The 41st annual White Marlin Open came to a close yesterday and Angler John Bayliss of Manteo, North Carolina, and the crew of the Dream Time took top honors with a 78-pound white marlin.

Bayliss’ fish was the only white marlin of the tournament to meet the minimum weight requirement of 70 pounds.

Bayliss’ prize: an estimated $1,287,411.00. That’s $16,410.00 per pound of white marlin.

Bayliss brought the fish to scale on Thursday, a day when 143 of the 288 teams opted to lay in instead of fish. On Friday, with 270 of the 288 teams out fishing, Bayliss’ fish held on to the top spot on the leader board.

The top blue marlin was a 738-pound fish taken by Sam Lancelotta from Ellicott City, Maryland, who was fishing aboard the Gratitude. Lancelotta’s fish earned a $511,000 prize.

Congratulations to Bayliss, Lancelotta, and all of the anglers who fished in the 41st Annual White Marlin Open. And, congratulations to the Open organizers for another great year of the World’s Largest Billfish Tournament.

FISH ON!

 

 

Billfish, blue marlin, fish, Fishing, Tournament, white marlin, White Marlin Open

By Sid

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