OCEAN CITY- The 35th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament was memorable for a lot of reasons including a new tournament record 275-pound bigeye caught by the crew on the Reel Crazy.
The tournament officially got underway with the first of three fishing days last Friday and there was no shortage of action at the scale at the host Ocean City Fishing Center and at Sunset Marina. The tournament featured 109 boats competing for over $1.1 million in prize money.
Nearly all of the boats fished the first two days, last Friday and Saturday. Rough seas kept all but nine of the competitors at the docks on Sunday. When the dust settled after the whirlwind weekend tournament, it was the crew on the Reel Crazy taking first place with a new tournament record 275-pound bigeye worth $307,852. The Talkin Trash was second in the single heaviest tuna category with a 256-pound bigeye worth $316,042. The Talkin Trash also won the heaviest stringer category with 140 pounds on day one and 395 pounds on day two for a two-day total of 535 pounds.
The Fin Planner was third in the single heaviest tuna category with a 224-pound bigeye worth $53,707. Again, the Talkin Trash took first place in the heaviest stringer category with a total of 535 pounds. The Sea Hag was second in the heaviest stringer category with 241 pounds on the first day and 267 on day two for a total of 508 pounds worth $106,677. The Take Em was third in the heaviest stringer category with 473 total pounds worth $79,140.
The heaviest bluefin tuna award went to the Shorebilly with a 70-pounder worth $58,050. Jase Weaver was the top junior angler, while Danielle Robertson was second. Kallie Lucas was the top lady angler, while Shari Swope and Danielle Robertson tied for second.
Thousands of spectators will cram into the Ocean City Fishing Center over the weekend for the four-day event, a celebration of fishing, food, drinks, live entertainment and, of course, the daily weigh-ins. From modest beginnings in 1988, when just 38 boats competed for $9,000 in prize money, the tuna tournament has grown by leaps and bounds over the years with 109 boats competing for over $1.1 million this year.
