After its 50th anniversary event last year, the White Marlin Open offshore fishing tournament will return to Ocean City for its 51st year, starting Monday, Aug. 5.
A boat tied to former NBA star Michael Jordan — who has participated before — is also set to return. The 82-foot Bayliss named “Catch 23” is listed 108th among the registered boats.
“We’re honored to host one of the most exciting and competitive fishing experiences in the world, right here in Ocean City, Maryland,” Madelyne Motsko, a tournament director, said in a news release. “Heading into our 51st year, our momentum remains strong following $10.5 million dollars in prize money last year, including a world record individual payout of $6.23 million.”
The White Marlin Open is billed as the “world’s largest offshore billfish tournament.” From Aug. 5 through Aug. 9, competitors will fish for white and blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, swordfish, and dolphinfish. Marlin Fest, a free festival presented by the Maryland National Guard at the Ocean City Inlet, will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day with music, livestreams of the tournament weigh-ins and vendors selling food and drinks.
A $50,000 white marlin “Winner Take All” category made its debut last year and will be back this summer, Sasha Motsko, also a tournament director, told The Baltimore Sun. Motsko said that last year’s tournament drew around 400 boats.
“We very well could exceed that number this year,” Sasha Motsko wrote in an email. “For Marlin Fest, we had 34,000 people through the gates last year and we anticipate that number to continue to grow.”
Sasha and Madelyne Motsko are the daughters of Jim Motsko, the tournament’s founder.
Since 1974, the fishing tournament has distributed more than $105 million in prize money and been host to over 105,000 anglers and 14,000 registered boats. It holds the world record for fishing tournament prize money payouts, according to a news release.
Through the tournament, which partners with Catch N Carry and the Maryland Food Bank, anglers can donate their catches to be distributed at Eastern Shore food pantries. Marlin Fest is partnering with the Ocean City Reef Foundation, a nonprofit started in 1997.
If you go
The White Marlin Open will be held in Ocean City, Aug. 5-9. Boats can be registered online, by mail, or in person at Harbour Island Marina on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, or in Cape May, New Jersey, on Aug. 3. Fishing will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, with weigh-ins from 4 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Harbour Island Marina.
Marlin Fest will run 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Aug. 5-9, at the Ocean City Inlet. For more information, go to whitemarlinopen.com.