OCEAN CITY- Calm seas and a rather remarkable white marlin bite conspired last weekend for a highly successful 56^th Annual Labor Day White Marlin Tournament for the Ocean City Marlin club and its participating boats.

Throughout last week, the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal wreaked havoc inshore and offshore with rough seas and high winds, casting doubt over the Ocean City’s Marlin Club’s 56^th Annual Labor Day White Marlin Tournament. The tournament is the oldest among the tournaments held in and around the resort area each summer. The first was held in 1958 and the annual event has endured the test of time for nearly six decades and several generations of local anglers and club members.

By the first day of fishing last Friday, Cristobal had cleared out of the area and the seas had calmed, setting the stage for good conditions for the

" src="http://d2wcro6av4bts2.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/walker-first-white-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /> The white marlin bite off the coast of Ocean City has been exceptional for the most part over the last week or so with many boats reporting double-digit releases. Pictured above, Walker Hastings of Ocean City shows off his first-ever white marlin catch on the “Reel Chaos” last Saturday.
Submitted photo

tournament. On top of that, the white marlin bite off the coast suddenly became red hot with many boats in the area flying multiple release flags late last week and into the weekend.

The “Billfisher” took the top prize in the Billfish Release Division with 2,650 points and earned $10,035. The “D.A. Sea” was second with 2,400 points and earned $4,671. The “Fin-Ness” took third with 1,300 points and earned $1,314. The “Brenda Lou” was fourth with 500 points and earned $1,800.

There were no tuna weighed during the tournament, but the dolphin division produced good results. The “Fin-Ness” took first with a 31.4 pounder worth $9,720. The “Jezebel” was second with a 28.8-pounder worth $3,132. The “Sea-N-Red” was third with a 24.8-pounder worth $1,008, while the “Fin-Ness” was fourth with a 24.6-pounder worth $1,080. Ed Dunn won the Master Angler Award with 12 white marlin releases, all of which were self-hooked.