OCEAN CITY- The 18^th Annual Mako Mania Shark Tournament last weekend was a huge success with near perfect conditions, plenty of sharks caught and released and over $69,000 in prize money doled out to the winners in several categories.

The early shark season has been strong in the waters off the coast of the resort, setting the stage for a memorable Mako Mania Tournament last weekend held at Bahia Marina. A total of 46 boats and 207 anglers participated in the tournament and after a slow start on Friday, the first day of fishing, the leaderboard began to fill out on Saturday and changed even more by Sunday.

Just 17 of the 46 registered boats fished on Friday, but 37 went out on Saturday and 38 fished on Sunday. Captains and teams of anglers had to choose to fish three of the official tournament days and most back-ended their open days later in the weekend.

For the record, angler Timmy McGuire and the crew on the prolific tournament boat “Nontypical” took first place in the Mako Division with a 223-plus pounder worth a $38,030. Angler Matt Frank on the “Top Dog” took second in the Mako Division with a 138-pounder worth $11,478. Angler Ron Marquette on the “White Lightning” was third in the Mako Division with a 135-pounder worth $7,652.

Threshers of all sizes were caught during the 2014 Mako Mania Tournament. When the dust settled at the tournament’s end on Sunday, angler Dakota Bittner fishing on the “Reel Nauti” took first place in the division with a 398-pounder that stunned the big crowd on hand at Bahia Marina.

The “Wrecker” swept the Bluefish Division with a pair of big blues including an 11.4-pounder worth $4659, and a 10.8-pounder worth $1,701. Captain Mel McGinnis and the crew on the “No Limits” took first in the W.W. Harman Most Release Points Division with six mako releases worth $1,000 in prize money.