With the 2023 White Marlin Open drawing to a close, here’s a look at this year’s big winners and all the action from an exciting final day.
Final Day of 50th anniversary White Marlin Open winds down, highlighting this year’s big winners
With less than 30 minutes left until the scales close, things have slowed down on the final day of the 2023 White Marlin Open. The tournament has not announced that there will be more boats arriving late or after 9:15, which would mean that the anglers at the top of the current standings will be this year’s big winners.
The Blue Marlin caught earlier today by John Ols and the Floor Reel stands out as this year’s biggest catch, and the only qualifying billfish caught at this year’s tournament. And the 265-pound bigeye tuna caught by Brian Stewart and the Reel Tight will finish on top of the tuna category.
John Harris and the Shooting Star reeled in a 57-pound Wahoo to lead that category, and a Day 5 50.5-pound mahi caught by Andrew Spangenberger leads the dolphin competition. For the second year in a row, there were no swordfish caught in the White Marlin Open.
New 50.5-pound mahi comes to the scales, leads dolphin competition
After the massive blue marlin came in earlier today, there continued to be a lot of yellowfin and bigeye tuna that have come to the scales. But none have been able to breakthrough to the top three.
But there is a new leader in the dolphin competition. The Roncito boat, led by angler Andrew Spangenberger, caught a 50.5-pound mahi that became the new fish to beat in that category.
A 46-pound wahoo, caught by Matthew Gessler aboard the Boy’s Toy, moved into third place Friday afternoon. And another 28.5-pound mahi is now the third place fish in that category. That mahi was caught by Rob Kitwell and the Hall Pass.
With only two hours left until the scales closes, fans are still hoping for the first qualifying white marlin.
640.5-pound Blue Marlin becomes first qualifying billfish on Day 5
Just before 6 p.m., the Floor Reel managed to breakthrough and become the first boat of the tournament to grab a qualifying billfish in the 50th White Marlin Open.
Angler John Ols reeled in a massive 640.5-pound blue marlin, the biggest fish of the tournament as things currently stand. Last year’s blue marlin category winner weighed 511 pounds, with this first catch of the 2023 tournament outweighing it by over 100 pounds. Two hours in, and the final day of this year’s tournament has already provided a lot of thrills at the Harbour Island Marina scales.
First blue marlin comes in, just misses qualification
The first blue marlin of the tournament arrived at the scales just after 5 o’clock, courtesy of the No Limit. But much like the first white marlin that was here an hour ago, it missed out on qualification by a thin margin.
In order to qualify for the leaderboard, a blue marlin must be at least 114″ long. The blue marlin brought in by No Limit was only 112″ long, with only two inches keeping it from becoming the first qualifying billfish of the tournament. A white marlin must be 70″ and weigh at least 70 pounds. We’ll see if any billfish meet those requirements as the final day continues.
New tuna leader, first white marlin sighting at the scales early in Day 5
The first boat of Day 5 arrived just when the scales opened at 4 p.m., and immediately catapulted to the top of the tuna category. The Reel Tight reeled in a 265-pound bigeye tuna, surpassing the previously leader in the tuna category and becoming the new tuna catch to beat on the tournament’s final day. The fish, caught by Brian Stewart, is currently worth about $1.2 million.
Right after Reel Tight left the scales, a white marlin was finally brought to the scales after four days of waiting. The Skirt Chaser brought a white marlin to the scales that met the minimum length, but did not make the minimum weight of 70 pounds, coming in just under at 67.5. Though the fish did not qualify, it should be a good sign for the rest of the day that a white marlin finally came to the scales, and came very close to qualifying.
How many boats are fishing today?
With most of the boats in the tournament deciding not to use their fishing days on both Monday and Wednesday, it comes as no surprise that the third allotted fishing day will come on the last day of the tournament. A total of 357 boats are fishing today, as the race to catch the first qualifying billfish continues.
More:White Marlin Open day 4 leaderboard: Billfish elusive, but tuna, dolphin and wahoo reign
More:White Marlin Open 2023: First day 4 boat brings in 5 qualifying tuna as touching tribute
