The IGFA is holding their 39th annual Live International Auction at 8 p.m. To get in on this event e-mail Kim Strong at kstrong@igfa.org.

The Jamaica from Brielle is sailing to far offshore wrecks for jumbo porgies at 11 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. Call 732 528-5014 for required reservations.

Saturday’s forecast is for southwest winds at15-20 knots before dropping to west 10-15 knots in the afternoon.

This beautiful African pompano was boated by James Loisel on a 20-pound Stanz rod with 30-pound braid on Capt. Nick Stanczyk’s Broardminded at Bud N’Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida Keys.

This is hardly the time of year you’d expect to catch a fluke; but Dennis Muhlenforth reports there have been some caught by blackfishermen the last three days from N.J. to Md. Of course, those fish are out of season and have to go back.

The gale warning goes down at 6:30. The morning NY/NJ Bight forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before dropping to 5-10 knots in the afternoon.

Chuck Many is sight casting to black drum in his salt ponds at Hilton Head. South Carolina

The New York Boat Show opened today at the Convention Center and runs through Jan. 29.

A gale warning has been posted in NY/NJ Bight through Thursday afternoon. The Thursday forecast is for west winds at 25-30 knots plus gusts to 40.

The Jamaica from Brielle picked at porgies on every wreck during Sunday’s trip. There were also some pollock and weakfish. Jim Appling from Mt. Laurel, N.J. won the pool with a 12-pound pollock. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations on trips sailing Friday and Saturday nights.

Absecon Bay Sportsman Center reports the best white perch fishing ever, though boaters accounted for most of the weekend fish in the deepest river holes.

Sailfish Marina in Riviera Beach, Fl. weighed this 472-pound swordfish brought in by the Crazy III.

Capt. Peter B. Wright, one of the world’s greatest big game skippers, has passed away. I have no details at present, but will add them as they become available. Surprisingly, Pete was born on Jan. 8,1944 in Paterson, N.J. — far from the tropical waters where he was to primarily build his reputation. However, he grew up in Fort Lauderdale and was fishing out of Hillsboro Inlet as a teenager before going on to study marine biology at the University of Miami.

Peter ended up fishing around the world and becoming a member of the IGFA Hall of Fame and winning the Tommy Gifford Award. He became most famous as a pioneer in the Cairns, Australia giant black marlin fishery where he put more anglers into 1000-pounders than any other captain. Despite his fame, Peter was a friendly guy always ready to share his knowledge.

The list of laces Peter fished (as listed in his bio) follows:

Australia • New Zealand • New Guinea • Indonesia • Thailand • Mauritius • Kenya • Mozambique • South Africa • The Ivory Coast •  Bom Bom Island • Cape Verde Islands • Canary Islands • Madeira • Puerto Rico • Dominican Republic • Virgin Islands • Bahamas • US Gulf and East Coast • Canada’s Maritime Provinces • East and West Coasts of Mexico • Guatamala • Costa Rica • Panama • Ecuador • Chile • Peru • French Polynesia • Fiji • Nova Scotia • Newfoundland • Hawaii • the Galapagos

Shore Catch Charters reports Capt. Gene Quigley will be providing a seminar on fly fishing for tuna during the Fly Fishing Show in Edison at noon Saturday. At the same time Sunday, Quigley will discuss catching trophy stripers on the fly.

A small craft advisory is posted in NY/NJ Bight from Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon. Wednesday starts well with east winds at just 5-10 knots before increasing to southeast 20-25 with gusts to 30 in the afternoon. There is a chance of rain in both the morning and afternoon.

North Carolina has a new swordfish record — a 504 1/2-pounder boated by Gary Carney 55 miles off Morehead City.

A small craft advisory is up for NY/NJ Bight through Tuesday afternoon. West winds at 20-25 knots are forecast in the morning before dipping to 15-20 in the afternoon.

The Coast Guard has called off a long search for a private fisherman who was yanked out of a friend’s boat in Hawaii last weekend. There were few details in news releases, but it appears the fisherman was using a handline. He had just exclaimed that he had hooked a “huge” fish when what’s assumed to be an ahi (yellowfin tuna) carried him over the side.

Those tuna grow to over 200 pounds in Hawaii, and will generally dive when hooked. With a loop of line around a foot there was little hope of getting back to the surface unless he had a knife with which to cut the line.

Even the most experienced fishermen can get in trouble when dealing with a large fish. This incident brought bake memories of professional mate Chris Bowie being shot out of a boat while wiring a blue marlin off N.C. in 1994. His body was never found. Much closer to me was the loss of the great Delaware shark skipper Capt. Billy Verbanas, who took the rod from a customer who couldn’t finish off a big mako in 2002 and was yanked overboard while secured in a harness. I had fished with him a couple of times and noted now careful he had been while assigning everyone to a task – including holding onto the angler’s belt. Billy did get back up, but it was too late to save his life.

Carrying a release knife on your belt is a good move as cutting the line may be your only option while being dragged underwater while strapped in a harness.

A small craft advisory is up from Monday morning to late night. The morning forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots before going northwest at 15-20 in the afternoon.

Chuck Many did a solo trip on his boat at Hilton Head, S.C. to find this large red drum.

Those seeking a good opportunity to try blackfishing in NY/NJ Bight should be in luck tomorrow as the forecast is for south winds at a mere 5-10 knots. There is a chance of rain in the afternoon.

Capt. Joe Massa sent along a photo from his last tog trip from Morgan Marina before taking the boat out. Bobby Glynn and Bob Croaker were along for a good catch up to 7 pounds.

The Staten Island Tuna Club will be running a fishing flea market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Mt. Loretto on Hylan Blvd. Free seminars begin at 9.

Capt. Vinny Vetere will be there with a big display of his lures which he wants to sell in quantity — and will accept any reasonable offer.

The Hi-Mar Striper Club has announced that its annual Fishing Flea Market and seminars will be held on Sat. Feb. 11 at the Port Monmouth VFW, on Rt. 36 East at 1 Veterans Place from 8-2.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be sailing at 11 p.m. tonight and tomorrow for jumbo porgies on far offshore wrecks. There were plenty of scup out there during their last trip when Nelson Neives of Riverside, N.J. took the pool with a 4-pounder. Call 732 528-5014 for the required reservation.

Chuck Many reports that another Cape Charles boat is participating in the Gray tagging program. Capt. John Mathena of Patriot Sportfishing sent a shot of Blake Phillips with a 44-inch striper that weighed 42 pounds with a belly full of roe.

A small craft warning is up tonight in NY/NJ Bight, but will be down to northwest 10-15 with gusts to 20 by morning – and then to north 5-10 in the afternoon.

One of the greatest tragedies off the Atlantic coast didn’t involve a ship, but rather a unique structure – the Texas Tower.

That Air Force early warning radar structure was called “Old Shaky” by its crew, and was damaged by many storms before the end came as the aircraft carrier Wasp raced to the rescue on Jan. 15, 1961.Unfortunately, the Wasp didn’t get there in time and all 28 men aboard were lost.

As with most other maritime tragedies, the Texas Tower wreckage has become a great attraction for sea life and those seeking everything from cod and pollock to bluefin and yellowfin tuna, sharks and white marlin. It’s located about 75 miles east of Barnegat Light, and I was able to get out there with charters a few times when I was running Sheri Berri –a 28-foot Aquasport out of Manasquan Inlet. Indeed, I was near there while winning the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers High Rollers Tournament as Mike Koblan reeled in a tiger shark over 700 pounds.

The NY/NJ Bight forecast includes a small craft advisory from Friday morning to night. However, the 15-20 knot winds with gusts to 30 are from the favorable west direction.

The Jamaica from Brielle is taking reservations for offshore wreck porgy trips departing at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights. Call 732 528-5014.

Nick La Bella with a wahoo at Bud’ N Mary’s Marina (800 742-7945) in Islamorada, Florida Keys.

Trophy stripers continue to hit at Cape Charles, Virginia, and SHO-NUF proved that point by putting a Gray fish tag into a 58-pounder today (see below) after being blown out a couple of days. They also added another bass release just short of 40 pounds. Charters are available by calling 757 710-0098.

Tomorrow’s forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for calming northwest winds at 10-15 knots after midnight before switching to southeast 10-15 knots with rain in the afternoon.