OCEAN CITY – More than $75,000 was awarded in last week’s 12th Annual Mako Mania shark tournament held at the Bahia Marina with the “Press Time” hooking the top prize.
Forty-four boats dropped lines in this tournament. Last year there were 41 vessels. Over the three days of fishing, 18 mako shark were hooked. Additionally, two thresher and 16 bluefish were caught.
Captain Luke Blume and the “Press Time” earned first place in the mako division with a 226-pound beauty, worth $38,865. The beast was hooked by angler Jeff Kowalski. The “Salty Sons” captured second place. Tony Colobove’s shark was worth $7,699 followed by the third-place mako weighing 149 pounds, good enough for a $3,684 payday for “Wayne’s World.” The fourth-place mako brought $8,082 to the “Playmate.”
Both thresher shark caught in this tournament massive. The division leader was hooked by Matt Keller aboard the “Marli” and weighed 506 pounds and earned $5,200. James Hammond, aboard the “Barbed Wire,” landed a 436.9-pound thresher.
In the bluefish division, Jim Bishop and the “Rumor Has It” scored first place and $4,946 with a 9.5-pound beauty. Finishing in second place and winning $2,394 was the “Urscilla Priscilla” with a 9-pounder.
Scoring one for conservation was the “It’ll Do”, taking home a $1,000 paycheck for releasing the most fish in the annual W.W. Harman Release category.