Article by Larry Jock
It was a rough week weather-wise for inshore and offshore anglers, but the White Marlin Open still provided some excitement for folks at the scales and the thousands that now view it online.
White Marlin Open
The Annual White Marlin Open was held last week at Harbour Island and it will definitely go down as one of the most interesting tournaments in its 39 year history. Who would have ever thought that with 961 white marlin hooked, only a 72 pounder would qualify to be weighed and take home over $1,400,000 in prize money? Also, no blue marlin were weighed for the first time since 2001. Nobody would have ever taken that bet.
Everyone was also pleasantly surprised to see 253 boats fish the tournament, which was an increase of 16 boats versus 2011. With the current economic situation coupled with a rough weather forecast, nobody really knew what to expect.
It was also great to see local angler Bill Woody on the “Blew Bayou” take home the grand prize. I’m sure he was as surprised as everyone that the white marlin he caught on Wednesday held on to win the tournament.
It was an unconventional week, with the fishing days being compressed into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday due to bad weather. From what I have seen, most boats prefer the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. Here’s how the fishing days played out:
Monday - 10 boats
Tuesday - 243 boats fished
Wednesday - 238 boats fished
Thursday - 244 boats fished
Friday - 24 boats fished
On Monday, the only fish that arrived at the scale was the 56 lb. yellowfin caught on the “Keep Er’ Wet”. The crew did report seeing 9 white marlin in their spread that day, but it was difficult getting them hooked in the extremely rough sea conditions, plus the fish seemed to really like their big blue marlin bait. It was just one of those days.
Tuesday saw the most action with bigeye tuna stealing the show. “Canyon Runner” weighed a 236 lb. eyeball and “A-Lure” weighed a 202.5 pounder. Several yellowfins were caught, led by the 73 pounder on the “Full Pull”. Local boat, “Partner-Ship” arrived at the scale with a 67 pounder caught in 1,000 fathoms outside the Baltimore. Quite a few qualifying dolphin were also caught on Tuesday with a pair of 27.5 pounders arriving back-to-back from the “Krazy Salts” and “Got Game”. Both ended up holding on to win 3rd place in the tournament.
We also saw a 70.5 lb. wahoo weighed by the “Canyon Runner” that held on to win 1st place in the Wahoo Division.
Only 2 blue marlin were weighed in the tournament, and one came in on Tuesday aboard the “Storm Trouble”. Unfortunately, the fish just missed making the 500 lb. minimum qualifying weight, coming in at 456.5 lbs.
In the White Marlin Division, we saw the “Reel Joy” jump out to an early lead with 13 releases. Angler Susan McCart of West Ocean City released 8 of the 13 white marlin on the first day and ended up with 12 releases for the tournament, earning Top Angler honors. Susan is the 4th woman to be named Top Angler and the first since 2002.
On Wednesday, Bill Woody’s 72 lb. white marlin was the highlight of the day, but a couple of bigeye tuna also had the crowd buzzing. “Right Hook” was one of the first boats to arrive at the scale and they had 2 bigeyes in the cockpit. The fish weighed 180.5 and 238 lbs., with the heavier fish ending up in 1st place in the Tuna Division. The “Tra Sea Ann” was right behind them, and weighed a 229 pounder that wound up in 3rd place. The bigeye bite was pretty much in the same vicinity as we have seen all this season, down in the Washington Canyon. The “Reel Direct” also weighed a bigeye on Wednesday, with theirs tipping the scale at 192.5 lbs. The “Longfin” weighed a 126.5 lb. mako shark, caught on a Moldcraft chugger, that ended up in 2nd place in the Shark Division.
A handful of white marlin came to the scales, but none met the 70 lb. qualifying weight. “Trophy Hunter” was the Daily Points Leader with 11 white marlin releases.
With bad weather forecasted for Friday, 244 boats headed out on Thursday. Surprisingly, the headline of the day was the 266.5 lb. scalloped hammerhead shark caught on the “Milling Around” that not only ended up winning the Shark Division, but also set a new Maryland State Record. A couple of bigeye tuna also had the crowd on its feet. The “Playmate” weighed a 172 pounder and the “MJ’s” put 2 on the scale, weighing 199 and 222 lbs. The second blue marlin of the tournament was weighed, but this one came up woefully short, even though it made the minimum length of 105-inches.
The “Let It Ride”, who weighed a 1,010.5 lb. blue marlin in 2009, threw a 33 lb. dolphin on the scale, good enough to finish in 1st place in the tournament.
One of the more interesting weigh-ins of the tournament came from the “Sniper”, who boated a 42.5 lb. wahoo and drove the fish up from Virginia Beach, only to reach the scales with only minutes left. The fish ended up in 3rd place in the Wahoo Division and was worth $26,756 in award money, more than enough to cover their gas bill, and any speeding tickets they may have gotten during the trip.
Friday only saw 24 boats venture offshore and nothing arrived at the scale.
Overall, some local boats and anglers had a great tournament with over $2,300,000 doled out, and if we see the economy turn around with a new president in the White House, hopefully we can see the tournament get back to over 400 boats.
Flounder
Although flounder fishing isn’t as hot as it had been for a while, we saw a few good catches coming in from both the bay and ocean structure even though the weather this week was less than ideal.
Early in the week, flounder fishing was slow, but on Wednesday the charter boat, “Get Sum” returned with 10 keepers in the box after drifting live spot and Gulp! in the East Channel.
On Thursday, Frank Zecolla and his dad, Mike, caught 5 keepers in the Fishbowl, just west of the East Channel. The “Get Sum” also returned with 5 flounder from the East Channel and from the rocks lining Martha’s Landing. Their heaviest fish weighed 6 lbs.
Friday was slow, but the anglers on “My Three Sons” boated 5 keepers in the Thorofare while fishing with live minnows.
On Sunday, Gregory Bell was casting a bucktail tipped with a minnow off the Rt. 50 Bridge and hooked a 27-inch, 6 lb. 8 oz. flattie.
Local headboats are catching some quality flounder on ocean wrecks such as the African Queen, Russell’s Reef and at structure on the Bass Grounds.
Croaker
There has been a good croaker bite in the north bay, up behind Bahia Marina and the Convention Center. Fish are on the small side, averaging around 12-inches.
Striped Bass
Reports have come in from striper snipers of a better bite around the tip of the South Jetty. Anglers tossing bucktails, or live bait such as spot or mullet have been able to hook into more linesiders than in recent weeks.
Upcoming Tournaments
This weekend is the world famous Capt. Steve Harman’s Poor Girl’s Open at Bahia Marina. The women-only tournament runs from Thursday through Sunday, with weigh-ins beginning at 4:00 PM each day.
On Monday, we see the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 roll into town with weigh-ins held each night from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. The tournament runs from Monday through Friday and is always an exciting tournament for spectators. The recent addition at Sunset Grille is a great place to view the action.
See you at the scales!
