Tuna Still Dominate While Big Billfish Elude Capture
Photo Courtesy of 50th Annual White Marlin Open
OC, MD, August 9, 2023 - There was leaderboard movement in a few categories on day 3 of the 50th Annual White Marlin Open. The Fishlik out of Chincoteague, Va weighed a 247.5-pound bigeye that jumped into first place and now holds the $1,200,000 1st place prize money. The fish was caught by Chris Mentlik of Street, MD, and knocked Robert Wagner’s 199-pound bigeye caught Monday into second place. Soon after the Fishlik weighed their fish, the Full Service out of Ocean City, MD pulled to the docks with a 203.5-pound bigeye caught by Jack Roesner from Middle River, MD. Is now worth $95,000.00. Wagner’s tuna dropped from over a million dollars to $38,000 in just a few hours.
The dolphin category saw a new leader when the Maverick out of OC, MD pulled in around 6:00 PM. Will McAteer from Kent Island, MD brought in a 31-pounder to jump into first and is holding the $34,000 that comes with the top spot.
The story is still about the lack of weighed billfish. Wednesday saw 127 white marlin and 8 blue marlin caught with all released. The total now stands at 347 whites and 24 blue marlin caught with all released.
That begs the question of what happens if no billfish are weighed. The Open pays out all of the prize money in any event. The rules state if no white marlin or blue marlin are caught, the prize money in each division would be paid to the heaviest tuna, if no tuna qualifies, it will go to the heaviest wahoo, etc. Could this be the year for a $7,000,000 tuna? Time will tell. 417 boats still have one more day to fish and the billfish are out there. Thursday will probably be a lay day for most boats, but the weather looks good for Friday. With $8,500,000 still unclaimed, it should lead to a very dramatic finish
