Michael Jordan’s fishing yacht Catch 23 scored big Saturday. The NBA legend’s boat landed a 71-pound white marlin and a second-place finish in the White Marlin category at Ocean City’s annual White Marlin Open — just one pound shy of the $3.9 million first-place prize.

The 52-year-old White Marlin Open, called the “world’s largest and richest billfish tournament,” draws fishing boats and competitors from Maryland and across the country.

Anglers compete for cash prizes by reeling in the heaviest catches in these categories: white and blue marlin, tuna, wahoo and dolphin. This year’s event ran from Aug. 4-10.

Jordan’s Catch 23, an 82-foot Bayliss Boatworks yacht, won $389,377 in the white marlin category with a fish caught by Trey “Cricket” McMillan of Charleston, South Carolina. Jordan was on board with the crew for the catch.

“It was first thing in the morning, we were out kind of just doing our thing,” McMillan said about the winning catch during an interview with White Marlin Open.

He said he and the team on Catch 23 weren’t sure the white marlin’s weight would qualify in the tournament, so “we were hoping and praying, and it came true.”

First place in the same category went to the Billfisher sportfishing yacht with a 72-pound white marlin caught by Dan Gough of Ocean City, according to the leaderboard. That fish earned the top prize of $3,914, the highest award earned in the tournament.

Throughout the tournament, people gathered and cheered at Harbour Island each afternoon to watch the fish weigh-ins for the leaderboard.

Jordan is among several celebrities who have participated in the tournament. In the past, Hall of Fame baseball player Wade Boggs, singer Roy Clark and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse have competed in the contest, according to Delmarva Now.

In last year’s White Marlin Open, Jordan’s Catch 23 won first place in the dolphin category, earning $64,094 for a 32.5-pound dolphin, according to the 2024 leaderboard.

During this year’s tournament, Maryland participants took home large prizes.

Drew Osmeyer, from Timonium, caught a blue marlin on the boat Barbara B that earned $1,237,886 for the 929.5 pound marlin. Alex Eason from Cordova won $85,647 in the tuna category. The tuna weighed 186.5 pounds.

Osmeyer said in a tournament interview that he grew up “around the water down in Bowleys Quarters.” It was on his dad’s bucket list to participate in the tournament, he said, and his father joined him in celebrating the win.

The first tournament was held in 1974, and since then, winners among more than 114,000 anglers and 15,500 registered boats have received over $95 million in cash prizes, according to the tournament’s website. Participants pay $1,700 to participate. The event is open to all ages and levels of fishing expertise.