Big tuna show for Offshore Open boaters

There was a dramatic change yesterday at the Mansquan River Marlin & Tuna Club Offshore Open as very large bigeye tuna were weighed in. The new leader is Blue Runner with an almost identical pair at 215.9 and 215 pounds. Lucky Strike 1 took over third at 160 pounds, followed by Following Seas with a 130.7-pounder and Due Course at 94.3 pounds.

Blue Runner also has two white marlin releases, while Offshore Business and Pepper each have one. It’s going to take a huFt.ge dolphin to beat the 47.3-pounder that Uncorked started off with. Offshore Business is second at 20.1 pounds. Two small swordfish have been entered, with Pepper at 95.7 pounds, ahead of Lucky Strike 1 at 54.6 pounds. Unlike most tournaments, the Offshore Open has a separate category for albacore which is led by led by Following Seas at 54.2 pounds. Fishing continues through Sept. 3.

A small craft advisory is up from this evening to Wednesday evening. Yet, the morning forecast is for southwest winds at just 5-10 knots before going west in the afternoon. The warning about rough seas at inlets continues. That still sounds good to me while waiting out the hurricane in Ft. Myers!

Jim Hutchinson Sr. and Jr. had a great trip in the East River yesterday while casting for stripers and blues with Tony Dilernia.