OCEAN CITY- With another successful summer in the books, the Ocean City Marlin Club last week handed out its seasonal awards to the winners in several categories.
During the 2019 summer season, Ocean City Marlin Club members released a combined 1,638 white marlin, along with 197 blue marlin releases, 18 swordfish releases, 12 sailfish releases and five spearfish releases. The award for the very first white marlin caught and released of the season by a club member went to angler Steve Selander on the Hot Rod back on June 2. The award for the last billfish release of the season went to angler Brent Lounge on the Roncito.
In between, club members caught and released hundreds and hundreds of billfish and boated very few, save for a few top fish in tournaments. The club’s members are very conservation oriented and the release numbers for the season reflect that. The award for the most billfish releases by a charter boat went to the Billfisher with 165. The Gret’s Three J’s was second in terms of billfish releases by a private boat with 107, while the D.A. Sea was third in that category with 98.
The No Quarter won the award for the most billfish releases by a charter boat with 126. The Buckshot was second in that category with 93 releases, while the Roll Groove was third with 89 billfish releases. The award for the most blue marlin caught by a private boat went to the Billfisher with 10, while the award for the most blue marlin caught by a charter boat went to the No Quarter with 14.
The award for the most billfish caught in a single day by a private boat went to the Billfisher with 21, while the award for the most billfish caught in a single day by a charter boat went to the Fish On with 11. Billfish releases were only part of the outstanding summer season for club members, who also enjoyed an excellent tuna season.
The award for the most tuna caught by a charter boat went to the Marli with 273, while the Wrecker was second with 182 and the Talkin Trash was third with 151. The award for the most tuna caught by a private boat went to the Killin Time with 97, while the Reel Tight was second with 75 and the Lucky Duck II was third with 66.
The Top Gentleman Angler Award went to Ed Dunn on the D.A. Sea. The Top Lady Angler Award went to Judy Duffie on the Billfisher, while the Top Junior Angler Award went to Rylan Dilodovico on the Roll Groove.
