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Resort Set for World's Biggest Billfish Tourney
 | | Photo Courtesy of Dale Timmons | | Catches like this show why OC's nicknamed the 'White Marlin Capital of the World.' |
Ocean City’s known as the “White Marlin Capital of the World,” and that’s no fish story. The resort lives up to its reputation in a big way at the White Marlin Open, the world’s largest billfish tournament.
The White Marlin Open, now in its 31sth year, has grown markedly since it started with just 56 boats and a $20,000 payout.
From Monday, Aug. 2 to Friday, Aug. 6, hundreds of boats will head out to sea, carrying thousands of anglers dreaming of the big catch -- and part of the prize money, expected to top last year’s record winnings of about $2.2 million.
OC’s marlin tournament also has become a popular spectator sport and a highlight of the summer. Thousands of spectators crowd the docks and boat slips each evening to watch the huge fish being hauled from boats and weighed. That, of course, means lots of business for hotels, restaurants and night spots.
“That week could be the biggest week of the summer,” says OC Mayor James N. Mathias Jr. “It’s a big, big deal. You talk about the whole economic impact, it’s huge.”
The tournament pays tribute to Ocean City’s history and represents a lasting legacy of fishing in a resort that began as a fishing village in the 18th century, Mathias says.
"It’s what Ocean City’s all about,” the mayor says. “It kind of speaks to all that heritage, that legacy – the lure of the sea to man, from the beginning and the origins of our community.”
Mathias speaks of a favorite Marlin tournament scene. “One of the most beautiful sites here is that first morning about 5 a.m. when those boats go steaming out of here,” he says. “That is a beautiful site. It’s very exhilarating.”
But then these aren’t just any fishing boats. “Even if they don’t fish, people come to look at the boats,” says Lauren Taylor, an Ocean City hotel and restaurant owner.
They get plenty to see. “The boats are getting bigger and faster,” says James Motsko, the tournament’s founder. “It used to be a boat that could go 20 knots was fast. Now a 30-knot boat is almost a slow boat.”
And some of the modern fishing boats stretch more than 50 feet – so big that Motsko has had rouble finding slips for some of them.
 | | Courtesy of The White Marlin Open | | Atlantic Ocean canyons, where big billfish swim, lie 53 to 72 miles offshore, along the edge of the Gulf Stream. |
He notes the canyons of the Atlantic – where the big billfish swim – lie 52 to 73 miles from the coastline. But it can be a luxurious journey. “These boats are floating palaces, a lot of them, no doubt about it,” says Motsko. “A lot of these floating palaces literally go all over the world to fish.
“They go where the fish are,” Motsko says – Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, St. Thomas, the Cancun area. “What all these places have in common is really good bill fishing, and that’s why these people come to Ocean City.”
Of the more than 400 boats expected to enter this summer’s White Marlin, about half will come from Maryland and
 | | Courtesy of The White Marlin Open | |
Delaware; another 200 will arrive from up and down the East Coast, and some from as far as the British Virgin Islands.
This year’s prize money will be awarded for catches of white and blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, dolphin and shark. The bulk of the prize money is paid for the top white marlin catches.
Last year, Doug Remsberg of Walkersville, Md., and his team aboard the “Fish Bonz,” netted $1,303,965 for landing a 78.5-pound white marlin on the final day of the tournament. No small feat, considering last year's tournament marked the first time that Remsberg had ever been marlin fishing.
"It demonstrates why the White Marlin Open is so popular,” Motsko says. “Where else can a novice not only compete against world-class anglers, but actually win over a million dollars for catching a fish.”
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For a glimpse of the daily action, head for the tournament headquarters at the
Harbour Island Marina (14th Street and the bay) to catch daily weigh-ins from 4 to 9:15 p.m.
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