Last Day of 50th WMO Brings a $6.2 Million Dollar Billfish
On the last day of the 50th Annual White Marlin Open, the Floor Real out of Ocean City, MD weighed a 640.5-pound blue marlin to take $6,200,000 of the $10.5 million dollar total purse. The blue was caught by John Ols from Laytonsville, MD.
While there were unofficially 551 white marlin and 46 blue marlin caught, only 3 billfish were brought in and only two were weighed. The Skirt Chaser out of Manteo, NC just missed with a 67.5-pound white marlin, and the No Limit out of Indian River, DE brought in a blue marlin that missed our 114” minimum length by two inches, so it was not weighed.
Still Looking for Big Bill
The early risers of Friday should be treated to another great boat parade as there are 357 boats eligible to fish on the final day of the 50th Annual White Marlin Open. Each of the boats has the same primary goal: to catch a qualifying billfish. It’s not that the billfish didn’t show up...after 4 fishing days 431 white marlin, 34 blue marlin, five sailfish, and one spearfish have been caught. Every one of the billfish was released for being perceived as too small to weigh.