Getty Image / Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
The 2025 White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland got off to a blazing hot start on Day 1 with a boat bringing a nearly 1,000-pound blue marlin to the scales.
This is the biggest, most lucrative fishing tournament in the world and last year set records as it was the first time in tournament history that two blue marlin weighing over 750 pounds were weighed. Both of those fish made it to the scales on Day 2 of fishing with Stone Cutter weighing a 897.50-pound blue that eventually won them $520,374.07 and Moore Bills weighing a 894.00 pound marlin worth $410,936.89.
The overall winner and most lucrative fish caught at last year’s White Marlin Open was a 77.50-pound white marlin caught and weighed by the Waste Knot out of Raleigh, North Carolina. That fish was worth a whopping $3,699,630.67.
2025 White Marlin Open Is Off And Running
There is a LOT of fishing to be done this week.
Fishing runs from August 4th through 10th with the winners finalized at the scales on August 10, then on August 11 the top winners undergo polygraph testing to verify that they won legitimately and there wasn’t any funny business going on… As in, anglers didn’t take turns fighting a fish, they didn’t bring a previously caught fish to the scales or transfer the fish from another boat, etc.
The huge news on Day 1 was this fish, a 929.5-pound blue marlin caught by angler Drew Osmeyer fishing onboard the Barbara B, a 63′ Spencer captained by Hunter Blount. They also brought in a dolphin/dorado/mahi-mahi weighing 32.5 lbs that failed to pick up any points:
Day 1 Excitement In Ocean City, Maryland
The doc was buzzing when the massive blue marlin made its way to the scales. Multiple spectators were able to capture videos of the White Marlin Open Day 1 weigh-in with this huge pelagic fish rocketing up the leader board.
This footage of the weigh-in really captures the size of this 929.5-pound blue marlin:
As I said before, there are a LOT of fishing days left at the 2025 White Marlin Open. This was just the Day 1 weigh-in.
In all likelihood, a boat will come to the scales at some point with a white marlin to weigh. That fish will likely grab the top spot if it qualifies.
For now though, if things stand as they are, the 929.5-pound white marlin is looking at a potential pay day of $4,485,061 for the crew out of Timonium, Maryland.