by There was lots of excitement when the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament at Morehead City, N.C. concluded Saturday night as Sensation arrived after a 6-hour fight with a blue big enough to win at least $3.5 million between the first place award and $739,500 for being the first to weigh in a 500-pounder. Yet, all that disappeared as shark bites were spotted on the blue which still weighed 619.4 pounds. According to tournament and IGFA rules, mutilated fish are not eligible. That left the tournament with no choice but to disqualify the great catch. There was nothing the crew could have done to prevent the bites which didn’t seem to interfere with the great fight.
That was good news for Sushi, which was leading the contest with a 484.5 -pound blue — and collected $2,769,417.50.Chasin A was second at 479.8 pounds for $412,262.5, while early leader C-Student finished third for their 270.2-pounder worth $274,175. There were lots of big winners in other categories, and I’ll catch up with them when more info is provided.
The Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) held its annual statewide fluke tournament on Saturday, and for the second year in a row had a doormat worth $50,000 entered. Anglers had to pay an additional fee to take a chance on catching a doormat over 12 pounds — which is what Edward Shaefer of Ridgewood did with a 12.4-pound, 30.63-inch fluke weighed at Liberty Landing in the Jersey City port. I’ll have much more about this contest in tomorrow’s blog.
The Big Mohawk from Belmar switches to fluke tomorrow, as does the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. The Golden Eagle from Belmar starts bluefishing Tuesday.
The forecast is for east winds at just 5-10 knots.
Tight Lines 
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