OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — Fishermen in Maryland have claimed $15,000 total after catching 2017's first white marlins.

The Daily Times reports Charlie Horning caught this year's first white marlin on June 16. Horning was only two hours into a trip on the Fishing Whistle, his Delaware-based boat out of Indian River Inlet, when the billfish had "the pole bend and luckily he just got hooked and hung there."

Horning didn't initially realize it earned him a $5,000 prize from the Ocean City Marlin Club, who rewards the money to the member who snags the season's first white marlin.

The next day, fellow club member David Taylor caught the second marlin and first by an angler out of Ocean City Inlet. Taylor received $5,000 rewards from both the town and Fishermen United of Ocean City.

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Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., http://www.delmarvanow.com/