There was good fishing reported today for both fluke and bluefish in fine weather which is forecast to continue.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reports from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands as follows: “A very nice bounce back on the fishing today. Had action all day long with a nice mix of fish.

Several customers had their three, a couple guys had double limits and some with just a couple fish. Some nice Sea Bass in the mix along with a bunch of Mac’s! Beautiful weather, nice calm ocean doesn’t get any better than that!

John Weins took todays pool with a nice 4.8 pound Fluke along with his 3.

Weather looks great all week and we are NOT AVAILABLE THIS SATURDAY. I had to reschedule last Saturdays trip due to the weather. OtherA very nice bounce back on the fishing today. Had action all day long with a nice mix of fish.

John Weins took todays pool with a nice 4.8 pound Fluke along with his 3.“

Weather looks great all week.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a good start with 4-8-pound blues on jigs as some anglers limited and added their one sea bass.

Following is the last release from the White Marlin Open out of Ocean City, Maryland with results from their 51st annual tournament which ended on Saturday.

The 51st Annual White Marlin Open has concluded, marking another thrilling chapter in the world’s largest offshore billfish tournament. Despite rough weather conditions that extended the tournament by an extra day, 318 boats competed for a share of the $8.59 million prize pool, bringing in five impressive billfish to the scales and delivering unforgettable moments on the water.

This year’s tournament will be remembered for the incredible appearance of huge blue marlin and bigeye tuna in Ocean City, dominating the leaderboard. The historic first-place blue marlin secured its spot as one of the top five heaviest in WMO history.

Leaderboard Recap

In the White Marlin category, Ven Poole from Raleigh, NC, aboard the boat Waste Knot, secured the top spot with a 77.50-pound catch, earning an impressive $3,699,630.67. Just behind, Noah McVicker from Ocean City, MD, fishing on the Billfisher, landed a 76.00-pound white marlin, taking home $1,797,119.13.

The Blue Marlin division saw a stunning 897.50-pound catch by Lance Blakemore of Horseheads, NY, on the Stone Cutter, which earned him $520,374.07. Close behind, Phil Key from Millers Island, MD, aboard Moore Bills, brought in an 894.00-pound blue marlin, winning $410,936.89. Rounding out the top three was Hershel Martin of Montross, VA, on Bobojo, with a 789.50-pound blue marlin that earned $112,704.77.

In the Tuna category, Rob Jones from Cincinnati, OH, fishing on the Blue Runner, dominated with a 220.50-pound catch, securing $1,007,012.32. Jeff Green from Cape May, NJ, aboard Warden Pass, claimed second place with a 193.50-pound tuna, earning $154,751.27, while Dante Soriente of Little Egg Harbor, NJ, on MJ’s, also caught a 193.50-pound tuna, taking home $148,250.85.

The Wahoo category was led by Ian Horowitz from North Wales, PA, who landed a 70.00-pound wahoo aboard American Lady, winning $66,094.09.

In the Dolphin category, Patrick Field from Stuart, FL, aboard Catch 23, took first place with a 32.50-pound dolphin, earning $64,094.09, followed by Andy Geldmacher of Westminster, MD, on Double Nickel, with a 31.00-pound catch, earning $2,409.09.

Top Boats & Anglers

In the Billfish Points Division Bobojo claimed the top spot among boats with 1,033 points, followed by Sequel with 980 points, and Taylor Jean and Catch 23 each finishing strong with 770 points.

In the Release category, Sequel topped the leaderboard with 980 points, while Taylor Jean and Bobojo followed closely behind with 770 points each. 

Hershel Martin, aboard the Bobojo, was crowned the WMO Grand Champion, leading the tournament with an outstanding performance and 753.17 points. In the female angler division, Kelly Weber on MaxBet claimed the top spot, followed by Heather Jaworski on Judge and Jackie Tenuto on Sequel.

For a complete list of stadings and payouts by boat, visit the official White Marlin Open website.

As the tournament wraps up, the White Marlin Open continues to set the bar for competitive offshore fishing, celebrating the spirit of the sport and the community that supports it. 
 

The last day of fishing at the White Marlin Open was no problem for entrants who were due millions for their catches as very little came in except for American Lady’s 70-pound wahoo that was the only entry of the week in that species. I’ll have a listing as soon as everything is official

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a good start this morning at jigging blues up to 8 pounds before picking the rest of the day and adding a few sea bass.

With only Saturday left in the White Marlin Open, there were boaters who headed offfshore in yesterday’s 5-8-foot seas, but they weren’t rewarded with any leaderboard changes. There are 62 more fishing the last day of the Ocean City White Marlin Open today in conditions probably not much better.

Mike Monte reports from Nantucket that bonito up to 7 pounds are loading up on sand eels and butterfish, while little tunny have also arrived. One tunny was an exceptional 13-pounder.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar got into lots of blues by jigging today, and some were up to 9 pounds. They also jigged some sea bass.

With millions of dollars on the line. boaters entered in the 51st White Marlin Open at Ocean City, Maryland keep fighting the weather to get their three days in. Today would normally be the last day of the contest with almost everyone fishing, but only 17 boats went out into a Baltimore Canyon forecast of 25-30 knot winds and 8-13-foot seas. The tournament has been extended to Saturday, but that only looks slightly better.

After sending in yesterday’s blog, a white marlin weigh-in that came in early and I missed on the marlin cam changed that richest category in the 51st White Marlin Open at Ocean City, Maryland. Billfisher from Ocean City weighed a 76-pounder that falls right behind the 77.5-pounder by Waste Knot.

As if two huge blue marlin weren’t enough, there was another yesterday evening as Moore Bills moved into second with an 894-pounder that was just 3.5 pounds behind Stone Cutter’s leader.

Blue Runner from Point Pleasant retained their tuna lead at 220.5-pounds, but MJ’s Sportfishing made a run at them with more bigeyes up to a 193.5-pounder.

The wahoo category remains empty.

After a day featuring billfish, it was back to bigeye blasts yesterday at the White Marlin Open out of Ocean City, Maryland.

The Blue Runner from Point Pleasant was already sitting pretty with a 220.5-pound bigeye that is projected to be worth over a million dollars, but they were out again and added a couple more. Talking Trash had five bigeyes, and The Right Place added a 191.5 for Mac Hugin, but the only major change was a 193.5-pounder by Warden Pass for second.

There was a white marln long enough to weigh. but it didn’t make the 70-pound minimum for scoring. That leaves Waste Knot leading at 77.5 pounds for over $4 million.

There were 196 boats out today as the weather is looking bad for a contest that’s been extended to Saturday. The inshore forecast is for a gale watch on Friday.

That’s also not going to help the NY/NJ Bight fluke fishing which has been suffering from a big swell. Fluke pro Dave Lilly said Tuesday’s fluking was really tough even though he managed a two-man limit which all came out of one very small piece of rough bottom. There were lots of boats out, but Lilly never saw a net move on any of them.

After bigeyes featured the first day of the 51st White Marlin Open at Ocean City, Md., very big blue marlin were featured yesterday.

Stone Cutter was involved in a 2 1/2-hour battle before boating an 897.5-pounder — and Ho Bo Jo followed with a 789.5-pounder!

All of the previous day’s bigeyes had to stand aside when Capt. Mark DeBlasio’s Blue Runner from Point Pleasant weighed a 220.5-pounder that could be worth over a million dollars. No Limit added a 183-pound bigeye. The biggest money is in white marlin, and the first weigh-in was of a 77.5-pounder on Waste Knot.

A couple of dolphin over 20 pounds finally came to the scales, as Double Nickel had a 31-pounder before Catch 25 weighed a 32.5-pounder.

With most entrants scrambling to get in days before Debbie creates problems, he catch count for the first day was 111 released whites, 15 releases blues plus a spearfish and a sail –as 10 tuna were weighed. Yesterday it was 96 released whites and one weighed along with the two big blues and four released plus 4 sails — while 7 tuna and two dolphin were weighed. The contest continues through Saturday.

A big ground swell has been tough on NY/NJ Bight fluke fishing.

With the threat of Debbie hanging over the event, 199 boats entered in the White Marlin Open got their first of three days in yesterday when bigeye tuna blasts created most of the action. Not surprisingly, bigeye specialist MJ’S Sportfishing got into a school that hooked up on five rods — of which they managed to boat four up to 164 1/2 pounds to pull just behind a 166-pounder by ex-Senate candidate Bob Hugin on his The Right Place. However, before the weigh-ins at Ocean City, Md. ended, the boat CTRL ALT DEL arrived with a 178.5-pound bigeye as well as a 154.5.

MJ’S also released a blue marlin that may have barely been big enough to be weighed in.

The rush to get in a fishable day continued today as 210 of the 318 boats fishing for a purse of $8.5 million are on the water. I’ll try to add a blog tonight if there’s a substantial change and Word Press stands up.

The 51st White Marlin Open out of Ocean City, Maryland has been extended by one day through Saturday in order to compensate for the effects of Tropical Storm Debbie, That contest has a field of 318 boats fishing for a purse of $8.5 million. Boaters can select any three days to fish from today through Saturday.

Paul Haertel of the JCAA reports the results of the JCAA Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament as follows:

“2024 JCAA Heavy Hitter Fluke Tournament – Final Standings

The Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament began on 8/1 and concluded on 8/4. The weather was not as good as many would have liked and the ocean temperatures were very cold. That resulted in generally poor fluke fishing though there were a few good catches. Kevin Cole of Newton, NJ was the big winner with a 5.82 lb fluke that he weighed in at Atlantic Bait and Tackle. Kevin won a YAMAHA 9.9 HP 4 stroke engine and cash for his first place fish. He also swept the 1 fluke and 3 fluke Calcuttas. Congrats to Kevin and the other winners listed below. Thanks to all those who participated along with our sponsors and weigh-in stations.

Fluke

1^st – Kevin Cole 5.82 lbs *

2^nd – Adam Schechter 5 lbs.

3^rd – Robert Pagiuco 4.86 lbs

4^th – Keith Scaglione 4.79 lbs (caught by Jon Lasser)

5^th – Tom Lichnak 4.53 lbs.

*Also won all 4 fluke Calcuttas ( 1 fish 5.82 lbs., 3 fish 13.4 lbs.)

Sea Bass Calcuttas

Adam Schechte

Dave Lilly couldn’t find any fluke bigger than 3 to 4 pounds to enter in the weekend Leonardo Flukemasters Tournament, but had a moment of excitement when a tripleheader of rays was hooked up.

The forecast is for west winds at just 5-10 knots before going south in the afternoon with showers and seas up to 5 feet.

N.Y.C. Capt. John McMurray has a real problem with too many bluefins these days as some are too big for the casting tackle his customers are fishing with and that often results in a long fight that doesn’t end well.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. started off with another good fluke trip on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. Several 3-4-pounders were boated and Arnoldo had a 4 5/16-pounder, before it suddenly went dead there and everywhere else Ron went. There was a big swell that might have had something to do with that.

A small craft advisory is up until late tonight.

The morning forecast is for west winds at 5-10 knots before going southwest in the afternoon at 10-15 plus gusts to 20.