'Pumpin Hard' Takes Top Prize in 50th Labor Day Tourney

OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Marlin Club's 50^th Annual Labor Day Weekend White Marlin Tournament was a success last week with just 19 boats and over $40,000 in prize money doled out to the winners.

Despite the relatively low number of boats participating, the action offshore was hot with white marlin showing up in good numbers. The crew aboard the 'Pumpin' Hard 58' took top honors with seven white marlin releases on Sunday and was awarded the lion's share of the tournament's prize money at $20,575. The 'D.A. Sea' came in a close second in the billfish release division with six white marlin releases and was awarded $3,435. The 'Intrinsic' was third in the release division with five white marlin releases and was awarded $2,290 in prize money.

In the meat fish divisions, the crew aboard the 'Billfisher' took first in the tuna category with a 38-pound yellowfin. The still red hot 'Reel Joy' team took first in the dolphin category with a 17-pounder worth $4,052, and also took first on day one of the daily billfish release division with five white marlin releases and was awarded another $5,175, bringing its tournament total to over $9,000. The 'Reel Joy' team won the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 tournament the week before and the Poor Girl's Open earlier in August.