With 408 boats competing in the 49th Annual White Marlin Open, the field of boats is replete with many past winners along with some newcomers hoping to snag a piece of the $8.6 million up for grabs in the 2022 event.
The five-day tournament officially starts Monday, Aug 8th at 8:00 AM. Each boat is permitted to fish any 3 of the 5 fishing days from Monday thru Friday from 8:00 AM until 3:30 PM each day. Most boats will head to the Gulf Stream some 60 miles offshore in pursuit of the gamefish that summer off Maryland’s coast. The target species are white and blue marlin, swordfish, tuna, wahoo, and dolphin. Because of conservation measures, we eliminated the shark division this year. The weigh-ins are open to the public each afternoon at Harbour Island Marina starting at 4:00 PM and lasting until the 9:15 cut-off. The weigh-ins will also be live-streamed daily on our website: whitemarlinopen.com
In addition to Harbour Island, Marlin Fest will be streaming the weigh-ins live on a Jumbo screen on the beach at the inlet. There you will find libations and vendors selling all the WMO souvenirs and T-Shirts found at Harbour Island. It’s a great place to take the family to watch the boats return through the inlet flying the flags that tell of their day’s catch.
All the top money winners from the 2021 event are back including the “Sushi” that the took top prize of $3,238,160 for their 87.5-pound white marlin and the “Fender Bender” that netted $1,980,910 for their 82.5-pound white. Also returning is the “Seven,” a 62’ Bayliss out of Jupiter, FL that became the first boat in WMO history to win two categories: top tuna and top blue marlin worth a total of $2,358,490. Also registered is the “Fish Whistle” a 38’ Dawson with Tommy Hinkle aboard. Hinkle is the only angler in WMO history to win top white marlin twice. So, the competition should be intense.
The offshore weather forecast calls for 2’ to 3-foot seas Monday and Tuesday so many boats should fish early in the week. The boats can leave the inlet at 4:00 AM so the early risers could see quite a boat parade on Monday and Tuesday. We will provide a summary of each day’s results and updates each evening during the week on our website: whitemarlinopen.com.
