The early risers of Friday should be treated to another great boat parade as there are 357 boats eligible to fish on the final day of the 50th Annual White Marlin Open. Each of the boats has the same primary goal: to catch a qualifying billfish. It’s not that the billfish didn’t show up...after 4 fishing days 431 white marlin, 34 blue marlin, five sailfish, and one spearfish have been caught. Every one of the billfish was released for being perceived as too small to weigh.
Never in our history have we gone without a weighed billfish. In 1984, ‘85, and ’86 there wasn't a qualifying white marlin, but all blue marlin categories were met. There have been several years when no blue marlin qualified, but the white marlin filled in.
So far, the tuna have dominated the scales and the bigeye tuna have ruled the event so far. Our rules are set so all the prize money ($10.5 million in separate pools) is paid out at the tournament’s end. Unless a billfish is weighed, most of that money will go to the big eye tunas. It’s possible that over $7 million reserved for billfish could default to winning tunas.
But let’s not count out that the final fishing day could see a number of qualifying billfish. By the end of the tournament, the boats have gotten more familiar with the offshore waters and have found concentrations of billfish. While marlin generally swim in schools of the same-sized, there are usually a few bigger fish that tag along. Those are the ones the anglers hope to land for lottery-sized payouts.
The scales at Harbour Island will be open tomorrow from 4:00 PM and officially close the tournament at 9:15 PM. The weigh-ins are open to the public who could see millions won and lost on the final day.
August 11, 2023
