This year we entered the White Marlin Open, the premier-fishing event that is held in Ocean City MD every August and makes claim to the world’s largest billfish tournament. Over 300 boats participated and the payouts totaled $ 2.2 million. Three days out of five fishing within 100 miles radius of OC means one can hit some of the most productive fishing grounds on the East Coast during the tournament. A circle hook tournament emphasizes releases but requires landing of qualifying fish.
Our team consisted of my friends John Tobias and Doug Talbot, my son in law Mike Kress, Orazio Nastaze, owner of the famous Jake’s Bar in West Chester PA, and me. We fished aboard the ‘Sea Note’ out of Oregon Inlet captained by its owner the legendary Benjie Stansky, mates William and the infamous ‘Fog”. Charles Perry was scheduled to join us but unfortunately came back from the Azores with a bad back and had surgery a week before. Joey Stansky, Benjie’s brother and captain of the Flow Control out of Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach FL joined us for the second and third day of fishing. 
The first day we headed south to the red-hot Norfolk Canyon, which has been consistently producing monster fish this season. It is a long ride to the fishing ground and the destination pushes the envelope on the allowed fishing range. Ironically, it is closer to our home base in Virginia Beach than it is to OC.
The day went rather slow but Mike managed to fight and release a very nice white mid day. However, it was not big enough to get us on the board. The rest of the day was uneventful except for a nice mahi that stumbled in.
After a great dinner at the Marlin Moon Grille that night, the team decided that Wilmington Canyon was to be the destination for the next day. A shorter run to the north, Wilmington is a consistent producer and have delivered quite a few tournament winners.
The next day (Tuesday), John found his white and had a lot of fun bringing it boat side. As William released the feisty fish, John had a fit, as he was sure it was a record white of at least 100 pounds. The crew begged to differ and assured him that it was not a money fish. In the afternoon, we ran into a school of very decent sized mahis. Fog showed us the Outer Banks jigging technique that he claims is taught at the Outer Banks School of Dolphin Fishing. We landed thirteen 12+ pounds mahis in no time. The rest of the day was fun as we relaxed and Fog continued to provide live entertainment with his impersonation of Darth Vader and non-stop one-liners.
As we headed back in, we heard that a big blue was landed so we rushed to the weight in area to see this magnificent fish. The blue was shy from being a grander but weighted in at 935.5 pounds (paid $ 600,000). It was landed by Robert Lockwood aboard the Last Run. We all agreed that it was a sad sight to see such a magnificent animal loose its life but at $ 641 a pound, we also agreed that we would have had no problem landing her.
We sat out the next two days and used the time to enjoy the good food and sights of Ocean City. The family came in to spend time with us, as it is a relatively short drive from Virginia and New Jersey.
We hit the water the last day of the tournament. The seas were still a little rough but the Sea Note, with its deep Carolina hull had no problem handling it. We headed once again to Norfolk Canyon. These are familiar waters for the Oregon Inlet fleet and Benjie feels quite comfortable hunting in his backyard. 
Early on, Orazio hooked a white and the consensus was that this one promised to be a money fish. After a great fight and beautiful acrobatics, the fish was landed and measured. Just short of the money by 1 ½ inches, it was quickly released. The rest of the day was non-eventful as we settled into the reality that we were not going to have a weight in.
As we wrapped the exciting week, we all agreed that it was a great experience and an awesome week. Obviously, a trip to the scales could have added some more excitement but we had enough action to finish 60th in points out of a field of 300+ boats. The crew was fantastic and we enjoyed the camaraderie and the insights they all shared with us. Ocean City is a great venue, albeit somewhat touristy tacky, it has its share of fun places and activities. We look forward to next years WMO as we will be fishing under the StingRay banner.
We spend our life looking to where we have been while disregarding where we are going.
