Searching for big marlins, bigger money in Ocean City

OFF THE COAST OF OCEAN CITY, MD. — The call went out like an alarm here in deep waters, 80 miles from land.

White marlin!

A glistening torpedo was spotted off the right side of the boat, a marlin big enough to possibly earn this crew more than a million dollars, if they could just get it hooked and on board.

At the least, it was the kind of fish to savor for a few moments with photos before releasing it. But it also could have been long enough and heavy enough to haul to the weighing station in town, where thousands of the curious gathered to see who might storm into the lead and the crazy money on the final day of the White Marlin Open.

Red Lion man enters White Marlin Open chasing $4M in prizes

"We would have hooked him," Lancaster County's John Kunzler said hours later, a smile of confidence and defiance forming. Then he looked down for a moment. "There's no doubt we would have hooked him."

However, as soon as that white marlin surfaced, something most unusual and untimely occurred.

A larger but less desirable blue marlin ripped into one of the seven rod-and-reel lines off the back of the boat, then leaped high out of the water to notify of the fight at hand. Nonetheless, it spit out the hook only a few minutes later — the commotion causing the potential winning white marlin to also flee to the safety of waters three-quarters of a mile deep, never to be seen again.

Still, for nearly six more hours on Friday, Kunzler and his crew tirelessly worked their lines, baits and hooks in hopes of finding another.

They battled 6-foot waves that made their boat feel like a stomach-churning, never-ending pirate ship amusement park ride.

The wind and the roar of the water made it difficult to talk, no less stand up and move around without clutching onto rails, chairs, steps, even coolers. A cloudless sky belied a wicked southern wind that turned the ocean angry, as if it was determined to flip even this 53-foot boat and beat up everyone on it.

This 16-hour trip, rather, would be left to experiencing nature in a way most never do, and to the camaraderie of a crew coming together each year to do what they love.

As they fished, a pod of pilot whales cruised close and lifted their eyes above water just long enough to check out the boat. Flying fish buzzed the top of the waves like misplaced birds looking for a meal. A porpoise shot out of the water, as if to announce his appearance.

A hammerhead shark swam past and disappeared just as quickly.

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Of course, the allure, too, is how hooking up with the right fish could change their lives forever. The White Marlin Open is the largest and richest billfishing tournament in the world.

And that pull was even stronger this time. Only one quite beatable 76.5-pound white marlin was large enough to weigh and register the entire week. It paid out a staggering $2.8 million.

Of course, most on the more than 300 boats who participate in this tournament every summer understand the good fortunate required to be in such a position.

Kunzler, 54, has fished the White Marlin Open for 23 years and has won big prize money only twice — and not since 1997. Just to finish this week-long tournament this time meant braving the kind of unsettled ocean he would never fish on a lazy pleasure trip. The pull of the waves tangled and even broke his lines and lures from beginning to end and turned a usually relaxing three-hour ride home into four-and-a-half hours of slamming through unforgiving waves.

"If you go into this to win, and expect to win, you better not fish. If you're putting your last dollars into this, don't do it," Kunzler said. "It's got to be for the love of the sport."

And for the love of the sea.

For more on this unique tournament and the people who live and breathe it, follow ydr.com this coming week.