OCEAN CITY- After getting pushed back a week due to last weekend’s less than stellar marine forecast, the Ocean City Marlin Club’s 37th Annual Small Boat Tournament is back on track for this weekend.
With several major offshore tournaments looming later this summer, some of the smaller boats in the resort’s sportfishing fleet will get their chance in the spotlight this weekend with the Ocean City Marlin Club’s 37th Annual Small Boat Tournament. The Marlin Club’s annual Small Boat Tournament provides an opportunity for smaller boats to compete in a tournament before the bigger events such as the Ocean City Tuna Tournament and the White Marlin Open arrive on the summer fishing calendar.
Participating boats must decide to fish one of two fishing days, Saturday or Sunday, with daily weigh-ins the Sunset Marina in West Ocean City from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. As its name implies, the Small Boat Tournament is open to all boats with a length of 34 feet or under. The event is divided into two divisions; the Offshore Division and the Inshore Division. Inshore, participating anglers will target flounder, sea bass, tog, bluefish and rockfish. The offshore division targets tuna, dolphin, shark and billfish, the latter of which will be recorded and released in a points division.
Last year, in the offshore portion of the tournament, the “Four Eights” won the billfish release division with 200, points, while the “Family Tree” and the “Tide Up” each finished with 100 points, the crew on the “Family Tree” took home the division’s top cash prize of $2,700 because of an earlier catch and release time and added entry levels.
In the Dolphin Division, the “Tide Up” took first with a 19.4 pounder and earned $4,612. The crew on the “Canyon Hunter” was second with an 18.6 pounder and earned $985, while the “Ridin Thirty” took third with an 18.2 pounder worth $261. The “Natiboht” was fourth in the division and earned $396. In the Tuna Division, the crew on the “Polecat” took first with a 59.4 pounder worth $4,941, while the “A Salt Weapon” was second with a 43 pounder worth $1,314.
In the inshore portion of the tournament, the “Seacraft 23” took first place in the flounder division with a five-pounder and won the Dale Brown Award and $500. The “Oasis” was second in the flounder division, while the “Seacraft 23” took third. The “Strickler Sea Hunt” earned $135, the “Jezebel” won $636, the “Slaughterhouse” won $150 and the “Reel Loco” won $54.
In the sea bass division, it was the “Lisa” taking first place with a 4.6 pounder worth $690. The “Slaughterhouse” was second and earned $171, while the “Lisa” took third and earned $114. In the tog division, the “Myra HT” took first and won $162, while the “Jezebel” was second and earned $813. In the bluefish division, the “Ready or Knot” took first and earned $405.