OCEAN CITY- Despite rough offshore conditions, the Ocean City Marlin Club’s 57th annual Labor Day White Marlin Tournament last weekend was once again a big success with a solid billfish bite and some big dolphin caught.
The tournament is the oldest among the tournaments held in and around the resort area each summer. The first was held in 1958 and the annual event has endured the test of time for nearly six decades and several generations of local anglers and club members.
The tournament got last Friday with the first of three fishing days. As the name implies, the focus of the tournament is on white marlin, but unlike the other high dollar tournaments in recent weeks, there won’t be any billfish weighed at the scale at host Sunset Marina. Instead, the tournament’s winner accumulated the most release points over the three days of fishing.
In addition to the billfish release division, there were also separate meatfish divisions for tuna, dolphin and wahoo, although only dolphin showed up at the scale at Sunset Marina during the three-day event.
When the dust settled, it was the crew on the “D.A. Sea” taking first place with 1,500 billfish release points worth a tournament-high $5,355. The “Billfisher” was second with 1,250 release points and earned $1,033 in prize money. The “First Light” finished third in the billfish release division with 850 points, while the “Grande Pez” was fourth with 800 points but earned $702 in prize money because of added entry levels.
In the dolphin division, the “Fin Ally” took first with a 20.8-pounder. The “In the Black” took second and third in the dolphin division with a 14.8-pounder and a 14.4-pounder and earned $1,980. The Master Angler Award went to Pat McAteer with four white marlin releases. No tuna were weighed at the scale during the tournament.