I kept losing the internet while transfering Jeff Merrill’s final report on MidAtlantic winners, and settled for getting what I could published. The balance of the report follows:

  • The dolphin category saw David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida on Liquidity take the Heaviest Dolphin award for his 45-pounder weighed on Day One which was good for $67,321.  Joe Bernert of Hatboro, Pennsylvania on his Quick Raise weighed a 34-pound dolphin 34-pounder on Day Four and won $51,474 for second place.  Jeff Kogok of Saint Michaels, Maryland finished in third place with a 33-pounder weighed on Day Two from his Quick Raise.         Worthy of note, on the final fishing day of the tournament Captain Andrew Dotterweich on his Fish On released five white marlin. Cash Prize WinnersNote that cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters. Heaviest White Marlin – 87 lbs. – Common Sense – Clint Clement – Cape May Court House, NJ – $201,388    2nd Heaviest White Marlin – 76 lbs. – Boss Hogg – Howard Berger – Edgewater, MD – $1,406,938 3rd Heaviest White Marlin – 75 lbs. – Catch 23 – Michael Jordan – Jupiter, FL – $462,318 Heaviest Blue Marlin – 889 lbs. – Pipe Dreamer – Carmine Caruso – Ocean, NJ – $1,180,342 2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 548 lbs. – Amarula Sun – Shon Craig – Tarpon Springs, FL – $494,8863rd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 528 lbs. – Tighten Up – Jay Keller – Mount Airy, MD – $112,148   Heaviest Tuna – 253 lbs. – Talkin Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MA – $361,3532nd Heaviest Tuna – 234 lbs. – The Right Place – Bob Hugin – Summit, NJ – $552,483 3rd Heaviest Tuna – 216 lbs. – Taylor Jean – Ken Hager – Tinton Falls, NJ – $159,547                                                  Heaviest Wahoo – 56 lbs. – Y-Knot – Kyle Dougherty – Cape May Court House, NJ – $51,129    2nd Heaviest Wahoo – 52 lbs. – Covert Mission – Jim McCarthy – Shillington, PA – $67,666   3rd Heaviest Wahoo – 51 lbs. – Water Damage – Wayne Odachowski – Ocean City, MD – $17,894           Heaviest Dolphin – 45 lbs. – Liquidity – David Schockley – Jupiter, FL – $67,321  2nd Heaviest Dolphin – 34 lbs. – Quick Raise – Joe Bernert – Hatboro, PA – $51,4743rd Heaviest Dolphin – 33 lbs. – Too Many Martinis – Jeff Kogok – St. Michaels, MD – $25,024     Salt Life Billfish Points Calcutta – Cape MayMost Points – 1645 – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $13,8002nd Most Points – 1425 – Gina Lisa – Gina Addeo – Staten Island, NY – $8,280  3rd Most Points – 1125 – Judge – Martin Judge, Jr. – Wayne, PA – $5,520      Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta – Ocean CityMost Points – 1950 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA – $27,6002nd Most Points – 1800 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwaee, GA – $16,5603rd Most Points – 1725 – Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD – $11,040 The following participants received calcutta winnings for various positions on the leaderboard during the tournament.  Cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters.  White Marlin70 lbs. – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $123,18869 lbs. – Big Oil – Tim Tanghare – Vincentown, NJ – $72,86466 lbs. – Max Bet – Matt Weber – Vero Beach, FL – $29,072 Blue Marlin489 lbs. – Pipe Down – Jeff Crabtree – New Smyrna Beach, FL – $31,464470 lbs. – The Zipper – Eddie Zajdel – Ocean City, MD – $25,944 Tuna205 lbs. – Marli – Joe Stein III – Marriotsville, MD – $60,536195 lbs. – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD – $41,952113 lbs. – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ – $20,608112 lbs. – Random Chaos – Michael Pintozzi – Langhorne, PA – $52,256106 lbs. – Hall Pass – George Hall III – Avenue, MD – $12,97267 lbs. – Fish On – Andrew Dotterweich – Jupiter, FL – $8,64866 lbs. – Still Lucky – Steve Gladwin – Ocean City, MD – $4,324    Wahoo46 lbs. – Waste Knot – Michael Tickle – Morehead, NC – $9,292 Dolphin23 lbs. – Impulse V – Adam Demeusy – Newington, CT – $2,162  Point Winners (Trophies)Note ties are broken based on time of catch. Most Points White Marlin – 1950 – Trashman – Geno Sowers – Savannah, GA (Ties Tournament Record)2nd Most Points White Marlin – 1725 – Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD 3rd Most Points White Marlin – 1650 – Sweet Spot – Chris Kubik – Kill Devil Hills, NC Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwanee, GA 2nd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Get Reel – Brian Arni – Nottingham, PA3rd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Reelin’ Feelin’ – Adam Youschak – North Wildwood, NJ   Most Points Tuna – 318 – Lovin’ Life – Billy Wrede – Randolph, NJ 2nd Most Points Tuna – 224 – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD   3rd Most Points Tuna – 163.5 – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ  Most Points Overall – 2010 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA (New Tournament Record) Catch ReportWhite marlin released – 735 White marlin boated – 15Blue marlin released – 36Blue marlin boated – 8Tuna weighed – 58Wahoo weighed – 7Dolphin weighed – 15 It’s worth noting the 750 white marlin caught, of which 735 were released, is the third highest in tournament history. That’s also a 98% release rate as well!  Further, with 181 boats fishing three days for a total of 543-boat days of fishing that’s a catch rate of 1.46 white marlin per-boat-per-day!      As always, the MidAtlantic tournament prize structure features large payouts to multiple winners rather than one large check for one fish.  This year two winners received more than $1 million in prize money while three others received $460 thousand or more. 
  • Monday’s forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots, but big seas are coming after that,
  • The Golden Eagle from Belmar had fine jigging for small blues up to an 8-pounder plus some bonito on Saturday.
  • Vinny D’Anton reports a continued pick of small stripers in the Monmouth County surf on Chug Bugs and Redfins. The mullet run hasn’t started yet, but there are lots of small peanut bunkers.

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