Chincoteague boat currently in first place at White Marlin Open

Picture courtesy of WhiteMarlinOpen.com.

Today is the final day of the famous White Marlin Open held annually out of Ocean City, Md. What is making news around most spaces is that so far this year, no boat has landed either a white or a blue marlin.

What is interesting for residents of the Eastern Shore, is that a boat hailing from Chincoteague Island took first place Thursday, weighing in a 247.5 pound bigeye tuna, the largest fish so far. Chris Mentlik from Street, MD. was the angler who landed the fish.

This year’s more than $10 million purse is a record, and the Fishlik vessel is currently in line to take home $1.2 million of it.

The weather looks good for fishing today, with northwest winds 5-10 knots and seas at 2-3 feet. Lines come in today at 3:30 PM and the weigh in goes from 4:00 – 9:15 PM. Polygraph testing of the anglers will take place tomorrow.