The White Marlin Open launches its 50th Annual edition Monday morning, Aug 7, with “lines in” at 8:00 AM. The 400 registered boats will be vying for a tournament record of $10.3 million dollars in total prize money.
Most boats will head to the gamefish-rich canyon areas from 60 to 75 miles off the Ocean City coast in search of fish worth their weight in gold. Each boat is permitted to fish any three of the five fishing days from Monday, Aug 7 through Friday, Aug 11. Because Monday’s offshore weather forecast looks like the best over the next three days, most boats should fish, and the early risers should see a great boat parade between 4:00 and 6:00 AM at the Ocean City Inlet Monday morning.
The 1974 event paid money for six categories. The 2023 event has 30 different added entry levels for boats to choose from. That includes small boat divisions, boats that target tuna, or the other gamefish including wahoo and dolphin.
Still, over half of the prize money will go to white marlin. For its 50th anniversary, the Open added a $50,000 white marlin category. The top 3 white marlin winner take all categories alone are holding over $5,500,000. With the other billfish categories, adding another million or so, the total white marlin payouts could exceed $6,500,000. While it will be hard to top the world record $4.53 million dollar white marlin payout during the 2022 event, the possibility exists in 2023.
In any event, one thing is certain. By the end of this year's awards ceremony, the White Marlin Open will have topped $100,000,000 in prize money since the inaugural event in 1974. Weigh-ins will be held each evening at Harbour Island and are free to the public. Weigh-ins can also be viewed on the Jumbo Screen at Marlin Fest each evening at the Inlet.
August 7, 2023
