I was fortunate to be invited to ride along with Jim Motsko during the first White Marlin Open in 1974. While we didn't catch any white marlin, I apparently established myself as someone who could be counted on to write about the tournament with a positive outlook.

Because of that, I was able to ride along on various boats every year until I moved to Virginia Beach in 1989. I even came back and rode along a few more times before moving back to Delaware in 2000. By then, I had become well acquainted with Ed Zalagy of Volvo, and the company had a beautiful Spencer that I was able to fish aboard for several more White Marlin Opens.

While I was often listed as one of the anglers, I never touched a rod or participated in the fishing. I did my best to stay out of the way, take photos and record the action – or lack thereof.

I witnessed a great deal of change from that first tournament to what we have in 2026. This year, for the first time, the tournament will run for six days, allowing contestants to choose any three fishing days instead of having five consecutive days to fish. The change was made because weather has disrupted previous tournaments.

I recall one tournament in particular when I was supposed to ride along on one boat. When I stopped by Sunday to make sure I was still welcome, the captain nearly broke his neck trying to leap from the bridge to the dock to stop me. It seemed the boat owner had invited six ladies of easy virtue to join the crew, and the last thing he wanted aboard was a man carrying a camera.

No problem. I had another invitation from friends on a different boat, and after a quick visit with them, I was set. It was a 31-foot Bertram, and as things turned out, I was glad I made the switch.

The day began reasonably calm but soon turned rough. A hurricane was moving up the coast, and the closer it came, the rougher the seas became. We fished through the day, released one white marlin and then headed back to Ocean City. As it turned out, that was the final day of the tournament.

As I rode aboard some of those factory boats, I often thought about the many days I fished with my late brother-in-law, Paul Coffin, aboard his 22-foot Mako, Little Boat. While we had two engines, that's about where the similarities ended.

The Mako was completely exposed to the elements. The factory and privately owned boats had air-conditioned cabins with comfortable furniture for resting on the run to the fishing grounds and back to the dock. The Volvo boat even had an enclosed bridge.

The Mako had only a flasher depth finder. The larger boats were equipped with top-of-the-line sonar, radar, cruise control and communication systems that kept everyone aboard connected, even the lowly reporter.

Yet somehow Paul and I caught white marlin, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna and dolphin. We did it without top-of-the-line International reels, fancy spreader bars or expensive lures. We used Penn Senator reels spooled with Stren line and dead bait – usually ballyhoo, squid or mullet – that we rigged ourselves.

It all began in 1974, when I caught my first white marlin. Early in 1975, Paul, Lark Bellini and I brought the first white marlin of the season to South Shore Marina, where Paul kept his boat.

Of all the tournaments I covered, the only one in which we came to the scales with a qualifying fish was the year I rode aboard that beautiful Spencer with Ed Zalagy.

If memory serves, we caught a couple of white marlin, but the one we brought back came as part of a doubleheader. We released the first because it was too small, but the second appeared large enough to qualify.

The mates brought it aboard, and it measured long enough to make the minimum. Into an ice bag it went to keep it as fresh as possible until we returned to the dock.

Now, you have to understand that no one aboard the boat would win any prize money if the fish placed. Everyone either worked for Volvo or, like me, was a guest.

At the weigh-in, the white marlin was heavy enough to move into third place. We were all excited, but the excitement didn't last long. Another boat claimed third place the following day.