The world’s largest and richest billfish tournament is back for its 49th year! The White Marlin Open in Ocean City, MD is one of the biggest events annually bringing thousands of bill fishermen, anglers, and spectators to our beach town. The 2022 tournament will take place from August 8th to 12th. The experience is unlike any other whether you’re fishing for millions of dollars in prize money or watching the weigh-ins at the scales.
Explore OC will be on the scene to check out the festivities so look for the Explore Experience and follow along with us on Facebook and Instagram! In the meantime, view the tournament information here.
2022 White Marlin Open Tournament Schedule
August 6
Boat Registration
Harbour Island Marina, OCMD: 11 AM to 5 PM
South Jersey Marina, Cape May, NJ: 11 AM to 3 PM
August 7
Boat Registration
Harbour Island Marina, OCMD: 11 AM to 7 PM
Captain's Meeting
Harbour Island Marina & Streamed Live on WMO Facebook: 7 PM
August 8 - 12
Fishing
Boats Pick 3 Fishing Days
8 AM to 3:30 PM
Weigh-Ins
Harbour Island Marina, OCMD: 4 PM to 9:15 PM
August 13
Polygraph Testing
Times & Locations TBA
Awards Ceremony
Clarion Resort 101st Street, OCMD: 4 PM to 6 PM
2022 Marlin Fest
If you’re hanging around waiting for the weigh-ins, head over to the Inlet at the beach for Marlin Fest! Ocean City Marlin Fest is each day of the White Marlin Open. Celebrate with the town and enjoy the party. The whole family can come to watch the live stream of weigh-ins on the giant big screen and spend the day by the beach!
Live entertainment will be provided each day with kid-friendly educational experiences and vendor tents to browse. Come hungry for the variety of food and beverages and shop for official White Marlin Open and Marlin Fest merchandise.
Marlin Fest Live Music Schedule
August 8: Opposite Directions
August 9: Other Brother Darryl
August 10: Jimmy Charles
August 11: Radio Ocean City
August 12: The Q-Tip Bandits
Explore Experience
WMO Winners
White Marlin
Weight: 77.5 lbs
Boat: Billfisher - Ocean City, MD
Angler: Jeremy Duffie - Bethesda, MD
Winnings: $4,536,926
Blue Marlin
Weight: 511 lbs
Boat: Cabana - Fenwick Island, DE
Angler: Bill Britt - Sandy Spring, MD
Winnings: $1,208,419
Tuna
Weight: 247.5 lbs
Boat: Southern C’s - Ocean City, MD
Angler: Jason Hersh - Maple Glen, PA
Winnings: $1,278,197
Wahoo
Weight: 71 lbs
Boat: Jenny Poo - Palm Beach, FL
Angler: Chris Thompson - Mount Airy, MD
Winnings: $24,566
Dolphin
Weight: 59.5 lbs
Boat: Irene - Stuart, FL
Angler: Frank Sinito Jr. - Cleveland, OH
Winnings: $31,297
White Marlin Open
Day 1: The first day started off strong with 292 of the 408 registered boats fishing with high hopes. Quite a few white and blue marlin were caught but released because they did not meet prize-winning qualifications. The tuna caught by Brian Stewart on the Reel Tight boat was the talk of the day coming in at 213.5 pounds and holding first place at $1,300,000.
Day 2: Only 15 boats went out on Tuesday without any changes in the leaderboard. Most registered anglers looked forward to Wednesday and Thursday fishing days that had better weather predictions. On the bright side, any spectators at the scales could experience weigh-ins without a crowd to push through.
Day 3: To the surprise of many at weigh-ins, there were still no qualifying marlins brought in on day 3. However, the Big Stick boat brought in a 246.5-pound bigeye tuna, knocking down Reel Tight, but their victory didn’t last long when Southern C’s came to the scales half an hour later. Their 247.5-pound tuna caused a huge eruption of applause as they narrowly took their way to first place.
Day 4: The billfish finally arrived taking over the winnings from the bigeye tuna who was leading the first three days of the tournament. A blue marlin joined the leaderboard from the Cabana’s boat weighing 511 pounds. Soon after, a white marlin made an appearance that measured 73” and weighed 71.5 pounds from the C-Student. Harbour Island was packed with spectators trying to get a glimpse of the scales and anxiously waiting for more billfish.
Day 5: Just like last year, the last white marlin to be weighed became the winner with world record winnings! This unique year with little marlin to show still ended up being a success for the first-place winners and many others.
Marlin Fest
The beach party at the Inlet was a huge success all week long! The new venue choice was the perfect spot to watch the boats come in while simultaneously keeping an eye on the scales with a live stream of the weigh-ins. Many families brought beach chairs and blankets to sit on the sand and watch throughout the day. The giant merch tent had customers constantly with limited items for sale by the end of the week.
Food and beverage vendors like The Street Kitchen, Get Baked, the Jameson Whiskey Bar, and Deep Eddy Airstream Lounge provided a variety of refreshments for patrons to enjoy while browsing the vendors. East Coast IV, Salty Dog & Sweet P’s Swag, Soul Surf Creations, and more showcased their products and businesses to interested audiences.
You can’t forget about the live music! The performances were spectacular and a fun way to end the long day of weigh-ins. When there weren’t live performers, Radio Ocean City kept the party going with music playing throughout the Inlet. Overall, the turnout was great, providing a fun and comfortable atmosphere to enjoy the weigh-ins with family and friends. We’re looking forward to next year already!
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