OCEAN CITY- Before the big boys hit the seas for the 44th White Marlin Open next week, lady anglers throughout the resort area will have their moment in the sun this weekend with the arrival of the Ocean City Marlin Club’s 9th Annual Heels and Reels Tournament.
The ladies-only event got underway yesterday with registration and a captain’s meeting, but the real action gets started today with the first of two official fishing days. Captains and teams of lady anglers must choose to fish one of two days, either Friday or Saturday. The Heels and Reels Tournament is the club’s only ladies-only event in its summer-long tournament series and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Ocean City Marlin Club Auxiliary Scholarship Fund.
Essentially, it’s a boat tournament, meaning awards will be distributed to the top boat teams and not individual anglers. According to tournament rules, anyone may hook the fish, but it must be immediately handed off to a lady angler on board. The Heels and Reels Tournament is largely a billfish release tournament with points awarded for releases of white and blue marlin, swordfish and sailfish. There are also heaviest fish divisions for tuna including yellowfin, longfin and big-eye along with dolphin. Weigh-ins will be held each day at Sunset Marina in West Ocean City from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The tournament will conclude with an awards banquet at the Marlin Club in West Ocean City on Saturday night.
Last year in the Billfish Release division, it was the crew on the “Tra Sea Ann” taking first place with a whopping 1,500 release points, which earned $15,210 in prize money. The “Brenda Lou” and the “Max Bet” finished tied for second with 900 release points each, earning $1,512 and $2,952 respectively. The “Tighten Up” finished fourth with 800 points and earned $1,296.
However, it was the crew on the “That’s Right” that took the top prize in the tournament. The “That’s Right” finished first in the dolphin division with a 36.4-pounder worth $18,045. The crew on the “Last Call” took second in the dolphin division with a 33.8-pounder worth $4,347. The “Lucky Duck II” took third with a 24.8-pound dolphin worth $1,224. The “C-Boys” finished fourth with a 22.6-pounder worth $1,674.
Oddly, there were no tuna weighed during the entire tournament. The Junior Angler Award went to Emma Campbell with 200 release points. In total, over $46,000 was doled out in prize money.
