Angler Earns World Record $6.2 Million for Catching Massive Blue Marlin

It was a record-breaking outing Friday when an angler reeled in a massive blue martin during a fishing tournament and netted himself a huge cash prize.

John Ols, a Laytonsville, Md., resident, caught a 640.5-pound blue marlin to claim a $6.2 million prize—a world record—from the $10.5 million purse Friday at the 50th annual White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Md. The previous record was $4.45 million at last year’s White Marlin Open, according to The Virginia Pilot. 

The competition has come to be known as the “World’s Largest and Richest Billfish Tournament,” and it’s clear why. The massive fish measured an absurd 118 inches in length, and it beat last year’s winner by over 100 pounds. 

The tournament announced that 551 white marlin and 46 blue marlin were caught during the tournament, but only three billfish were brought to the scales, and only two were weighed.

Ols was fishing aboard the Ocean City-based boat Floor Reel, the third consecutive local boat to win the five-day event.

Congratulations to ROFFS client/angler John Ols & crew on the Floor Reel who fished out of Ocean City, Maryland and weighed in this 640.5 lb. blue marlin to win the 2023 White Marlin Open winning a WORLD RECORD total of $6,200,000! pic.twitter.com/k4gfzseBZy

— ROFFS™ Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service (@roffsfishing) August 12, 2023