Ocean City's White Marlin Open 2024 right around the corner: What to know

The 2024 calendar has turned the page to July, as the days of summer continue to roll forward. And in Ocean City, Maryland, that means that the White Marlin Open is right around the corner.

After celebrating the 50th anniversary of the world's largest billfish tournament's last year, the 2024 edition of the White Marlin Open is just five weeks away, with things getting kicked off on Aug. 5 and lasting until Aug 9. And according to the tournament's website, nearly 100 boats have already registered to compete this year.

Last year's tournament saw 400 boats compete for $10.5 million in prize money, with the biggest winners being the Floor Reel boat, who reeled in a $6.2 million fish. There were no white marlin caught last year, so Floor Reel's 640.5-pound blue marlin catch was the most prominent one of the tournament.

The fishing categories of White Marlin, Blue Marlin, Tuna, Swordfish, Dolphin and Wahoo remain, as competitors will look set out on the water in hopes of putting their names on the leaderboard, and catching the first qualifying white marlin of the tournament since 2022. And the onlookers at the Harbour Island Marina will be waiting to see what the boats and anglers bring to the scales during those highly anticipated five days in August.

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