50th White Marlin Open Is Underway

OCEAN CITY, Md - 378 boats of the 400 registered took to the Atlantic Ocean this morning on Day One of the 50th White Marlin Open (WMO). The number of boats out fishing on Monday is over six times (57) as many that were part of the very first event in 1974. So much has changed since then. The very first winner, Vince Sorenson of Bowie, MD take home a $5,000 prize for a white marlin weighing 68.5 pounds.  That fish would not even qualify today. The new minimum weight is 70 pounds. The money Sorenson took home would help cover today's basic entry fee between $1,300 and $1,600. Compare Sorenson's prize money that of 2022 winner, Jeremy Duffie of Bethesda, MD  who captured $4.3 million.

 

The WMO has evolved into a week long party at the scales set up at the Harbour Island Marina off of 14th St. People gather on the lawn near the dock with the beverages while beach themed music plays from the White Marlin Open sound system. Organizers now call it "The World's Largest and Richest Billfish Tournament." It is enough to have drawn a number of large names to Ocean City each August. Emeril Lagasse registered his boat in 2019. Country Music singer Roy Clark and baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs have participated." Wild Bill"  Wichorowski of the TV show Deadliest Catch made an appearance at the scales in 2019. That same year, NBA great Michael Jordan participated in his first White Marlin Open. He returned for the next three years and his 80 foot boat Catch 23 is registered this year.

 

It has not been all fun and games. The 2016 Open ended with  controversy and a vacated title.  That year, Phil Heasley of Naples, FL brought a 76.5 pound White Marlin to the scales which would become the heaviest marlin caught for the week. When it was time for the prize money to be awarded the oddities in this situation began. Heasley was not on site for the awards ceremony. Open Officials withheld the money after concern about fishing before the designated 8:30 am start time each day. In 2018, the U.S. Court of Special Appeals ruled in favor of the White Marlin Open.

 

That case has not deterred the momentum of this event. In 2017, Glen Frost of Stevensville had the winning Marlin with a 95.5 pounder. In 2019, the summer of the Michael Jordan hysteria, Berlin's Tommy Hinkle's 79.5 pound marlin was the best of the week. It was second time Hinkle had the heaviest white marlin. In 2008 his 81 pound catch tied for first with North Carolina's Roger Mooney. 

 

Even COVID could not stop the WMO. It was held, but without the normal throng of onlookers at the scales. Brandon Golueke of Chester, MD won when he hooked the third largest white marlin in tournament history with a 97 pound catch.

 

This week the blue flags with the white silhouette of a white marlin aboard a nice sized boat will make their way to the scales. By the night Friday August 11 a winner could be announced.