Last yearโs White Marlin Open was a celebration of their 50th year. However the scales were pretty dry of any billfish until the end end of the week.
Waste Knot at the Scales
Today brought in the billfish! Pretty early at the scales Waste Knot treated everyone to an appearance at 4:45 with the first white marlin to the scales! The beautiful fish weighed in at 77 pounds and is currently worth $4 million!
Jetty Girl in the Small Boat Category
Weather on land was windy with gusts up to 27mph. This makes for offshore conditions even more dicey. But that didnโt stop Jetty girl out of White Marlin Marina bring in a gorgeous yellow fin tunas later on in the day. The tuna weighed in at 64 pounds, over the 50 pound limit and at the time took the money for top daily and top small boat category winning what they hoped would stay at a cool $100,000!
Blue Marlin History
And HERE is where is happened! History was made when Stone Cutter slid into the scales, excited to show the dock what they had for them. The first blue marlin came on land and made a White Marlin Open record! Stone Cutter was out trolling when the massive fish hit the bait and took them on a 2 ยฝ hour fight! The experience was a group effort for sure. The 897.5 pound blue marlin took a record for the 5th largest blue marlin ever caught in WMO history. The anglers celebrated and told Andy Motsco, โthey knew they had a big one!โ
More Blue Marlin
BUT! Not to be out celebrated Bobojo came right being them at 6:45 ready for the scales! With an incredible 789 pound blue marlin on board, Bobojo took second place for the blue marlin category.
Tuna and Mahi End the Evening
Shortly after Blue Runner came to Harbour Island showing off a 220.5 tuna- snagging 1st place! The hour fight they endured is worth $1 million! A fight worth fighting for in my opinion!
Weighing in at 31 pounds, Double Nickel brought a dolphin to the scale. Then Restless Lady 2 shows up! With several big eye tuna, they brought in the 5th largest tuna of the day. After that No Limit shows up nabbing 2nd place in the tuna category with a 183 pound tuna!
Thanks Buds, a 100 foot contender in the White Marlin Open, navigated into the scales to weigh in a 157.5 big eye tuna. Captain Brian Buckley got major props from spectators including Andy Motsco!
It was definitely a day to remember- the day the billfish began here at the 2024 White Marlin Open. With weather impacting the next few days, we will keep you updated on any news and information. Be sure to tune in live at www.oceancity.com to watch the live feed of the annual tournament.
