408 Boats to Compete for the $8.6 Million On the Line
With 408 boats competing in the 49th Annual White Marlin Open, the field of boats is replete with many past winners along with some newcomers hoping to snag a piece of the $8.6 million up for grabs in the 2022 event.
The five-day tournament officially starts Monday, Aug 8th at 8:00 AM. Each boat is permitted to fish any 3 of the 5 fishing days from Monday thru Friday from 8:00 AM until 3:30 PM each day. Most boats will head to the Gulf Stream some 60 miles offshore in pursuit of the gamefish that summer off Maryland’s coast. The target species are white and blue marlin, swordfish, tuna, wahoo, and dolphin. Because of conservation measures, we eliminated the shark division this year. The weigh-ins are open to the public each afternoon at Harbour Island Marina starting at 4:00 PM and lasting until the 9:15 cut-off. The weigh-ins will also be live-streamed daily on our website: whitemarlinopen.com
In addition to Harbour Island, Marlin Fest will be streaming the weigh-ins live on a Jumbo screen on the beach at the inlet. There you will find libations and vendors selling all the WMO souvenirs and T-Shirts found at Harbour Island. It’s a great place to take the family to watch the boats return through the inlet flying the flags that tell of their day’s catch.
Stage Set for the 49th White Marlin Open
As with the past 48 WMO tournaments, as soon as one tournament ends, work begins on making the next year’s event even better. The 2021 WMO had 444 boats competing for a world record $9.2 million dollar payout; so, our work is cut out for us. The format is basically unchanged from past years’ events. It was designed to allow boats the freedom to enter the added entry levels of their choice based on their wallet, target species, boat size, and perceived abilities. Last year, that format provided a payout that included individual awards of $3.2 million, $1.9 million, $1.3 million, and $1.1 million dollars. While that’s a tough act to follow, if past trends hold, we project that the 2022 purse will exceed $10 million dollars! By listening to the suggestions of our anglers we have made a few changes that, we hope, will make the 49th WMO the best tournament yet.
New for 2022