Sportfisher Mister Pete of Charleston, South Carolina, claimed the 53rd White Marlin Open’s top prize on Saturday. Angler Bill Sharpe of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, caught an 80-pound white marlin aboard Mister Pete, earning the boat $3,503,891.54 and the top spot in the tournament’s premier division. The tournament drew 334 boats competing for nearly $10 million in prize money from Aug. 3-8 in Ocean City, Maryland.
“Every year, the White Marlin Open seems to find a new way to surprise us, and this year was no exception,” said Madelyne Wainglass, tournament director of the White Marlin Open. “We saw incredible fish, dramatic changes on the leaderboard and some truly unforgettable moments at the scales. Most importantly, we saw our anglers, crews and spectators come together to make this another incredible week in Ocean City. We couldn't be more proud of the 53rd White Marlin Open.”
The 80-pound white marlin wasn’t the only multimillion-dollar catch of the tournament.
Bull Pen of Charleston finished third in the white marlin division with a 70-pound fish caught by James Hood. The boat’s added entry selections helped drive its total winnings to $1,818,546.84.
Reel Hunter of St. Michaels, Maryland, claimed second place with a 71.5-pound white marlin caught by Kevin Howell. The fish earned $360,721.49
MaxBet of Vero Beach, Florida, took the blue marlin division with the tournament’s only qualifying blue marlin. A 607.5-pound blue marlin measuring 116 inches was caught by Kelly Weber, earning $1,271,797.04.
The tournament's other division winners included:
Tuna: Gray Fox of Mantoloking, New Jersey, with a 179-pound bigeye tuna caught by John Wardlaw of Brielle, New Jersey, earning $1,018,653.29.
Wahoo: Gray Fox, with a 69.5-pound fish caught by Wardlaw, earning $72,380.50. The win gave Gray Fox the rare distinction of capturing both the tuna and wahoo divisions.
Dolphin: Today’s The Day of La Plata, Maryland, with a 45-pound dolphin caught by Ryan Jones of Welcome, Maryland, earning $22,602.20.
Swordfish: No qualifying swordfish was weighed during the tournament.
