OCEAN CITY -- Boat captains are paying thousands of dollars just to fuel up their boats for this years White Marlin Open. The price of diesel currently sits around five dollars per gallon, and when boats can take upwards of 100 gallons, it begins to add up. It's left most of the captains and fisherman at this years contest with a similar thought.
"It's just expensive," said Shane Treml, a fisherman on the Fin Razr.
That's an understatement when it comes to boats like Reel Development, an 84-foot long monstrosity that can hold 4,000 gallons of fuel. How much does it cost to fill that up?
"You know, you're looking at twenty something thousand dollars every time you fill it up," said Joseph Barrow, a fisherman on Reel Development.
Barrow did say that should last them the whole tournament, but that is still a lot of money being spent, and that's on fuel alone. That 20 grand doesn't take into account the tournament fee, bait, or payment for the crews. The high prices were enough to steer a few would-be-contestants away.
"There's a couple boats here that actually backed out right at the last minute," said Barrow. "They said the fishing's not good enough, and we're not going to go spend all the money to try and get into it if there's not that much out there to be done."
Pete Weaver, who was aboard the Reel Fin Addict, said he and his crew decided to not participate this year, in part to the high prices at the pump.
"When you fish three days in a row, or throughout the week, you know it starts to add up," said Weaver.
Weaver's boat was on the smaller end compared to others that were docked at Sunset Marina for the White Marlin Open, and despite the Reel Fin Addict only holding 420 gallons, it still costs him around $1,200 to fill it up.