$3.7M for a 77.5-pound white marlin is among millions paid in tourney

An angler aboard the boat called Waste Knot landed a 77.5-pound white marlin that earned his team a whopping $3,699,630 in the prestigious White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland.

The catch made by Ven Poole of Raleigh, N.C., allowed his team to cash in on a variety of jackpots that contributed to the amazing cash payout out from the total prize money of $8.59 million.

Waste Knot wasn’t the only boat to make more than a million dollars in what is dubbed as the world’s largest billfishing tournament.

Noah McVicker of Ocean City boated a 76-pound white marlin that was worth $1,797,119 for the team of Billfisher. And Rob Jones of Cincinnati caught a 220.5-pound tuna to earn his team, Blue Runner, a nice prize of $1,007,012.

“We are incredibly proud of how this year’s White Marlin Open unfolded, despite the challenges posed by the weather,” said Jim Motsko, Tournament Director and Founder of the White Marlin Open. “The level of competition was outstanding, with some of the most impressive catches in the tournament’s history.”

Among the impressive catches was an 897.5-pound blue marlin caught by Lance Blakemore of Horseheads, N.Y., on the Stone Cutter and an 894-pound blue marlin landed by Phil Key of Millers Island, Maryland, aboard Moore Bills. Those fish were worth $520,374 and $410,936, respectively.

All told, 318 boats participated in the event with 1,824 pounds of fish donated to the Maryland Food Bank through a partnership with Catch-N-Carry.

Photos courtesy of White Marlin Open and Unscene Productions.