White Marlin Open Off To Fast Start With Hot Fishing, Active Boat Days

White Marlin Open Off To Fast Start With Hot Fishing, Active Boat Days
The Chasin Tail was the first boat to the scale on Monday and weighed a 74-pound white currently worth $1.45 million

OCEAN CITY — Hoping to take advantage of a red-hot offshore bite after a record-number of fish of all species and sizes were brought to the scale on day one, 335 boats chugged out to the canyons early Tuesday morning for day two of what is shaping up to be a remarkable 2019 White Marlin Open.

A total of 404 boats are registered for the 2109 WMO, and, as it has been for years, nearly all go out on the first day on Monday to get in that first three of five fishing days. Such was the case on Monday when 389 of the 404 registered boats went out and, for the most part, they were rewarded with a red-hot bite in nearly all species including the signature white marlin division.

Historically, most of the registered boats take a lay-day on day two on Tuesday, then pick two of the next three depending on weather conditions, what is already on the leaderboard and other variables. That is where this year’s tournament appears to be breaking from tradition somewhat.

Each of the 404 boats registered in the tournament can fish three of the five days during WMO week, representing a total of 1,212 “boat days,” as the expression goes. After 389 boats went out on Monday and another 355 went out on Tuesday, 744 boat days has been expended in the first two days of the tournament, a somewhat unconventional break from tradition. After Tuesday, there will only be 468 boat days left, or less than a third for the remaining three days.

After Monday’s whirlwind first day, there are two qualifying white marlin on the board, each with current prize money at over $1 million. The Chasin Tail was the first boat to the scale on Monday and weighed a 74-pound white currently worth $1.45 million. The Reel Chaos is also on the board with a 70-pound white marlin worth $1.5 million heading into Tuesday.

A 201-pound big-eye tuna caught by the Crisdel and weighed late into the evening on Monday sits atop that division and is currently worth $940,000. The Theresa Jean is also on the board with a 101-pounder currently worth $88,000. The Bar South is on the tuna leaderboard with a 77.5-pounder currently worth $36,000, followed by the Eastbound with a 69-pounder worth $66,000 and the Priceless, with a 64.5-pounder worth $98,000 at the moment.

In the wahoo division, The Natural tops the leaderboard after day one with an 82-pounder worth $18,000. The Caneelin sits in second with a 54.5-pounder worth $2,000, while the Sweetums is in third with a 50.5-pounder worth $1,500.

In the dolphin division, the Game Changer sits atop the leaderboard with a 35.5-pounder currently worth $18,000, followed by the Ditch Digger II with a 30.5-pounder, the Top Notch with a 27-pounder, and the Heatwave with a 26.5-pounder. There is also a big shark on the board after Monday, a 277.5-pound mako currently worth $225,000.

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.