News

While the weighed fish bring the most excitement to the viewing crowds during the Open, the 17 boats that fished today (in 5-8 foot seas) didn’t change the leaderboard of cash winners. 
That allows the focus to turn to the most prestigious honors.  The category that is unseen by the thousands of fans following the tournament goes to the boats and anglers catching and releasing the most billfish during the event.  These are fish, (rarely seen at the scales), that represent a team effort between the boat, captain, mate, and angler to rank high in the standings.  While luck plays a larger part in landing the heaviest fish, the effort needed to place high in the billfish points categories requires more team skill than netting the biggest fish.  
 

At 4:10 PM on the fourth day of the 2024 White Marlin Open, the Billfisher,  out of Ocean City, MD pulled up to the Harbour Island scales with a 76-pound white marlin.  That fish moved into 2nd place in the white marlin category and is now worth $1,787,645 for angler Noah McVicker also from Ocean City.  This local boat is a fish and money magnet.  They happened to win a then-world record $4,106,160 for a 77.5-pound white marlin landed in the 2022 event.   While the Billfisher’s catch cut into the Waste Knot’s Tuesday winnings, the Raleigh, NC boat still holds $3.7 million for the 77.5-pound white caught by angler Ven Poole from the same NC hometown.