OCEAN CITY, Md - 292 of the registered 408 boats of the 49th annual White Marlin Open ventured out on Monday's Day One. None brought back a qualifying White Marlin.
Tuna was the story of the day with three of the first four boats bringing that fish to the scales. Andy Alvarez' 57.5 pounder briefly held the the third place spot. "We thought we might have a big guy," Alvarez told WRDE. "It turned out to be a yellow fin, it was a good fight."
It also did not last long on the leaderboard as boats that followed brought much larger tuna.
49th Annual White Marlin Open Leaderboard (Day One)
Tuna
1. 213.5 lb - Brian Stewart (Shady Side, MD) $1,300,000
2. 198.5 lb - Dante Soriente (Beach Haven, NJ) $100,000
3. 189.5 lb - Adam Maziarz (Narrangansett, RI) $38,000
Wahoo
1. 515 lb - Patrick Brown (Miami, FL) $18,000
Dolphin
1. 29 lb - Vernon Merritt Jr. (Chincoteague, VA) $91,000
2. 26.5 lb - Keely Megarity (Houston, TX) $3,000