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The richest fishing tournament in the world concluded over the weekend with angler Ven Poole taking home the top prize at the 2024 White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland.
Fishing onboard the Waste Knot out of Raleigh, North Carolina, Ven Poole reeled in a 77.50-pound white marlin that was worth $3,699,630.67, the highest payout for any fish caught at this year’s White Marlin Open.
@white_marlin_open ESTIMATED $4 Million+ FISH🤯. The Waste Knot with a 77.5 Ib White Marlin!!! #whitemarlinopen2024 #whitemarlinopen #oceancitymd #oceancitymaryland #oceancity #reelinndockbar #billfishtournament
Biggest Winners At The 2024 White Marlin Open
Poole’s fish weighed just 1.5 pounds more than the 2nd place white marlin which tipped the scales at an even 76.00 pounds and was good for a $1,797,119.13 pay check. That 76.00 pounder was landed by angler Noah McVicker who was fishing onboard the Billfisher out of Ocean City.
The third most valuable fish landed in the 2024 White Marlin Open was a yellowfin tuna which weighed 220.50 pounds and was caught by angler Rob Jones from Cincinnati fishing on the Blue Runner vessel. Two other massive yellowfin tuna were caught, both weighing 193.50 pounds and both earned those crews around $150K.
@white_marlin_open This Tuna Caught by the Blue Runner is currently worth $1 Million + 💰💰💰 #whitemarlinopen2024 #whitemarlinopen #tuna #tunafishing #oceancitymaryland #oceancity #oceancitymd #billfishtournament #rhodestorevenue
In the blue marlin category, things were STACKED this year. 2024 marked the first time in White Marlin Open history that two blue marlin weighing over 750-pounds were weighed on the same day and that happened on the second day of fishing!
@white_marlin_open One of the Five LARGEST Blue Marlins seen at the scales in WMO History!🤯🐟 #whitemarlinopen2024 #whitemarlinopen #oceancitymd #oceancitymaryland #oceancity #billfishtournament
A blue marlin weighing 897.50 pounds took that category and earned $520,374.07. That fish was caught by the Stone Cutter crew and angler Lance Blakemore. It was just a few pounds heavier than the 894.00 pound blue marlin landed by angler Phil Key from Millers Island, Maryland onboard the Moore Bills whose 2nd place blue marlin was worth $410,936.89.
Incredible Fishing This Year
@white_marlin_open American Lady bringing a Wahoo to the scales! The perfect start to the closing night of the 51st White Marlin Open! 🇺🇸🎣 #whitemarlinopen2024 #oceancitymaryland #marylandfishing #whitemarlinopen #billfishing #anglerlife #ocfishing
Other notable fish include a 70-pound wahoo caught by the American Lady and angler Ian Horowitz from North Wales, Pennsylvania. That massive wahoo earned that crew a $68,594.09 paycheck.
And the Mahi-Mahi (dolphin) category was won by angler Patrick Field from Stuart, Florida whose 32.50 pound mahi was worth $64,594.09. The second place fish in the mahi category weighed just 1.5 pounds less but was worth only $2,400 so those 1.5 pounds were HUGE for that fishing team.
I was actually tuna fishing in Venice, Louisiana while the White Marlin Open was going on and I was amazed the tournament didn’t suffer major disruptions from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debbie. My swordfish fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, hundreds and hundreds of miles away, was derailed by rough weather caused from Debbie’s winds days after it had passed by Florida and was sitting on top of Charleston.