OCEAN CITY - A beautiful day on shore did not translate into a good day for deep-sea anglers yesterday in the 29th annual White Marlin Open.

Most of the 402 boats registered sized up the choppy prospects and decided by 8:30 a.m. to skip the day. Just 28 boats likely chose to go out in the 25-mph winds out of the north and seas running 5 to 7 feet.

There were no changes on the leader board in the white marlin category. Jeffrey Goodwin of Glen Arm remains in first place with his 77-pound catch. Larry Johnson leads in the dolphin category with a 30.5-pounder.

"Since almost everyone went out Monday, a lot decided to stay in," said Open spokesman Andy Motsko.

And with nearly the same conditions forecast for today, a lot of skippers say they'll stay put and fish tomorrow and Friday, the final two days of the tournament.

Boats can fish on three of the five days of the event.

Captains and mates spent the day checking gear.

"We'll fix things that are broken," said Cory Davis, mate on Fighting Chance out of Hatteras, N.C.

"There's always something to do on a boat, even if it's just cleaning and polishing."