OCEAN CITY- While the Ocean City offshore fishing tournament season has now hit full stride, a couple of local anglers and Ocean City Marlin Club members represented the local community well in a big billfish series in Bermuda last week.

Three Ocean City Marlin Club members, including Nancy Kohl of the “Bait and Reel Adventures” and Captain Ryan and Monica Freese of the “A Salt Weapon 2” joined the crew on the “Sea Toy” out of Pirate’s Cove, N.C. on July 4 for the Bermuda Billfish Blast and turned in a record-setting performance. The Bermuda Billfish Blast is the first leg of the prestigious Bermuda Triple Crown and the local anglers came away with wins on several fronts in the event.

On the first day of fishing, Ocean City’s Nancy Kohl hooked up a large blue marlin the crew believed had a chance to win or place in the event. The “Sea Toy” headed into the scale to weight the big blue marlin, which came in a 547 pounds, earning points for the team and a possible daily jackpot.

Not satisfied with weighing the big blue, the “Sea Toy” crew then headed back out and released two more blue marlin to win the daily release jackpot on Day One. The “Sea Toy” released another blue marlin on the second day and two more on the tournament’s third day for a whopping 3,047 points, the highest total ever recorded in the history of the event.

All in all, the Ocean City anglers on the “Sea Toy” released five blue marlin and weighed the winning 547-pounder to sweep the event. Nancy Kohl personally earned 2,047 points and won both the high point angler award and the top lady angler award, which was also a first for the tournament. By virtue of its strong performance in the Bermuda Billfish Blast, the “Sea Toy” and Kohl, Ryan and Monica Freese received an invitation to compete in the Offshore World Championship in Costa Rica.