The first qualifying white marlin hit the scales on Wednesday afternoon at the White Marlin Open and upended the leaderboards at the lucrative tournament in Ocean City, Maryland.
Billfisher, a boat based in Ocean City, brought in a white marlin that weighed 72 pounds, and if it stays atop the white marlin leaderboard, the crew is in line to earn more than $4.2 million, according to the tournament’s website.
The money leaders and estimated prize money will fluctuate throughout the week as more qualifying fish are brought in, especially if those catches are white marlin.
Billfisher’s white marlin was 70½ inches long — exceeding the minimum qualifying length by half an inch — and weighed 2 pounds more than the minimum required weight of 70 pounds. Ocean City angler Dan Gough reeled in the fish.
“First time my name’s on the board,” Gough said, referring to the sign signifying the angler and his catch, during a live video interview on the White Marlin Open’s website. “I’ve been on the boat a lot. This is my 36th White Marlin Open, and we planned my daughter’s birth around this tournament 32 years ago.”
The Billfisher has to wait until the tournament finishes Sunday to see if any other white marlin surpass it to claim the tournament’s top prize money. Scales were open four more hours after it landed, until 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, and the tournament’s 282 registered boats can fish three days.
Billfisher finished second in the event’s white marlin category last year and earned more than $1.79 million for a 76-pounder. That was just 1½ pounds less than the winning white marlin that earned Waste Knot, of North Carolina, more than $3.69 million.
The Billfisher’s latest prize catch scuttled the early leaderboards because the white marlin is the tournament’s most lucrative division.
A 929.5-pound blue marlin caught Monday on the Barbara B by angler Drew Osmeyer, of Timonium, Maryland, was the early big-money leader. That fish now has dropped out of contention for the top money winner and is in line to earn about $1.255 million, according to the tournament’s website.
A Virginia Beach boat reeled in a 95-pound tuna on Tuesday and held that category’s lead Wednesday afternoon. But the Mama C’s catch lost value — from about $1.8 million to $814,000 — as more qualifying fish hit the scales. Tommy Farella, an angler from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, reeled in the Mama C’s catch.
The 52-year-old tournament usually lasts five days, but officials extended it by two days this year because of inclement offshore weather expected early in the week.
Jami Frankenberry, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com.
