48 Years and Over 71 Million in Prize Money
The White Marlin Open is a 48-year-old deep-sea fishing tournament held annually in Ocean City, Maryland. Long known as “World’s Largest Billfishing Tournament,” the Open has awarded over $86 million dollars for catches of the gamefish that migrate up the Gulf Stream each summer. The first tournament was held in 1974 and drew 57 boats, 150 anglers, and paid $20,000 in prize money. The 2021 event drew 444 boats, over 3,500 contestants, and awarded over $9.2 million dollars in prize money, including the top individual prize of $3.2 million dollars which established a new world record award for the catch of a fish!
2021 Summary
Furious Friday Finds Big Flux in Fishermen’s Fortunes
In the most dramatic finish in the 48- year history of the White Marlin Open, over
$6 million dollars changed hands in the final hour of weigh-ins at Harbour Island
Marina on Friday.
Mike Atkinson off the “Fender Bender” (both from Virginia Beach, VA), weighed
the first fish of the tournament. Until the last 30-minutes, his 82.5-pound white
marlin was winning $5,000,000! As the line of boats with fish to weigh dwindled
to the final three, there was one boat flying a white marlin flag. It was the “Sushi”
out of Ocean...
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