Red Lion man enters White Marlin Open chasing $4M in prizes
A Red Lion man is hoping to change his life this week off the coast of Ocean City, Md.
He's one of an expected 2,500 participants in the annual White Marlin Open, called the largest and richest billfishing tournament in the world.
Patrick Dieter, a retired firefighter, is hoping to win one of the tournament categories and take home a big chunk of the estimated $4 million overall purse.
Dieter, who runs Pull and Pray Charter Fishing out of Ocean City, will be manning one of about 325 boats this week looking for the signature white and blue marlin, but also for other sport fish such as tuna, wahoo, dolphin and shark.
A boat captain like Dieter and his crew may pay $15,000 or more to enter numerous tournament categories.
Winning just one of them, with the rush of publicity, could change his charter business, and his life, forever.
"It's high-energy and edge-of-your-seat when you could have a million-dollar fish on the end of the your line," he said. "You would be the new king of the hill."
Tournament headquarters will draw thousands of spectators at the Harbour Island Marina, 14th Street and Bayside. Official weigh-instake place from 4 to 9:15 p.m. each day from Monday through Friday.
More coverage of the White Marlin Open
York Daily Record journalists Frank Bodani and Jason Plotkin will join Dieter on his boat later this week. Look for full coverage of the journey and the experience next week at ydr.com.
Plus, check out full White Marlin Open coverage from our USA Today Network partner DelmarvaNow.com: