OCEAN CITY- The resort will once again become the center of the sportfishing universe next week when hundreds of anglers and thousands of spectators gather in Ocean City for the 43rd Annual White Marlin Open.
For over four decades, the White Marlin Open, deemed the largest billfish tournament in the world, has been one of the highlights of the summer season, a sort of crescendo before the gradual downward slide into mid-August and the end of another summer season. The actual fishing tournament begins on the first Monday in August each year, but because the captain’s meeting and registration on Sunday is an official tournament day, the White Marlin Open runs from August 8-12 this year, marking one of the latest possible start times.
Thousands of spectators will cram into host Harbour Island Marina each day next week for an opportunity to see a million dollar fish raised at the scale. Last year’s tournament produced a couple of firsts, including a first-ever win by a female angler in the signature white marlin division. Angler Cheryl McLeskey fishing on the “Backlash” weighed a 94-pounder on Wednesday of Marlin Week last year after no qualifying whites were weighed on the tournament’s first two days.
When the big white marlin was pulled from the “Backlash” cockpit, it clearly had the length and girth to be a qualifier, but it was uncertain just how historic the big white might be. The scale fluttered up and down briefly before settling in at an even 94 pounds. McLeskey’s 94-pound white was the third largest in tournament history and ended up being worth $1.18 million. In 2009, a 93.5-pounder won the tournament’s top prize, and a 93.5-pounder also won the 1978 WMO.
While McLeskey and the “Backlash” were clearly the darlings of the 2015 tournament, there was still a big chunk of change out there for the taking. In another first last year, a new “winner take all” category was added for white marlin and about a third of the tournament’s 308 participating boats ponied up for the new category. On the tournament’s last day, angler Bill Haugland on the “Lights Out” came to the scale with a big white to weigh that topped out at 79 pounds. It was only the second qualifying white marlin weighed all week and it was a significant one. The “Lights Out” was entered in the new winner-take-all category and earned a little over $1 million, marking the first time there were two million-dollar plus payouts in the same year in tournament history.
After a sluggish economy for a few years had a decided impact on the number of boats participating in the White Marlin Open, the entry list has steadily increased in recent years. In 2013, just 262 boats participated and that number climbed to 288 in 2014. Last year, the number went over the 300 mark for the first time in a few years at 308 and that figure should be eclipsed this year.
Just as they have for decades, hundreds of spectators will line the seawall at the Inlet to watch the parade of boats chugging out early Monday morning, the first of five official fishing days. The tournament gets underway on Monday with the first of five fishing days and boats and captains and teams of anglers will strategically choose which three of the five days to fish.
Each tournament is uniquely different and this year will likely be no exception. In some years, the winning white marlin is caught on the very first day and the angler and crew wait out the tense remaining days to see if their fish will hold up and collect the million dollar-plus top prize. In other years, the winning white is raised at the scale at the last hour on the last day. In either case, there is never any shortage of drama in the tournament with millions in prize money at stake in several categories, including, of course, white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, dolphin, wahoo and shark.
Thousands will cram into host Harbour Island each day for a chance to see a million dollar fish hauled up the scale. Many WMO enthusiasts begin showing up early in the afternoon to get a prime viewing spot near the scale and as the day wears on, the crowd swells around the otherwise quiet neighborhood. This year, however, a new wrinkle will allow more spectators to get a closer look at the action.
Hooked on OC, the popular locally owned and produced television show that documents every facet of the fishing scene in the resort area, is partnering with the White Marlin Open this year to live-stream all of the action at the host Harbour Island next month on two large screens mounted to the scale itself. The two, six-foot by 10-foot LED screens mounted on the north and south sides of the scale will capture all of the memorable sights and sounds of the world’s largest billfish tournament for the thousands of spectators who cram into Harbour Island on each day of the tournament and for the countless others watching the action from afar.