White Marlin Open is always a thriller

As the 51st annual White Marlin Open gets into its fourth day, anglers have dealt with less than perfect conditions.

The forward advances of what is now Tropical Depression Debby forced tournament directors into adding a sixth day of fishing.

And if you have ever followed this tournament, you know that anything can happen.

The 318 teams - who can fish three of the six days - have endured less than perfect conditions in their hopes of winning a portion of the year’s $8.5 million overall purse.

And according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. Thursday forecasting, conditions will only get better really quick.

As of Wednesday in the Monday to Saturday event that is billed as the largest billfish event in the world, angler Ven Poole of Raleigh, N.C., leads the all-important and highest-paying  white marlin division with a 77.5-pounder caught on the second day of angling aboard the Waste Knot - a vessel registered in Raleigh that spends most of its time fishing out of Oregon Inlet.

Let’s face facts, you ain’t riding that boat from Raleigh to the ocean.

Poole’s fish was worth about $4.7 million - $4,627,884 if you are counting your pennies - before Noah McVicker of Ocean City brought a 76-pounder to the scales on Thursday. Fishing on the Billfishes, McVicker's fish is worth $1,777,780 and he confiscates some of Poole's winnings, which now stands at $3,695,792.

Of the teams entered, most are finished with their allowed three days of angling. But don’t ever count out theses crews who are some of the East Coast’s best boat captains.

There have been many of years when I headed north to the Ocean City, Md., weigh-in station to follow a Virginia or North Carolina leader only to have the prize stolen by a last-second catch.

While the high-dollar tournament with an $8.5 million total purse is all about while marlin, the bigger blues also came into play Tuesday - including an 897.5-pound giant caught by Horseheads, N.Y.’s, angler Lance Blakemore. His fish is worth about $524,858 at this point.

Remember, each species has its own division. There aren’t any overall standings other than the release division unless not whites or blues are large enough to bring to the scales. There are minimum length requirements to even get your fish on the weight scales.

As important as Poole’s fish was - and it’s the most important - there were other exciting moments at Tuesdays weigh-in dock. A 789.5-pound blue marlin caught by Hershel Martin of Montross, Va., while fishing on the Manteo, N.C.-based boat Mobojo temporarily took that top spot in that division until Blakemore’s fish was hung on the scales.

And let’s not forget the tuna. When no whites or blues are big enough to weigh in, money is thrown into that division - which has taken advantage of large bigeye tuna the last few years. Not this year, however.

But while much of the media attention has been rooted in coverage of the event because of the money and the fact that NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is fishing on his 82-foot Manteo, N.C., John Bayliss-built luxury yacht, Catch 23, it’s the other teams in the field that have ruled this event and deserve more publicity.

Virginia Beach’s Cheryl McLeskey, fishing on the Steve Richardson-run Backlash, won in the 2015 event with a whooper 94-pounder.

She was the last of a multitude of Virginia and northeast North Carolina teams that have won millions of dollars in the WMO.

Contrary to some beliefs, it’s basically the same fishery that our anglers deal with off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, and our captains know how to make noise in any waters.

In the mean time, while some anglers are sweating it out, the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament and the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament are two major events still to come.

If you want to keep up with the WMO, you can always watch the weigh-in live streams at whitemarlinopen.com or you can check in with me.

The bottom line is that anybody who cares or has interest in this event is already following it online.

There will be more to come, because, when your are dealing with the WMO, it isn’t over until the big fish sings.