Offshore fishing teams are used to battling huge waves, but big waves are no comparison to the emotional roller coaster experienced by two Charleston crews in the White Marlin Open fished Aug. 3-8 in Ocean City, Md.
Anxiety! Stress! Pride! Mister Pete and Bull Pen were in line to earn paydays soaring into the millions, but at the same time they were thinking of that famous line by Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's over."
But when it was over, Mister Pete had earned the top prize in one of the largest (334 boats) and most prestigious billfish tournaments. And Bull Pen finished third but earned the second-highest payout in the tournament. Mister Pete, a 60-foot Spencer owned by brothers Bob and Rusty McClam and captained by Alan Neiford, won $3,503,891.54 for catching an 80-pound white marlin on Aug. 6.
The day before, Bull Pen, a 62-foot Bayliss owned by Todd Wigfield and captained by Cordes Lucas, had brought in the first eligible white marlin, a 70-pound catch that could have been worth more than $5 million if Mister Pete hadn't landed its fish. Bull Pen won $1,818,546.84, more than five times the amount of the second-place fish. Reel Hunter out of St. Michael's, Md., caught a 71.5-pound white marlin on Aug. 7 but didn't enter as many divisions as Bull Pen and finished with a $360,721.49 payday.
To be eligible for prizes, a white marlin must measure 70 inches from the tip of its lower jaw to the fork of the tail, and it must weigh at least 70 pounds. And those were the exact measurements of Bull Pen's fish caught by James Hood.
#earned
Anxiety! Stress! Pride! Mister Pete and Bull Pen were in line to earn paydays soaring into the millions, but at the same time they were thinking of that famous line by Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's over."
But when it was over, Mister Pete had earned the top prize in one of the largest (334 boats) and most prestigious billfish tournaments. And Bull Pen finished third but earned the second-highest payout in the tournament. Mister Pete, a 60-foot Spencer owned by brothers Bob and Rusty McClam and captained by Alan Neiford, won $3,503,891.54 for catching an 80-pound white marlin on Aug. 6.
The day before, Bull Pen, a 62-foot Bayliss owned by Todd Wigfield and captained by Cordes Lucas, had brought in the first eligible white marlin, a 70-pound catch that could have been worth more than $5 million if Mister Pete hadn't landed its fish. Bull Pen won $1,818,546.84, more than five times the amount of the second-place fish. Reel Hunter out of St. Michael's, Md., caught a 71.5-pound white marlin on Aug. 7 but didn't enter as many divisions as Bull Pen and finished with a $360,721.49 payday.
To be eligible for prizes, a white marlin must measure 70 inches from the tip of its lower jaw to the fork of the tail, and it must weigh at least 70 pounds. And those were the exact measurements of Bull Pen's fish caught by James Hood.
#earned
6 days ago
