OCEAN CITY- The 2017 White Marlin Open (WMO) ended with a flourish last Friday after a sluggish start with a 95.5-pounder, the third largest in tournament history, taking first place and over $1.6 million.
The 44th WMO last week got off to a rocky start with strong storms and rough seas keeping most of the registered 353 boats at port on the first two days. The tournament really hit its stride mid-week after the weather cleared and the seas calmed with an 86-pound white marlin caught by angler Mike Donohue on the Griffin out of Palm Beach, Florida highlighting action on Wednesday.
Donohue and the Griffin crew would have to wait out two more days to claim the top prize, however, with most of the registered boats still with two fishing days remaining. Thursday passed fairly quietly with little change on the leaderboard, but everything changed in a hurry when the scale at host Harbour Island opened for business on Friday afternoon.
When the scale opened at 4 p.m. last Friday, the local boat M.R. Ducks was waiting with a white marlin to weigh. The 79.5-pounder caught by local Joe Andrews, a high school football coach at Stephen Decatur, did not challenge the Griffin’s 86-pounder caught on Wednesday, but it did cozy briefly into second place. However, a short time later another Ocean City boat, the Wire Nut, pulled into the scale at Harbour Island with a big white marlin to weigh.
The huge crowd craned to get a peek at the big white as it was pulled from the Wire Nut and hoisted up the scale. When the digital scale stopped fluttering, the final tally was 95.5 pounds, becoming the new tournament leader and eventual winner. To put it in perspective, the 95.5-pounder caught by angler Glen Frost of Stevensville, was the third largest in tournament history, topped only by the tournament record holder, a 99-pounder in 1980 and a 97.5-pounder caught in 2010.
By comparison, the 86-pounder caught by the Griffin on Wednesday was the eighth largest and would have won in most years, but the Wire Nut’s 95.5-pounder stole the show on the final day, as is often the case in the WMO. When the dust settled after the whirlwind three days, it was Frost and the Wire Nut taking the top prize and a $1.6 million payout. Donohue and the Griffin finished in second and earned $1.5 million, while Andrews and the M.R. Ducks crew settled into third and earned $164,673.
There were no qualifying blue marlin weighed during the 2017 WMO, but the tuna division certainly produced its share of drama. Even on the relatively slow first two days of the tournament, some big tuna were brought to the scale early and the leaderboard quickly filled up. When all was said and done, it was angler Joseph Sadler on the Intents out of Jupiter, Florida taking first place with a 68.5-pounder worth $866,553, a new WMO record payout in the tuna division.
Angler James Boynton on the Blue Runner took second in the tuna division with a 67-pounder worth $90,380. Angler Kris Rainear on the Warden Pass also weighed a 67-pound tuna and earned $52,950. Angler Jared Brown on the Slabjack weighed a 65.5-pound tuna and took third, earning $36,180 in prize money.
Angler Jim Murray on the Caitlin and angler Jim Stavola on the Milling Around each weighed 64-pound tunas and share fourth place, each earning $36,180. In the new small boat division, angler Mike Cutler on the Lisa weighed a 59-pound tuna on the tournament’s last day and earned $112,050 in prize money. Also in the small boat division, angler Jimmy Michael on the Dawg Haus weighed a 58-pound tuna on Friday and earned $51,300.
Oddly, the one and only dolphin weighed during the tournament was caught by angler Andrew Cohen on the Silly Money, a 23-pounder worth $74,841. In the wahoo division, it was angler Gary Capuano on the Hog Wild taking first place with a 55-pounder caught on the first day that was ultimately worth $27,841. Angler Seth Obetz on the G-Force took second in the division with a 53.5-pounder worth $26,841. Jonathan Bennett on the Karen Marie took third in the wahoo division with a 50.5-pounder worth $24,841. The one and only shark weighed during the tournament was a 126-pounder caught by angler Frank Snover on the Restless Lady worth $7,091.
The top boat in the tournament in terms of billfish release points was the Bar South with 735 points, followed by the Fender Bender with 700 release points and the Weldor’s Ark with 665 release points. The top tournament anglers who received the coveted Master Angler rings were Jack Owens on the Rebel, John Roberts on the Weldor’s Ark and Kevin Pento on the Singularis.
