White Marlin Open gets new leader as donated catches help feed families

The White Marlin Open saw a new leader Thursday as Mister Pete, a boat from Charleston, South Carolina, arrived at the scales with an 80-pound white marlin. Bill Sharpe of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, caught the fish, which had a projected payout of nearly $3.6 million as of Friday morning. With two days left, 334 boats had not used all three of their permitted trips, leaving room for 305 more offshore runs Friday and Saturday. James Hood aboard Bull Pen fell to second after a 70-pound white marlin. Gray Fox of Mantoloking, New Jersey, delivered the tournament’s first qualifying wahoo, a 69.5-pound fish worth an estimated $131,000. The tournament’s catches are also being donated: the Maryland Food Bank reported donations approaching 1,000 pounds by Thursday, serving 204 families that night.