Catch 23 Jumps to 2nd Place with 71 Pound White Marlin
After two days of rough seas, 79 boats were able to make it offshore today for day six of the extended White Marlin Open. Shortly after the scales opened, angler Trey “Cricket” McMillan from Charleston, SC aboard the Catch 23 brought his white marlin to the dock. With a weight of 71 pounds, this fish currently sits in second place and is worth an estimated $379,000. In addition to their 2nd place white marlin, Catch 23 is also in first place for release points as well as winning the Daily Dolphin category with their 22.5 pounder. Billfisher remains in first place for their 72 pound white marlin caught by angler Dan Gough from Ocean City, MD. If it holds in first place, it’s worth an estimated $3.9 million dollars.
Big White and Big Blue Marlin Still Hold The Big Money
Because of the weather, there was another slow day at the scales on day 5 of the White Marlin Open, which was extended to a seven-day tournament due to offshore forecasts that called for a rough offshore week. NOAA wasn’t wrong with their predictions, as two of the five original days of the offshore forecast were not fishable for most of the 282 registered boats.
One of the reasons for the growth of WMO was that it did away with the standard “Weather Boat
Committee” in the early 1980s to better accommodate boats of all sizes. They made the decision to let each boat choose its own 3 days to fish based on the boat’s abilities and angler’s schedules. This year’s 52nd annual event extended the fishing days from 5 to 7 to better protect the boats and anglers from the powerful ocean.