790-pound blue marlin tops Day 1 of White Marlin Open
People gather at the Harbour Island Marina all day before weigh-in begins at the White Marlin Open, hoping that a boat will already be in with a prize fish.
When 4:30 p.m. came, getting late into the day, it was announced The Oil Slick, a boat from Ocean City, New Jersey, would be coming to port with a fish.
When the Oil Slick came in to port, the crowd roared with approval as tournament officials announced the marlin met the required length, and waited anxiously to hear the weight announced.
Although the white marlin did meet the required length of 67 inches, it did not meet the required weight of 70 pounds, meaning the billfish could not be entered into the tournament.
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As more and more boats came in, the crowd waited for a boat that had a winning billfish on board.
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However, despite several white marlins getting close, no white marlins were able to be added to the board as of 8 p.m. on the first day of the tournament.
Behind the scenes, deckhands worked to dock the boat, a team conducted research on the fish that are donated and tournament officials prepared for the next boat to come to port.
All the fish that are donated are given to the Maryland Food Bank in Worcester County.
As the day wore on, more and more big fish were added to the board.
The biggest tuna as of 8 p.m. on the first day of the tournament was 67 pounds and was caught by John Hoffmann aboard the Reel Direct. The tuna weighed 67 pounds.
The first fish to enter the tournament was entered around 5:45 p.m., a bigeye tuna. Caught by Jeremy Weiner on the No Service out of Cambridge, the tuna weighed 63 pounds.
"I wish it was bigger," Weiner said.
Jim Forest caught a dolphin weighing 31 pounds, enough to take the lead for the time. However, Forest's lead in the dolphin category did not last long.
Thomas Bennett of the Delta Dawn caught a dolphin weighing 34.5 pounds.
Greg Forman of Magic Moment reeled in a dolphin weighing 25 pounds, good for third in the division as of 8 p.m. on the first day.
The crowd waited with excitement, seeing a boat come in with both a white marlin flag and a marlin flag.
Mike Schultz, an angler on The Matador, reeled in both a white marlin and a dolphin.
The white marlin was not large enough to enter but the dolphin was able to be submitted, weighing 23.5 pounds.
"It felt good," Schultz said. "The crew worked well together all day and we had a good day."
Late in the day, the tournament's first blue marlin hit the scales, weighing in at a whopping 790 pounds. The fish is worth $150,000 after day one and was caught by Jim Conway on the Get Reel.
rghughes@dmg.gannett.com