While the marlin are still AWOL, the bigeye tuna are providing the electricity and the biggest cheers at the weigh-ins. After the third fishing day, we still have had no qualifying white or blue marlin weighed at Harbour Island. However, that did not stop the bigeye tuna from seeing lottery-sized fortunes change hands Wednesday evening. The Open format is structured to pay out all the prize money even if a category is not won. If there are no qualifying white or blue marlin that prize money defaults to the heaviest tuna in that category.
At 6:30 PM Wednesday the “Big Stick” out of Cape May, NJ weighed a 246.5-pound bigeye. Since the “Big Stick” was in all of the added entry levels and there are no qualifying white or blue marlin, that fish was technically winning all of the marlin money in addition to big tuna money which meant they were holding over $5,000,000 in potential prize money. However, their celebration didn’t last long. The 7:00 PM bridge opened and with it, the “Southern C’s” (also from Ocean City) cruised to the scale with a bigeye tuna that tipped the scales at 247.5-pounds. With that extra pound, the “Southern C’s” vaulted into first place and took all of “Big Stick’s” short-lived winnings. So, if the tournament ended tonight, the “Southern C’s” would walk away with approximately $6 million dollars of marlin, big fish, and tuna winnings. But there are still 2 more fishing days and many chances for boats to bring in qualifying marlin or even bigger tuna.
There was one white weighed Wednesday from the boat “Fender Bender.” The “Fender Bender” out of Virginia Beach, VA hit big last year and won $2 million dollars for their second place 82.5-pound white marlin. This year, their white met the 70” minimum length but was a few pounds short of our 70-pound minimum in weight.
In addition to tuna winners, there is plenty of money in the other divisions. Currently, the ”Jenny Poo” out of Palm Beach FL is winning $125,000 for their 71-pound wahoo, and the ”10-4 Joker” out of Chincoteague, VA is claiming $91,000 for their 29-pound dolphin.
The final 2 days could be wild. The weather looks good for Thursday and Friday and many boats have one or two more fishing days left. Watch the weight-in live at Harbour Island, streamed on our website: whitemarlinopen.com or join us at Marlin Fest for live streaming on the Jumbo Screen at the beach and inlet.
