First Qualifying White Marlin for the 43rd Annual White Marlin Open

By Scott Lenox

First Qualifying White Marlin for the 43rd Annual White Marlin Open

It was another busy day at the scales for day two of the 43rd Annual White Marlin Open.  249 boats ventured out today to take advantage of the good sea conditions and try their luck at landing something that would put them on the leaderboard and maybe win them a share of the $4.4 Million in prize money.  There were a couple of wahoo that hit the board, there was movement in the dolphin category, a big old tuna fish hit the scale and the first qualifying white of the tournament is now on the board.  Here is where everything stands after two days of fishing.

Second Place wahoo was weighed today by the crew of the Second Chance.  Brian Leader’s 54 pounder is currently worth $3,000.

13925184_1223330317700798_4253173541073084462_n

First place in the wahoo category was caught by Richard Hammond on the Two Timing Connie.  His 79 pound wahoo is currently worth $17,000.

13924990_1223303997703430_1929940042962704752_n

After some movement in the dolphin category the third place fish is a 34 pounder caught by Bill Haugland fishing on board Light’s Out.  Bill’s fish is currently worth $2,000.  WMO fish mover and weigh master Alex dropped a pretty good photo bomb on the crew.

13886490_954975817946839_5678293779392584767_n

Second place in the dolphin category was yesterday’s first place fish.  Delta Dawn’s 34.5 pound dolphin was bumped to second place today, but is still worth $17,000.

13879403_1222547357779094_1104514244997873624_n

The first place dolphin was weighed today by my good friend John Gudelsky fishing on his Reel Joy.  John’s 36 pound dolphin is currently worth $17,000.

13895456_1223297847704045_4813142774221280992_n

The third place tuna is a nice 69 pound yellowfin caught by Robert Rodelsperger.  Robert was fishing on the Full Pull and his yellowfin is currently worth $2,000.

13902559_1223339524366544_9015566194116305398_n

Second place in the tuna category was caught by Pat Horning yesterday on the Fish Whistle.  Pat’s 71.5 pound yellowfin is currently worth $70,000.

13891898_1222581581109005_7002924443980244692_n

The new first place tuna was weighed today and it was a whopper!  Mark Hutchinson pulled into the scale this afternoon on the Magic Moment and had the crowd roaring when he weighed his 233 pound bigeye.  The big tuna is currently worth $400,000!

13925419_1223229904377506_1294517884989806611_n

There was no blue marlin weighed today so the 790 pound blue that was weighed last night is still the only blue marlin on the board.  Jim Conway caught the fish while fishing on the Get Reel and if his fish holds he will hold a check for $150,000.

13942629_1090556281024812_893021985_n

So far there is only one qualifying white marlin on the board for the 43rd edition of the White Marlin Open.  The crew of the Kallianassa was the first boat to the scale today.  Angler Phil Heasley’s 76.5 pound white marlin is currently worth $2,400,000!!

13876099_1223221517711678_1350868412538246615_n

Outside of the tournament the crew of the Spring Mix II with Captain Chris Watkowski had an awesome family trip on board. The crew released a white marlin and had 16 mahi up to 20 pounds.

IMG_3539 IMG_3535

I got a report from my buddy Wes Pollitt from the Morning Star with Captain Monty Hawkins that I’m not used to hearing in August.  The first part of the report wasn’t too crazy….a young man caught a nice 6.5 pound flounder.  The second part of the report was pretty remarkable.  The local party boats don’t catch many tautog in the summer, and they rarely catch a big fish.  Not only did the Morning Star have a tautog today, they had a big one….on a strip bait fishing for flounder.  The angler initially thought that he was hung on the bottom, but after a fight of a couple of minutes and a couple of wrong guesses a huge tautog came to the surface.  The big “tog” weighed 15 pounds and is definitely the biggest tautog I’ve seen caught this time of year.

IMG_2737 IMG_6389

Today's Daily Angle Brought to You By

Daily Angle

March 16, 2024
Tautog Up To 18 Pounds
Tautog Up To 18 Pounds

After more than a month between fishing reports it’s nice that this time only two days has gone by.  The weather has been nice the past few days and there are some folks getting out and… READ MORE

Read More Archive

La Vida 'Local'

January 4, 2023
Delicious Crab Pie Recipe
Delicious Crab Pie Recipe

Crab Pie Ingredients 1 Pound jumbo lump crab meat 2 Deep Dish Pie Crusts (this recipe will make 2 pies) 1/4 cup of diced onion (or shallots) 8 oz of Swiss cheese 2 Tablespoons flour 3… READ MORE

Read More Archive

Facebookin'

Videos


View More

Request a FREE OC Vacation Guide

Request a FREE Visitor's Guide

Today's Daily Angle Brought to You By

Close

Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly.

Get More Information