By Jim Hutchinson Sr.
AT THE HELM OF THE WHITE MARLIN INVITATIONAL
Over the years I have fished in many fishing tournaments. My first was surf fishing in the Long Beach Island Striped Bass Derby as a 10-year-old boy in 1953. I don’t remember catching any fish to weigh in, but I still have my souvenir button from that contest.
Since then, I have entered more tournaments than I can count, only finishing in the money one time. I had a third-place winner about 20 years ago in the Sea Shell Club Derby. It was good for a nice chunk of change, which I split with my fishing companions.
While I haven’t fished any of the big offshore tournaments for tuna and billfish, I do check them out on a regular basis. One that I follow closely is the White Marlin Invitational Tournament sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club on Long Beach
Island, New Jersey.
I started wondering recently what is involved in producing one of those events and making several hundred people happy. There are captains’ dinners, get-togethers every night of the competition, cash prizes, door prizes, calcuttas, staffing everything, the awards banquet, and getting the word out to prospective entrants.
To find out what goes into setting up a big tournament, I went right to a perfect source, the man responsible for this year’s 56th annual White Marlin Invitational Tournament. Captain Dave Wittenborn, captain of the Benita J, has chaired that competition for five years.
Since Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club’s clubhouse in 2012, the club worked hard to rebound on various fronts. A new building was constructed and tournaments conducted.
Five years ago, the BHMTC was looking for a new leader for their tournament. After being asked three times to run the event, Dave finally agreed to take the job. He and his family had been attending and enjoying the White Marlin Invitational Tournament since the 1970s.
A respected member of the club, Dave was a good choice to take over the reins. It is important to know that there is no monetary compensation for all the work involved. He is 100 percent volunteer.
Dave had one condition when he accepted the challenge. He wanted to be able to fish the event. A third-generation charter captain with a 100-ton master license, he regularly runs offshore charters to the canyons and loves targeting tuna. When fishing in the tournament, he makes sure that all bases are covered back at the headquarters.
He does not take his responsibilities lightly. He is proud of the tournament’s history as the oldest white marlin tournament in America. Entries are limited to 65 boats to maintain a high-quality event as they compete for more than $550,000 in cash prizes. This number of boats is more than double what it was four years ago.
Preparing for the yearly contest is a 12-month effort. The first meeting for the upcoming tournament takes place just a week after the previous event ended. A generous sponsor base allows the club to hire a professional marketing manager and an event coordinator to manage logistics. This frees Dave to focus on sponsors and participants as well as overseeing the fishing aspects.
There is a committee of club members who work with Dave to make the tournament a success. “I see myself as a quarterback on a football team,” he told me. “I call the plays but can’t win without my team.” When Dave and his committee took over in 2021, they met weekly via Zoom and gave the tournament a complete makeover. Although Dave holds the final word on all matters, he follows the wishes of his committee.
Every decision made by Dave and his committee is not always popular. He looks at being second-guessed as coming with the territory. When he gets suggestions regarding the tournament, he promises to consider them for the following year.
Some changes have been made to the contest’s format since Dave took over. There is now video verification for billfish releases. There are prize categories for both daily and overall billfish scores, making for a competitive billfish tournament based on skill. Tuna, mahi, and wahoo are all qualifying species for prizes, but the focus of the WMIT remains on billfish, primarily white marlin.
Another major update was an additional optional fishing day, letting teams choose two of the tournament’s four days to fish instead of the previous two out of three days. This helps in times of bad weather.
Another introduction that has proved exciting was opening the weigh-ins to the public. The town of Beach Haven blocks off a large section of the public dock area for the Dock Road Marlin Fest featuring tents and vendors. This has made for a festive event, much like a giant block party.
Extra revenue from the WMIT is distributed to local nonprofit organizations. Since 2021, over $60,000 has been donated to local groups.
I asked Dave if he plans continue as chairman in 2026. He answered that since he is still “having fun,” he expects to. He is enjoying all the new friends he has made in the fishing industry from his involvement.
As for me, learning about all the hard work involved behind the scenes of a fishing tournament, I will just pay my entrant fee and fish for prizes.
If you would like to ask me a question or just tell me what a dope I am, please feel free to drop me a line at jamesghutch1@aol.com.
