22nd Mako Mania Returns Next Week

OCEAN CITY- The 21st Annual Mako Mania shark tournament returns next weekend with dozens of boats and teams of anglers participating in the first of three official fishing days.

Curiosity seekers will cram into Bahia Marina this weekend for a chance to see a potential winning shark hoisted at the scale in what has become a festival of sorts celebrating the arrival of another summer offshore fishing season. Makos are the featured species in the tournament although there are also divisions for threshers and bluefish. Like most tournaments in the area, conservation of the various species is paramount and to that end, an award and a check for $1,000 is given out for the most shark releases called the W. W. Harman Award.

The tournament gets underway next Thursday with registration and a captain’s meeting and the action gets underway offshore next Friday, the first of three fishing days. Weigh-ins are held each of the next three days beginning around 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at host Bahia Marina.

Last year, 77 boats and 337 anglers participated in the annual tournament and the total estimated prize money in the 2017 edition of Mako Mania was $134,480. In the signature mako division, it was angler Shane Moore on the Moore Bills taking first place with a 228-pounder worth $64,580. Second place went to angler Mike Adams on the Mako Me Crazy with a 196.3-pounder worth $9,558. Third place went to angler Cheri Coley on the Jenny Poo with a 191.2-pounder worth $13,952, while angler Denny Lorah on the Sea Ya took fourth with a 183-pounder worth $5,040.

In the thresher division, it was angler Mike Fritsch on the Teaser taking first place with a whopping 583-pounder worth $15,765. Angler Kevin Rohe on the Get Reel took second with a 501-pounder worth $8,559, while Vaughn Charlton on the Game On took third with a 434-pounder worth $5,706. In the bluefish division, it was angler Rick Windsor on the Teaser sweeping the top two spots with an 11-pounder worth $7,233 and a seven-pounder worth $3,087.

Like most tournaments in the area, conservation of the various species is paramount and to that end, an award and a check for $1,000 is given out for the most shark releases called the W. W. Harman Award. Last weekend, the team on the Rhonda’s Osprey won the W.W. Harman Award with five mako releases.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.