OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club’s 33rd Annual Canyon Kick-Off Tournament last weekend was a big success with 59 boats and hundreds of anglers filling out the leaderboard in several categories and collecting thousands in prize money.
The Canyon Kick-Off, held each year on or around the Fourth of July weekend, is the first significant event of the season for the Marlin Club each year and serves as a prelude to the more high-profile tournaments including the Ocean City Tuna Tournament this weekend and the White Marlin Open next month. Despite a shaky weather forecast, 59 boats competed in the holiday tournament last weekend with fishing held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
In the Billfish Release division, it was the crew on the “Poore Sport” taking first with 450 release points worth a tournament-high $13,000. The “Streaker,” the “Tighten Up” and the “Canyon Hunter” each finished with 400 release points to earn a share of second. The “Tighten Up” earned $2,133 in prize money, while the “Canyon Hunter” collected $1,422.
In the Dolphin Division, the “Tighten Up” took first with a 24.8-pounder. However, the “Jezebel” took second with a 21-pounder and earned $8,100 in prize money because of added entry levels. Rounding out the dolphin division were the “Dawg Haus” with a 19.6-pounder worth $2,025, the “Canyon Hunter” with a 19.2-pounder worth $1,350, and the “Grande Pez” with an 18.8-pounder worth $9,900 because of added entry levels.
In the yellowfin, big-eye or longfin tuna division, it was the “Double Trouble” taking first with a 61-pound yellowfin. The “Halcyon” took second with a 53.2-pounder worth $1,890, and the “Amanda May-Hem” took third with a 49-pounder. The crew on the “Zipper” weighed a 47.8-pound yellowfin and a 47.6-pound yellowfin worth $2,619 and $1,647 respectively. The “Carol’s Teakettle” weighed a 41.4-pound yellowfin worth $594, while the “Jezebel” weighed a 35.8-pound yellowfin worth $4,725.
The Bluefin tuna had its own category in the Canyon Kickoff last week. The “Sell Fish” took first, the “JoJo” took second and earned $2,511, the “Carol’s Teakettle” took third and earned $486, while the “Gret’s Three J’s” took fourth and earned $864.