Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The 28th Annual Capt. Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open was held with 155 boats and 771 anglers. The purse was over $250K and the event raised $125,000 for the American Cancer Society.
• The majority of reports had the billfish moving north and in deep water to the east and southeast of the Poor Man’s Canyon with the secondary reports east of the Baltimore. Depth was fairly consistent at 1000-1400 fathoms.
• Tuna were in the Baltimore Canyon through to the Poor Man’s and down to the Rock Pile. They were found inside canyons and deep water as well. The bigeye from the Poor Girl’s for example was in the Baltimore in 400 fathoms. They were primarily yellowfin tunas in the 35 to 50 lb. range.
Well, the 49th Annual White Marlin Open is in the books and despite some of the worse billfishing conditions anyone can remember, it was another record setting event! In many years we would see billfish release numbers in the 1,500+ range, this year the count was 220 including swordfish, spearfish and sailfish. The 408 boats entered to compete for over $8.6 million in prize money knew they had their work cut out for them.
The main event White Marlin Division did not see a qualifying white until the 4th day of the event. Three did make their way to the scales on Wednesday, but failed to qualify to the tournament minimums of 70” and 70 lbs. Notably an 81” white caught by the “Fender Bender”. With a half girth of 14” we were sure they would be in the game, but this was a skinny fish and it did not make the minimum weight. It was the “C- Student” on Thursday that put the first fish on the board. Their 72” marlin also had a half girth of 14”, but this one carried weight through the tail and tipped the scales at 71.5 lbs. It was of course, on the last day that the winning fish arrived. Jeremy Duffie on the “Billfisher” caught a 71” roundscale spearfish well east of the Baltimore Canyon, about 90 miles out in 1,500 fathoms. At the scales, this fish was an inch shorter than the current leader and with a slightly smaller girth, however roundscales carry more weight throughout their bodies. At 77.5 lbs. the “Billfisher” jumped into 1st place. The “Cabana” thought they had a challenger later in the day with an 71” white they caught in the Norfolk Canyon, but despite similar length and girth, their fish did not make the tournament minimum weight.
With only 2 whites on the board and the “Billfisher” having gone ‘all-in’, another tournament record was shattered with a $4,536,926 payout. This is also a world record payout for a single fish.
The Blue Marlin Division was a little cleaner, only 1 of the 59 caught was brought to the scales. Angler Bill Britt on the “Cabana” caught the winning 511 lb. blue just north of the Norfolk Canyon in 40 fathoms. It was one of only 3 bites the crew had all week and earned them $1,208,419 in awards. That must have helped take the sting out of the white marlin weighed on Friday!
While the main focus during the event are the fish being brought to the scales, the majority of the billfish caught are released. Overall, this year’s event saw only 4 white marlin and 1 roundscale spearfish brought to the scales of the 152 caught, meaning 97% were released. 98% of the 57 blue marlin caught were released and the overall billfish release ratio was 98%. This year’s Top Release Boats were the “Billfisher” catching 2 blue marlin and 4 white marlin and the winning roundscale spearfish for a total of 708 points, and right on their tail at 700 points was the “Mama C” for their 2 sailfish, 3 white marlin and 2 blue marlin! Top release angler was Bill Haugland on the “Lights Out” with 2 each of white and blue marlin.
The Tuna Division was also challenged with only 72 making their way to the scales. While not the main focus of the tournament, the payout for the top three fish this year was just under $1.9M! Given the limited whites, this division became a real highlight as it was dominated by bigeye tunas, with 6 over 200 lbs. For a reference point, last year’s top tuna was 137 lbs. The top 2 fish were both caught on Wednesday and were only separated by 1 lb. First in was the “Big Stick”. The crew only had 1 bite that day. Angler Anderson Bowen caught the 246.5 lb. eyeball in the Washington Canyon on a 50 wide and took 1.5 hours to make sure it got to the boat. That fish looked pretty solid and held 1st Place for a few hours until the “Southern C’s” rolled in. They spent the day in the Norfolk Canyon and only had one hookup, however for them it was a triple! With three bigeyes on at the same time, some decision had to be made. One of them was on a dink rod, so it was cut off. Fortunately for angler Jason Hersh, the bigger of the pair at 247.5 lbs. cooperated and was in the boat in 30 minutes, the other at 203.5 lbs. took another 20 minutes.
Lastly, there were a couple notable catches in the daily and small boat divisions. The “Jenny Poo” caught the largwest wahoo of the tournament at 81 lbs. from the Hot Dog and the “Irene” surprised everyone with a 59.5 lb. bull mahi that hit their marlin spread east of the Washington Canyon in 1000 fathoms that is also the heaviest caught this season. The “Oppor-Tuna-Ty II” took home $28,480 for the Top Small Boat Release award and a Small Boat Daily payout. And we are sure the crew from “10-4 Joker” are celebrating after taking home $104,447 for the Small Boat Winner Take All Dolphin for a 29 lb. mahi caught at the 20 fathom line off of Fenwick Island. Last year’s big winner, the “Sushi”, was not to be left out, earning the daily tuna payout on day for of $92,448 for the 241 lb. bigeye they brought in as the last boat on the last day!
Finally, we want to recognize the anglers who donated over 1,000 lbs. of fish to the Maryland Food Bank that has already been distributed to those in need in our local community. Thanks also to Catch & Carry for donating their services to clean and package the fish over the 5 day event. Check out our full coverage in our tournament section starting on page 62.
Tuna
We did not hear a lot of reports outside of the WMO, which is understandable with over 400 boats registered! While the bigeye bite was the story for the top 3 in the tournament, over 60 yellowfin tunas were weighed. All were caught on the troll with most of the fish in the mid 50 to mid 60 lb. range. Catch locations were reported broadly across the southern canyons as well as the Massey’s Canyon and inshore lumps. Most reported low single digit catches.
Mahi & Wahoo
This fishery continues to improve with several good sized speedsters making the scales at the WMO. Plenty of gaffers at the Bass Pots, and of course the 59.5 lb. bull that the “Irene” caught in deep water outside of the Washington Canyon where they found some floating debris. Ballyhoo remains the top bait.
Until next week I will see you at the scales! §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The 29th Captain Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open returns to Bahia Marina on August 18th - 20th. This fun filled ladies only billfish release tournament benefits breast cancer research and has donated over $1.7 million to the American Cancer Society. Go check out the Pink Party, vendor village, Chinese Auction, Bras Competition and of course the anglers Best Dressed Competition. Scales are open every day from 4:00 - 7:30PM. More at PoorGirlsOpen.com and social media.
• The 31st Annual MidAtlantic Tournament starts on Monday, August 22nd and runs through the 26th. This elite and capacity limited tournament attracts some of the best boats and anglers in the world to compete for millions in prizes. Last year’s payout was just under $6M. This event has two locations for scales, the Canyon Club in Cape May, NJ and Sunset Marina in Ocean City. Hours are 4-9 PM. More at TheMidAtlantic.com and social media.
