White Marlin Open Underway

Over 3 Million dollars in prize money to the team that catches the biggest white marlin off the coast of Ocean City, MD this week.  A photo of last year’s largest Blue Marlin is below.  Its 737 pounds.

My brother has a boat in the competition again this year.  You can track it at this link here.

Strategies on how to rig the lines and lures is available here.

And why is the White Marlin so difficult to catch?  Its because they do not just swim up and eat the bait.  The angler must watch as the big fish smacks at the bait with its long sword bill, and then allow the bait to sink by free-spooling the correct rod.  This tricks the fish into thinking that the bait was stunned, and only then will the fish try to bite the bait.  As explained at the official WMO website here:

The white will sometimes take minutes to look over the baits and to decide if he is interested enough to eat. It can be very frustrating for the angler as he races from one rod to another, trying to guess which bait the fish will choose. The fisherman must use all his skills to lure the marlin to strike. Sometimes the angler will quickly reel the bait away from the fish in the hope that the marlin will strike out of anger. Often the white will club the bait with its bill. When this happens, the angler must “free spool” or let out line to imitate a stunned bait. At that point, the marlin may mouth the bait to see if it’s to his liking. The angler must now make another decision. If he lets the marlin mouth the bait too long, the marlin may drop it. If he tries to set the hook too soon, the fish may not have enough of the bait for the hook to stick.

Update!  Intrinsic, my brother’s boat in the tournament, caught 5 white marlin today, and one of them weighed 71.5 pounds, and is currently the big prize leader.  That fish is possibly worth 2.6 million dollars, but there are lots of fishing days left.