OCEAN CITY- The 21st Annual Captain Steve Harman Poor Girl’s Open last weekend was once again a huge success with nearly 100 boats and over 450 lady anglers competing for the nearly $90,000 in prize money doled out to the winners in several categories and, perhaps most importantly, thousands more raised for breast cancer research and awareness.
The tournament, which typically falls on the weekend after the White Marlin Open, was founded by the late Captain Steve Harman and his wife Pam over two decades ago to provide a ladies-only fishing event with the proceeds donated to a local charity. A decision was made several years back to made the American Cancer Society the beneficiary as a kick-off of sorts for a series of pink ribbon events held in and around the resort area each year. In the years since, the Poor Girl’s Open has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization and this year was no different. In addition to the fishing, the event includes silent auctions, 50-50 raffles, T-shirt sales and other events, all at tournament headquarters at Bahia Marina in Ocean City.
Despite its charitable overtones, the tournament is all about the fishing and the dozens of boats and hundreds of competitors take it very seriously. The tournament is a catch-and-release event with points awarded for billfish releases. There were also added entry levels for tuna and dolphin with potential winning fish weighed each day of the tournament at host Bahia Marina.
A total of 96 boats and 436 lady anglers participated in the tournament last weekend and $89,770 in prize money was awarded to the winners in several categories. Just 15 boats fished on the tournament’s first day last Thursday, while 30 boats went out on Friday and 51 fished on Saturday.
In the Billfish Release Division, the crew on the “Tighten Up” took first with eight white marlin releases and was awarded a tournament high $31,640 in prize money. The crew on the “Fin-Ness” took second in the billfish release division with six white marlin releases and earned $18,984. The “Moore Bills” took third in the billfish release division with five white marlin releases and earned $12,656 in prize money.
In the Tuna Division, angler Nancy Julio on the “Rhonda’s Osprey” took first with a 71.6-pounder worth $7,170. Angler Amber Kelly on the “Foolish Pleasures” took second with a 63.2-pounder worth $3,402. Christine Schrader on the “Let It Ride” took third with a 38.2-pounder worth $2,268.
In the Dolphin Division, angler Nancy Kohl on the “Reel Toy” took first with a 34.7-pounder worth $7,575. Tiffany Hudson on the “Turn Me Loose” took second in the division with a 29.8-pounder worth $3,645, while the crew on the “Marli” took third with a 25.2-pounder worth $2,430. The Top Junior Angler Award went to Blaire Goodrich with three white marlin releases. The big winner, however, was the American Cancer Society, which was awarded a check for $65,000.