OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club’s 39th Annual Canyon Kickoff was once again a huge success with dozens of boats and hundreds of anglers filling out the leaderboard in several categories and collecting thousands in prize money.
The Canyon Kick-Off, held each year on or near the Fourth of July weekend, is the first major event of the season each year for the Ocean City Marlin Club and serves as a prelude to the more high-profile tournaments including the Ocean City Tuna Tournament next weekend, the Big Fish Classic later this month and, of course the White Marlin Open next month. With plenty of billfish releases and tuna and dolphin weighed at the scales all weekend, the Canyon Kick-Off lived up to its name was the first significant offshore fishing event of the season.
In the billfish release division, it was the crew on the Big Stick/#trappequeens taking first with 400 release points worth $5,886. The Fish On was second with 150 release points and earned $1,224, while the Brenda Lou was third with 100 release points.
In the tuna division, first place went to the Loose Knot with a 51-pounder worth $6,615. The Gret’s Three J’s took second with a 45-pounder worth $999, and third with a 43-pounder worth $666. The Kilo Charlie took first place in the dolphin division with 14-pounder worth a tournament-high $8,280.
