Blue Marlin

The White Marlin Open has been the hot lick in Ocean City during the first week of August for 25 years, and this season the tournament has an added incentive for billfish anglers who release their catch -- an invitation to the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii next March."

OCEAN CITY -- The 500-fathom line at Poorman's Canyon turned out to be a rich fishing ground yesterday in the White Marlin Open, a New Jersey boat caught and released 16 white marlin and a Maryland angler boated an 840-pound blue marlin worth about $230,000.The 79.5-pound white marlin caught by Roger Viens, of Crownsville, on Tuesday was the big-money winner in the tournament, worth more than $530,000 for angler, captain and mate.But for the crowd gathered yesterday evening at Harbor Island Marina, the big blue caught by Webb St. Clair, of Ocean City, was the star of the show.

OCEAN CITY -- The third day of the White Marlin Open brought the first blue marlin to the tournament scales at Harbor Island Marina and with it a big swing in potential winnings.Buddy Dougherty's catch of a 354-pound blue marlin means the marlin purse will be split into blue and white marlin categories. Dougherty's catch will be worth $310,000 if if holds up through the end of competition tomorrow.Before the Alexandria, Va., angler made his catch aboard the Outer Limits, Roger Viens of Crownsville stood to win more than $745,000.

Marlin fishing is a pastime enjoyed by a relative few recreational anglers, perhaps because the cost of a trip offshore is high and in many years the chances of hooking up with an 80-pound white or a blue close to 1,000 pounds are usually slim.This year, however, the waters over the canyons offshore of Ocean City have been hot for marlin, hot enough that the chances of landing a marlin are pretty good."There is little doubt we are seeing the best concentration of billfish in close to 20 years," said DNR Fisheries Service biologist Martin L. Gary.

Twenty-five years ago, the White Marlin Open had a field of 56 boats and a total purse of $20,000. Friday, Roger Viens of Crownsville and the crew of Red Eye won more than $530,000 for catching a 79.5-pound white marlin, and the open paid out more than $1 million in total prize money."

OCEAN CITY -- The money game continued at the White Marlin Open yesterday with good catches in the white and blue marlin competitions -- including a 599-pound blue marlin that moved its angler into second place.Diane Burley, of Ocean City, caught the blue marlin aboard the Frances K and bumped Dave Campion, of New Brunswick, N.J., to third place with his 497-pounder caught Wednesday.Tournament director Chuck Motsko said Burley's catch will be worth about $30,000 if it holds up through the end of competition today.

If you are in Ocean City this week and looking for a break from the boardwalk, trundle over to Harbour Island Marina at 14th Street and the bay and catch the weigh-ins for the White Marlin Open.Chances are that any evening between Monday and Friday could provide a surprise at the scales -- white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, dolphin, wahoo or shark.Last year, the Outer Limits from Pirates Cove, N.C., collected a record cash award of $416,890 for a 73.5-pound white marlin, and Robert Ham, the chief of police from Strasburg, Pa., weighed in a 446-pound blue marlin worth $167,000.

OCEAN CITY -- Ten minutes into this year's White Marlin Open, another $400,000 seemed as close as the end of the fishing line for John Brown and his fishing buddies."

OCEAN CITY -- At the end of the first day of fishing in the five-day White Marlin Open, Dan Orenberg of Clark, N.C., had caught a 268 1/2 -pound blue marlin worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars in prize money. By the end of Day 2 yesterday, Orenberg's catch had been drastically devalued."Today was unreal," tournament organizer Chuck Motsko said last night. "Just absolutely unreal."First, Doug Salter of Chester came to the scales at Harbour Island Marina with a 287-pound blue marlin.

OCEAN CITY -- The White Marlin Open will pay a world-record $414,000 cash prize for a white marlin caught Monday by a Virginia angler on the opening day of the five-day tournament.But the angler who won the most awards is Carlos Bentos, an Annapolis restaurateur who usually fishes alone.During the competition which ended yesterday, Bentos caught and released five white marlin, which earned him angler of the year, mate of the year, captain of the year and boat of the year."When you look at the cash the winning white marlin won, the prizes Carlos is going to get might not seem like much," said tournament director Chuck Motsko.

OCEAN CITY - There are many things to admire about the recently concluded White Marlin Open, a fixture here for 36 years. The first is that it's a homegrown product - not some contrived corporate vehicle - conceived by a man who likes to fish and carried out by friends and relatives. It runs so well that founder Jim Motsko can actually motor beyond the horizon to the fish-rich underwater canyons 30 miles offshore to participate. That's like Bud Selig shagging flies before a World Series game.

Fishing Charlotte man breaks state blue marlin record Robert Farris of Charlotte, N.C., broke a 20-year-old state record Wednesday at the White Marlin Open in Ocean City by bringing in a blue marlin that weighed 1,062 pounds. The previous mark was 942 pounds. It took Farris, aboard the No Problem out of Fenwick Island, Del., more than three hours to reel the fish in. The blue marlin is worth about $555,000, with two days to go in the event, dubbed the largest billfish tournament in the world.

36th Annual White Marlin Open at Ocean City Where: : Harbour Island Marina in Ocean City When: : Aug. 3-7. Weigh-ins are nightly, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. What: : The White Marlin Open is the world's largest billfish tournament and will feature fishing contests for white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, dolphin, wahoo and shark. Anglers compete to catch the "million dollar marlin," while food, drinks, jewelry and official gear will be available for spectators. How much: : Free for spectators; $1,050 per boat for participants.

As recently as two years ago, tropical storm warnings deterred anglers from participating in Ocean City's White Marlin Open, with fewer than 50 boats in the ocean on one day that year. Now it's gas that could limit the field of fishermen in the $3 million competition that begins this morning. Last year, the Open attracted an event-record 449 boats, but tournament director Jim Motsko envisions a drop because of rising fuel expenses. "I'll be satisfied with 400 boats," said Motsko, who founded the Open in 1974.

Imagine a White Marlin Open without marlin, a Choptank River without yellow perch, a Chesapeake Bay without menhaden. "It's easy if you try," as John Lennon said. During the next several months, state and federal officials will make management decisions on all four species. Guaranteed, someone will be unhappy. More disturbingly, the fish might not be any better off. In a misguided effort to save white and blue marlin, the Feds appear poised to require catch-and-release for all recreational billfishing beginning next year and continuing until 2011.

OCEAN CITY - Some people come here for the sun and sand. Some come because it's a family tradition. But this week, several hundred people are here because they hope to hook a million bucks. At the White Marlin Open, six-figure checks are the norm, and last year's winner, Doug Remsberg, walked off with $1.3 million for a 78.5-pound white. That's $16,611 a pound. "Not your average supermarket fish, is it?" says Jim Motsko, founder and director of the 31-year-old event, believed to be the largest and most lucrative billfish tournament in the world.

A Frederick County fisherman turned a 78.5-pound fish into a $1.3 million cash cow at the 30th annual White Marlin Open in Ocean City. The payout - the largest in billfish tournament history - went to Doug Remsberg of Walkersville, who caught the white marlin aboard Fish Bonz. The prize topped the previous world record by $430,000. Remsberg landed the marlin Friday 53 miles offshore in a fish-rich area known as Poor Man's Canyon. His catch on the final day of the five-day tournament pushed Vince Dougherty of King George, Va., to second place with a 71-pound white, good for a $171,833 check.

A friend to fish, a friend of fishermen. That may be the best way to describe Jim Motsko, the founder of the White Marlin Open. Motsko is proud that the largest billfish tournament in the world releases 98 percent of all fish caught during the five-day event. And he's equally proud of saying that the rules governing the White Marlin Open treat everyone the same, from the little guys with small boats to the rich guys with the mega-yachts. The Ocean City businessman must be doing something right.

When you're talking about fishing tournaments with big prize money, you're talking about the ones with the big bills. Marlin bills, that is. The White Marlin Open, Ocean City's premier competition, is in its 28th year, bringing in the big crowds, big boats and big payoffs. This edition roars to life Aug. 6 for five days of scale-bending, flashbulb-popping fun. When last we saw Jim Motsko, the founder and president of the WMO, he was handing out $1.45 million in prize money, including one prize of $592,440.

OCEAN CITY - The morning of the final day of the White Marlin Open looked like one of the great land rushes of the 1800s as 323 boats of all sizes blasted out of the Inlet toward the off-shore canyons. The numbers to beat in the white and blue marlin categories were like a mantra at Harbour Island Marina, the Open headquarters, and other docks around town: 71 pounds and 781.5 pounds, respectively. Seasoned Open watchers who speculated that those numbers might hold were right. But the first-place winner in the white marlin division was not the tournament's top money maker.