White Marlin Open 2018: Monster blue marlin caught on Opening Day
Richard Pollitt
Out of the 382 boats signed up for the 45th annual White Marlin Open — the world’s largest billfish tournament — 319 tried their luck on the open water in the competition’s opening day.
Casting off from Ocean City close to 3:30 a.m., the first angler made it back to the scales just five minutes after the 4 p.m. opening. The organization announced a $5.4 million payout prior to the start of the tournament — a new record for the White Marlin Open.
While the first fish of the day — a white marlin caught by the Top Dog out of Fenwick Island — didn’t qualify for the tournament’s minimum weight, spectators got their share of excitement when the second boat came in to Harbour Island Marina.
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The crew aboard the Auspicious out of Palm Beach, Florida, landed a monster, 881-pound, 128-inch blue marlin — the sixth-largest in White Marlin Open history.
Angler Joe Rahman of New Jersey said it took 50 minutes to net the massive fish, hooking it nearly 90 miles from sea. The second Rahman saw the fish come out of the water, he knew he was in for a battle.
“The bite was huge, I’ve never seen anything like it except maybe in videos,” Rahman said. “It took all six of us to pull him in. I was expecting it (to weigh) within 700 and 750 (pounds). It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
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There were no qualifying blue marlins caught in the 2017 tournament.
While white marlins were a rare commodity Monday, with five deemed ineligible, several tuna and dolphins came into the scales, including a 71-pound tuna caught by an angler from Maryland.
Aboard the Brass Monkey, Jake Pilkerton hooked the tournament’s current first-place tuna as of 8:30 p.m., jumping and hugging family members once the numbers were read off the scale.
“We were on the chunk all day, just grinding it out and working hard, and around 3:17 p.m., we got our bite, came tight and everything went well from there,” said Pilkerton, who also noted it took an hour-and-a-half to get the fish on board. “We thought it was small at first, but eventually we figured it’d be a big fish once it came in.”
David Rose of New York aboard the Dialed In delivered the tournament’s current second-place tuna at 69 pounds.
Bill Wilczynski of the Makai holds the third spot with a 61-pound tuna,
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Although there are still four days remaining in the competition, Pilkerton — who is also eligible for the small boat category, featuring boats under 40 feet — said he’s enjoying the moment, but preparing for his next trip to sea.
Anglers can fish for three days during the tournament’s five-day run.
“It’s a good way to start out,” Pilkerton said. “We’re taking it day-by-day, because there’s always a bigger fish waiting to be weighed in. You never take it for granted.”
In 2017, just one dolphin weighed in to qualify for tournament contention, but on Opening Day of 2018, three of the first four were over the minimum required 20-pound limit.
Rob Overfield of Pennsylvania brought in a 36-pound dolphin less than an hour before the scales closed aboard the Moxie Boys. He currently sits at first place.
Al Aus of Stevensville, Md., caught a 30-pound dolphin on board the Halcyon and currently sits at second place.
Miles Norris caught a 22.5-pound dolphin on the Bent Tent, rounding out the category's Top 3.
There had been no sharks or wahoos brought to the scale as of 8:30 p.m. The scales officially closed at 9:15 p.m.
Several fish, including the 881-pound blue marlin, were donated to the food bank, which partners with the White Marlin Open each year.
The tournament picks back up Tuesday with the scales reopening at 4 p.m.
LEADERBOARD
Date, boat, angler, weight estimated prize
Blue Marlin
8/6/18, Auspicious, Joe Rahman, 881, $700,000
Tuna
8/6/18, Brass Monkey, Jake Pilkerton, 71, $960,000
8/6/18, Dialed In, David Rose, 69, $85,000
8/6/18, Makai, William Wilcynski, 61, $34,000
Dolphin
8/6/18, Moxie Boys, Rob Overfield, 36, $17,000
8/6/18, Halcyon, Al Aus, 30, $2,000
8/6/18, Bent Tent, Miles Norris, 22.5, $1,000
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