39th Small Boat Tourney Underway

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OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club’s 39th Annual Small Boat Tournament gets underway on Saturday with the first of two fishing days.

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 39th 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 tuna category, the Vapor Trail took first place with a 60-pounder with $1,620. The Reel Fin Addict took second with a 50-pounder worth $567 and tied for third with a 49.6-pounder worth $189. The Canyon Blues also tied for third with a 49.6-pound tuna worth $189. In the dolphin category, the Nauti-Girl swept the division with an 11-8-pounder worth $2,565 taking the top prize and a 11.8-pounder for second place along with a 10.4-pounder for third place.

In the inshore divisions, similar scenarios played out with individual boats taking all three top spots in certain categories. The Jezebel took first place in the flounder division with a1.8-pounder and earned $980. The Jezebel also swept the sea bass category, taking all three top spots and earning a combined $480.

In the bluefish division, the Slaugherhouse swept the top three spots and earned $120 in prize money. The Joken swept the tog division, filling out the top three spots, and earned $180 in prize money.

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.