Over the past 48 years, no two White Marlin Open tournaments have been the same. Weather, winds, moon phases, the population and location of the fish all change from year to year. From a Monday’s catch holding all week, to the dramatic last hour winners on Friday, each year’s event has had its own personality and the 2021 WMO is no exception. The forces at work going into the final fishing day of the 48th annual event sets a stage to rival any Shakespearian play at the Globe Theater 500 years ago. Whether it will end as a tragedy or comedy, however, is subjective.
Of the 444 boats that entered this year’s tournament, there are 400 boats left to fish Friday, the final day. The bar is set, and all know what they must beat to claim big prize money. While the current winners in all gamefish categories are collectively claiming various shares of the $9.2 million dollar purse, three fish hold particular interest: a 137-pound tuna winning $1,120,000, a 559.5-pound blue marlin worth $800,000, and an 82.5-pound white marlin currently holding a world record for catching a fish of $4,900,000! All were caught on Monday to have the boat teams sweat out the week with visions of possible riches, or just a good fish story.
Maybe if the Bard was writing this story, he would have Spencer Tracey coming in at the last minute on Friday with an uneaten marlin big enough to set a tournament record and win millions of dollars that he would use to by a real boat. For Mike Atkinson and the “Fender Bender,” both out of Virginia Beach, VA, that version would constitute a tragedy. But Shakespeare is not the author of this story, and the non-fictional anglers will, in the end, finish the story.
The offshore weather looks good for Friday so stay tuned for a dramatic finish to the 2021 White Marlin Open.
August 6, 2021
