OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club’s 12th Annual Kid’s Classic last weekend was again a huge success with nearly 400 anglers competing including dozens from the Wish-A-Fish Foundation.
Throughout the summer, the big boys and girls get to show off their fishing skills with one tournament or another almost every weekend, but last weekend belonged to the smallest and youngest anglers in the community. The annual Kid’s Classic tournament hosted by the Ocean City Marlin Club is open to all young anglers age 19 or younger and takes place in the waters in and around the resort area both inshore and offshore.
The annual tournament is held for the benefit of the Wish-A-Fish Foundation, a national program that provides opportunities for kids with special needs, whether they are suffering from a life-threatening illness or suffer from long-term disability, to enjoy a day on the water catching fish. The event got underway last Friday with registration and a captain’s meeting before the action inshore and offshore got started last Saturday and Sunday. Participating boats and anglers chose to fish one of the two days and Sunset Marina hosted the weigh-ins each fishing with most of the tournament activity centered at the host Ocean City Marlin Club.
For the record, in the Billfish Release division, the “Billfisher” came in first with 600 points, while “The Chaser” and the “Max Bet” tied for second place with 500 points each. In the Dolphin Division, the crew on the “Griffin” took first- and second-place with a 22-pounder and a 17.8-pounder respectively.
In the Tuna Division, it was the crew on the “G-Force” taking first place with a 121.8-pound bigeye. The “Sassy Girl” took second with an 82.6-pound Bluefin, while the “Slaughterhouse” was third with a 74.8-pound Bluefin. In the Shark Division, the “Gret’s Three J’s” took first with a dusky release, while the “Maverick” took second with a black-tip release. In the Bluefish Division, the “Little Critter” took first and third with a 4.4-pounder and a 2.6-pounder.