Fishing For Money

 

The White Marlin Open

   This is not a fish story. "The White Marlin Open" which has been open and ongoing for 50 years, really is the "World's Largest & Richest Billfish Tournament." The port from which the contestants venture forth is Ocean City, Maryland. When we visited back in early April, there were many signs promoting the tournament which has now been completed. I thought I would take a look and see what happened. While I am looking and you are waiting, you can read or re-read my earlier account about visiting Ocean City in "Blogging While Travelling." 

  In that post, I did not focus on the rowdier aspects of the resort since we deliberately went before Memorial Day to enjoy the unoccupied ocean beach. From then until Labour Day, the place is a festive one and I suppose the reporting during that period would be more exciting, but I can assure you that this account about the fishing tournament is likely to be more rewarding than you might think. If you would like a sample of the more raucous side, simply visit the website of SEACRETS. It is a mini-Jamaica on the bay side where there are 15+bars and a distillery. Palm trees are trucked in every spring, but if you don't want to drink under them or in one of the many bars, you can drink right in the Isle of Wright Bay. 

   Rather than focus on the summer-long, "Spring Break" atmosphere and those people who spend a great deal of money drinking, I will now report on the fisherpeople who win large sums of money fishing (and likely drink some while doing so.) Here are some of the results which were taken from the WMO site or other sources. The prize amounts will seem confusing since someone in fourth may have won more than someone in second. That has to do with things like the type of contestant and the fish. The WMO rule book is 12 pp. of small type and that does not include the IFGA rules. As well, there is an additional information sheet where you can find out if it is legal to use a "FLIPPY FLOPPY" or a "STINKY TINKY." And, if you win a large amount, you may be asked to take a polygraph test. 

Blue Marlin

John Ols of Laytonsville, Md., was this year's big money winner, reeling in a 640.5-pound blue marlin aboard the Floor Reel out of Ocean City to take home $6,200,000.

Tuna

First place: Brian Stewart of Shady Side, Md., reeled in a 265-pound tuna aboard the Reel Tight out of Ocean City to take home $1M.

Second place: Chris Mentlik of Street, Md., reeled in a 221.5-pound tuna aboard the Fishlik out of Chincoteage to take home $360,000.

Third place: John Zimmerman of Boynton Beach, Fla., reeled in a 221.5-pound tuna aboard the Game Over out of Ocean City to take home $160,000.

Fourth place: Rusty Shriver of Leonardtown, Md., reeled in a 215-pound tuna aboard the Ro Sham Bo out of Ocean City to take home $1,700,000.

Wahoo

First place: John Harris of Boyertown, Pa., reeled in a 57-pound wahoo aboard the "Shooting Star" out of Indian River to take home $2,000.

Second place: Chad Jackson of Fory Myers, Fla., reeled in a 55-pound wahoo aboard the Captain Deadley out of Ocean City to take home $28,000.

Third place: Matthew Gessler, 15, of Chadds Ford, Pa., reeled in a 46-pound wahoo aboard the Boy's Toy out of Indian River to take home $26,000.

Dolphin

First place: Andrew Spangenberger of New Freedom, Pa., reeled in a 50.5-pound dolphin aboard the Roncito out of Ocean City to take home $25,000.

Second place: Timothy Goodman of Palm Beach, Fla., reeled in a 32-pound dolphin aboard the Aquila out of Beach Haven, N.J., to take home $78,000.
Third place: Will Mcateer of Kent Island, Md., reeled in a 31-pound dolphin aboard the Maverick out of Ocean City to take home $27,000.

White Marlin

  Ironically enough, there were no White Marlin caught at this year's White Marlin Tournament. But, the total payout was around $10.5 MILLION. 

The Bonus:

   Michael Jordan often competes in this tournament and did so again this year. Just about all you need to know is found in this title: "Michael Jordan Took His $8 Million Fishing Boat, Catch 23, to the White Marlin Open Competition: The 84-Foot-Long Vessel, Wrapped in Elephant Print, Costs a Whopping $1 Million Annually to Operate," Neha Tandon Sharma, Luxurylaunches.com, Aug. 14, 2023.

   I followed him farther north to the "Midatlantic Fishing Tournament" and learned this: "In total, the tournament paid out $5.79 million to 35 boat crews. Jordan's boat Catch 23, by the way, took home $462,318 for a 75-pound white marlin, good for third in that category."

The person who chose the name for Jordan's boat also deserves some credit.

Sources:

To prove that this is not just a fish story, here are some sources. 

   The website of "The White Marlin Open" contains all the rules and regulations and you will also find some archival issues of the White Marlin Open magazine. The recent issue has this article: "How OC Became the White Marlin Capital of the World." For another history of the event see: "The White Marlin Open: A History Lesson," Jan Fogt, Marlin Magazine, March 6, 2015.

  For coverage of this year's WMO see: "White Marlin Open 2023 Final Leaderboard: A $6.2M Blue Marlin is Big Winner," Keith Demko, Delmarva Now, August 12, 2023.

   The "Midatlantic Tournament" numbers were found in: "Sports Outdoors: Pipe Dreamer Wins $1.18M in MidAtlantic With Blue Marlin Catch," Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press, August 30, 2023.

  The more sensitive readers of MM may be disappointed that I did not mention the more serious subjects related to fishing, namely overfishing and endangered species. The issue of "conservation" is raised on both the website of the WMO and in the article about the history of the event. Many of the fish caught are released, although admittedly the process is not painless.  In short, industrial fishing is more problematic than sports fishing and those engaged in the sport are often ardent protectors of the things they wish to fish or hunt. Sushi eaters should be reluctant to throw stones, and appreciate the irony.

Some Perspective: 

   Perspective is somewhat difficult to apply when you compare fishing to putting or angling to golfing, but in the most recent PGA Fortinet Championship which was held on a golf course, Sahith Theegala won and received $1.512 million. If you weren't reading carefully the bit above, you may not have noticed that the winner of the WMO received $6,200,000 and another guy got $1,700,00 for catching a tuna.