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.
There are a lot of different added entry levels now that cater to each boat’s capabilities and target species of the gamefish. Most are geared towards catching billfish, but the tuna category has grown to become a million-dollar category for the past 10 years.
After day 5, the leaderboard remains virtually unchanged from Thursday. The big fish are still the 929.5-pound blue marlin caught Monday off the Barbara B from Atlantic Beach, NC, worth $1.25 million, and the 72 pound white taken Wednesday from the Billfisher out of OC, MD. The white is still worth $4.2 million. 
There is also a release division that awards prize money. The top two boats in that category are
the Taylor Jean out of North Palm Beach, FL, with 665 points for releasing seven white and
a blue marlin, and the Catch 23 out of Jupiter, FL., with 595 points. Earned by releasing six
whites and one blue marlin.

There are still two days left in the 52 nd annual WMO, with improving offshore weather forecasts, so the finish may be another dramatic close.