyons off the coast.
The tuna bite has been red hot over the last few weeks with Ocean City’s sportfishing fleet returning to the docks each day with flags flying high and fish boxes full of tuna, setting up what should be a memorable 2015 Ocean City Fishing Tournament. The event got started yesterday with a captain’s meeting and late registration under the tent at the host Ocean City Fishing Center before the first of three fishing days today.
The annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament is one of the highlights of the summer offshore tournament seasons each year, second only perhaps to the White Marlin Open in terms of prize money awarded and anglers participating. Thousands of spectators will cram into the Ocean City Fishing Center over the course of the four-day event, which has become a celebration of fishing, food, drinks, live entertainment and, of course, the daily weigh-ins at the scale.
From modest beginnings in 1988 when just 38 boats competed for $9,000 in prize money, the tuna tournament has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades plus. Last year, dozens of boats and hundreds of anglers competed for over a half a million dollars in several categories.
Last year, a 249-pound big-eye caught by angler John Hughes on the “Espadon” on Saturday set the bar high for the rest of the tournament and set up a suspenseful last day. Angler Clint Senior on the “Game Over” weighed a huge big-eye on Sunday that appeared to have a chance to unseat the “Espadon” atop the leaderboard, but it came in a 183 pounds. Angler Jeremy Gers on the “MJ’s” also weighed a 165-pound big-eye on Sunday to cozy into third place in the single largest tuna category.
When the dust settled, it was the “Espadon” taking first place in the single heaviest tuna category with its 249-pounder and was awarded a tournament-high $273,715 in prize money. The “Game Over” finished second in the category and was awarded $42,000 in prize money, while the “MJ’s” was third and earned $24,805.
After three days and dozens of big tuna weighed, the stringer division came down to a dead heat between the “Marli” and the “Restless Lady,” each with two-day stringers weighing 311 pounds. The “Marli” and the “Restless Lady” shared first place in the division and each was awarded $56,810 in prize money. Third place went to the crew on the “Billfisher,” which weighed a two-day total stringer of 271 pounds and was awarded $25,705 in prize money.
In the dolphin division, angler Joe Zuramski on the “Moxie Boys” took first place with a 34-pounder worth $27,340. Angler Mike Cusimano on the “Reel Desire” took second with a 25-pounder and earned $1,000. Greg Smith on the “Spring Mix II” took third with a 22-pounder and earned $500 in prize money.