As noted in last night’s late blog, the MidAtlantic’s 30th tournament opened with a bang as most categories filled in with potential winners. That trend continued as the scales opened this afternon as Fish On weighed a 75-pound white marlin to move into third — ahead of a 69-pounder by C Boys. I’ll have an update with a late blog after the scales close at 9.
At Atlantic Highlands, the Fishermen reported slugging away at fluke and sea bass despite a cranky sea. The Sea Hunter called it OK fluking with plenty of action between shorts and keepers.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots with showers likely in the afternoon.
Tropical species are moving into warm northern waters. That included a tarpon in Barnegat Inlet reported by Fisherman;s Headquarters in Ship Bottom. Unfortunately, it was speared. A sad ending for a great, though virtually inedible game fish.,
Even if a hurricane blew out the rest of the week, the 30th MidAtlantic would still be considered a success with most of the categories already filed in with hefty fish. Jeff Merrill’s official account of the first day follows:
The first ballyhoo hadn’t hit the water on Day One of the 30th MidAtlantic and already two records were set at sportfishing’s “Main Event.” The tournament field is set at 203 boats, smashing the previous record of 183 set last year. Both tournament venues were busy prior to the Captain’s Meeting yesterday handling calcutta entries and last-minute registration and although cash payouts are still being verified, another cash purse record has been set this year at $5.9 million-plus, breaking the previous record of just over $4 million, also set last year.
On Day One 163 boats headed offshore into light winds and sea conditions were beautiful on the edge based on reports heard around the weigh stations. The evening’s weigh-in session got off to a fast start as Luke Blume’s C-Boys from Berlin, Maryland weighed a 69-pound white marlin but unfortunately their time atop the leaderboard would be brief. Less than 30 minutes later Art Boykin’s Lucky Duck II, also out of Berlin, Maryland set the standard in the category after weighing an 80-pounder bumping C-Boys to second place. Nick Shriver’s RoShamBo from Leonardtown, Maryland and Lance Converse’s Lunatico on Effe Mae based out of West Palm Beach, Florida are tied for third place after weighing 68-pounders on Day One.
In the blue marlin category, Larry Hesse’s Goin’ in Deep based in Manasquan, New Jersey with Captain Walter Harmstead at the wheel weighed a blue marlin of 681 pounds and currently sits atop the leaderboard in the category. Steve Pilipauskis’ Reel Tight got on the leaderboard after weighing a blue marlin of 487 pounds and currently is in second place. Third place is vacant.
The tuna bite was very good on Day One with a mix of big eyes and yellowfins weighed at both venues. Summit, New Jersey’s Bob Hugin aboard his The Right Place was definitely in the right place today weighing five big eye tuna including a 188 pounder which leads the category and a 175 pounder which is in third place. Ken Hager’s Taylor Jean from Tinton Falls, New Jersey weighed a big eye of 179 pounds and is in second place.
With no minimum weight for dolphin, many were weighed on Day One and Jeremy Blunt’s Wrecker out of Ocean City, Maryland leads the category with his 26-pounder followed by Joe Drosey’s Rhonda’s Osprey with a 24-pounder. Third place currently belongs to Curtis Campbell’s Reel Estate from Baltimore, Maryland with a 23-pounder.
Numerous wahoo were also weighed and Patrick McGovern’s Mack 900 based out of Somerset, New Jersey is atop the category with his 32-pounder followed by John Homick’s Salt Lick out of Annapolis, Maryland with his 18-pounder. Third place is vacant.
Some of the boats with notable billfish releases on Day One include William Keller’s Blood Money with seven white marlin released while Peter Cherasia’s Shark Byte and Wil Thornhil’s Showtime each released six white marlin. Eddie Wheeler’s Cabana, James Davis’ Wave Paver and Matthew Weber’s Max Bet each released four white marlin. Rusty Carter’s Stream Weaver released three white marlin and a blue marlin. Jamie Diller’s Canyon Lady released four white marlin and two blue marlin while Darren Helwig’s Roll Groove let go two blue marlin and two white marlin. Boats with three white marlin released on Day One include Jon Duffie’s Billfisher, Ryan Putman’s Is That So, Joe Bernert’s Quick Raise, Billy Wrede’s Lovin’ Life, Anthony Alves’ Kaarmaa, Adam Youschack’s Reelin’ Feelin’, John Gudelsky’s Reel Joy, Joseph Stein’s III Marli, Daniel Burt’s Pumpin’ Hard and Warren Halle’s Cookie Monster.
There should be many weigh-ins during today’s opening of the MidAtlantic in Cape May plus Ocean City, Maryland, but I will wait to summerize them in a later blog after the scales close tonight
The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant has a last minute availability on a Wednesday 7 a.m. 32-hour offshore tuna trip. The cost is $480, and the one spot can be reserved by calling 732 370-8019.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported bluefish jigging was decent today before they added sea bass plus some fluke and chub mackerel. Both plain and tubed jigs were equally effective. That boat is fishing offshore on its weekly Exotics trip tomorrow.
Chuck Many got back to striped bass fishing and put his crew on them, including a ouple over 25 pounds, before heading east for a boat limit of fluke up to a 7.74-pounder on his Tyman from Highlands.
The forecast is for southeast winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.
Capt. Jim Freda said he saw a white marlin in the Sea Girt surf a few days ago. Could that be the same lost marlin observed from LBI to Bay Head a few weeks ago?
The big money MidAtlantic Tournament begins Monday and runs through the week.There were 170 boats registered going into today’s captains meetings at Cape May plus Ocean City, Maryland, but I haven’t received the final number or the size of the purse so far.
The White Marlin Invitational concluded yesterday at Beach Haven, but I haven’t been able to find any results.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported bluefish jigging was picky this morning, but they had no trouble adding sea bass.
The Big Mohawk from that port had their best fluking of the season yesterday with action from start to finish and many limits.
Capt. Jim Freda of Shore Catch said yellowfin tuna fishing was slower the last couple of days — and some boats turned back today due to the surprsingly rough northeast sea.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for east winds at 5-10 knots.
Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports as follows for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association:
“The New Jersey summer flounder action does not get much better than it is right now. The boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are right in the middle of the action.
Captain Dave Kreines has been running his boat “ByteMe” down to the inlet areas for great August fishing. Jeff, Beth, and their two kids were out, and everyone caught fish, with over 30 f”luke landed, including 2 keepers over 20-inches. Patrick and Jennifer booked a 4-hour trip without the kids for their first taste of saltwater fishing. They happily took home 21 and 22-inch fluke and were excited to catch a variety of other species, including black sea bass, bluefish, sea robins, and small sharks.”
Captain Brett Taylor of Real Reaction Sportfish had Tom Clark and his daughter on a 5-hour ocean charters. The pair caught a full boat limit to 7-pounds. They released close to 25 short fish along with several keepers to 20-inches. The S&S Bigeyes tipped with natural baits were the ticket. Another trip with Captain Brett had Bob Reim and crew on a 5-hour fluke charter with mate Luke. They fished a few spots ending with 10 keepers to 24.5 inches.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” has been consistently finding keeper fluke for his parties fishing the waters off the southern tip of Long Beach Island including artificial reefs and other areas.
Several of the BHCFA captains participated in the recent Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club’s annual white marlin tournament. Noticeable were the stalwart efforts of the Association’s junior mates as they were active serving as volunteer helpers for the event.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
The MidAtlantic begins its 30th year with captains meetings Sunday at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland. Originally it was called the Mid Atlantic $500,000 because it offered the biggest pay-out along the northern coast. Last year the tournament purse came to $4,074,470. I’ll have more about this tomorrow.
Kevin Kloza got a big surprise while triggerfishing Friday at Shrewsbury Rocks on the Mary Louise as he tangled with a 57-inch black drum that had a 40-inch girth and was estimated at 102 pounds before release.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported good bluefishing on jigs this morning before adding sea bass and fluke to the catch. Some of those abundant blues finally moved into the surf yesterday morning as Greg Tirpak was casting at Monmouth Beach and caught 10 ranging from 2 to 10 pounds.
The forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 before east at 510 in the afternoon.
Paul Haertel of the JCAA passed along the results of last week’s Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament as follows:
2021 JCAA HEAVY HITTERS FLUKE TOURNAMENT FINAL STANDINGS
The final results are in and the big winners in the tournament were Walter Fisher’s team who won the tournament with a three fish total of 22.05 lbs. However, it was actually his wife Kim who led the team to victory by catching the largest fluke in the tournament at 10.05 lbs. They swept the fluke Calcuttas and won a total of $7,851. The other big winner was Eric Engard who caught the biggest sea bass in the tournament at 3.05 lbs. His team also swept the sea bass Calcuttas and won a total of $2101, not to shabby for a sea bass. Below are the complete results. Thanks to all our sponsors, weigh in stations and participants! Three Fluke Total1st Walter Fisher 22.05 lbs.2nd Danny Nykoforuk 17.22 lbs3rd Tony Pacitti 16.13 lbs4th Jason Rawa 15.44 lbs 5th Jeff Jones 14.5 lbs. Largest Fluke – Walter Fisher 10.05 lbsLargest Sea Bass – Eric Engard 3.05 lbs.
The Beach Haven Marllin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational is winding up this evening. So far the only report I was ,able to find was of yellowfin tuna on Highly Leveraged the first day,but will keep searching for the results;
Though the overall jigging for blues on the Golden Eagle from Belmar was rated just O.K., there were bigger ones of 8, 9 and 10 pounds mixed in. Sea bass once again provided some action later in the trip along with “plenty of ling”. They have room on the Saturday and Sunday mornng trips.
The Jamaica from Brielle had good bluefish and sea bass fishing today, and is also fishing at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow for blues.
The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had poor drifting sonditions again, but still recorded several limits and fluke up to a 5 7/8-pounder by Bill Goorman. They are chartered Sunday.
The forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots. Showers are possible early — and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Chuck Many took a break from stripers to fish in upstate New York for lake trout with Kurt Hoefig for lake trout, and enjoyed great jigging on 4-pound tackle in Cayuga Lake. Kurt is guiding in the Finger Lakes area for trout, Atlantic salmon and bass — and can be contacted at 908 442-3656.
CThis week’s Southern Canyons Tilefish trip of the Jamaica from Brielle was successful after a slow start. As a result, another sailing has been scheduled for 10 p.m., Aug. 30. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. An attempt to break the state record for the smaller blueline tilefish came up just a bit short for Ed Pax of Palmar, Pa. as his 22-pounder on certified scales was short of the 23 1/4-pound state mark. In addition to the larger golden tiles, there were some rosefish and white hake boated.
TV personality George Poveromo fished out of Brielle Yacht Club yesterday with Ryan DeGraw as they got into yellowfin tuna.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another fine morning of jigging blefish before switching to sea bass for the two per day presently allowed.
At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Ron Santee said there was so little drift this morning that he had to power drift the Fishermen. Conditions improved as a few fares managed two or three keepers plus sea bass.
The forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.
Though bluefish are officially in recovery mode, you’d never know that based on the fishing off the North Jersey coast. The choppers get fussy at times, but the Golden Eagle from Belmar reported they weren’t far from the inlet and were attacking jigs this morning. When that action slowed, some sea bass were added. Chub mackerel were also picked. The Golden Eagle had good action with yellowfin tuna during Monday’s Exotics mid-range trip, though they were running large and many were lost. Two were in the 85-90-pound class, and the others around 50 to 60 pounds while a 20-pound dolphin was also boated. There is room available on next week’s Monday night trip.
The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands had decent fluking today, though sea bass weren’t hitting well. There was one fluke limit, and the pool fluke was 7 pounds..
Capt. Jim Freda couldn’t find the inshore bluefins Tuesday, and had to wait out a squall before moving off for yellowfins before hooking up and ended up heading back with his Shore Catch by 1.
The offshore tournament season continues as the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational begins Wednesday with registration and the captains meeting at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club before boats fish two out of the next three days. That will be followed by the big money 30th MidAtlantic at Cape May and Ocean City, MD from Aug. 15-20.
Hopefully, canyon trolling will be better than it was at the White Marlin Open. Though that contest ended on a high note, fishing was tough most of the week. That’s reflected in the species count for the contest which came to 502 released white marlin plus 13 weighed; 66 blue marlin releases and 3 weighed; 8 spearfish, 3 sailfish; 22 tuna,9 dolphin, 4 wahoo, 2 boated sharks and a swordfish.
That sounds like a lot of fish, but 440 boats each fished three days and didn’t come close to catching just one fish of any kind per boat day.
The Fisherman magazine’s Dream Boat contest will soon have a new fluke leader as Marc Blazek leighed a 15.8-pound doormat at True World Tackle in Bayonne on Friday. It was boated just south of Ambrose Channel.
There was no mention of rain in yesterday’s marine forecast, but it sure came down this morning. Vinny D’Anton braved it in the Monmouth County surf without success for stripers, but a switch to fluking produced five which included a keeper.
South winds at 10-15 knots are forecast for the morning.
The White Marlin Open at Ocean City, Maryland sent along this explanation of how that contest concluded Friday with dramatic last minute changes that saw millions of dollars changing hands as fish were being weighed.
AUGUST 9, 2021
In the most dramatic finish in the 48- year history of the White Marlin Open, over $6 million dollars changed hands in the final hour of weigh-ins at Harbour Island Marina on Friday. Mike Atkinson off the “Fender Bender” (both from Virginia Beach, VA), weighed the first fish of the tournament. Until the last 30-minutes, his 82.5-pound white marlin was winning $5,000,000! As the line of boats with fish to weigh dwindled to the final three, there was one boat flying a white marlin flag. It was the “Sushi” out of Ocean City, MD with angler Butch Wright from Arnold, MD aboard. Wight’s white marlin tipped the scales at 85.5 pounds, taking $3,200,000 from the “Fender Bender,” leaving them a very respectable $1,800,000. Rounding out the white marlin division the “Billfisher”, also out of Ocean City, MD weighed a 78.5- pound white caught by Billy Gerlach from Jupiter, FL worth to take third and $105,000.00. The blue marlin division saw the same change of fortunes. The second fish weighed on Monday was a 559-pound blue marlin taken by Chris Perry aboard “Mama C”, both also from Virginia Beach, VA. Like the “Fender Bender”, Perry’s fish was winning $1,000,000 until the last hour. Late Friday, Scott Zurawski from Avalon, NJ fishing aboard the “Canyon Lady” out of Cape May, NJ weighed a 511- pound blue marlin that shaved $250,000 from the “Mama C” winnings but left Perry in first place, for a while. Then things got crazy. The “SEVEN” out of Jupiter, FL had made a successful trip to the scales earlier in the week. Angler Lawrence Morejon from Stuart, FL had weighed a 137-pound tuna on Monday that took first place and the $1,200,000 that came with it. On Friday, they showed up to the scales again flying a boated white marlin and blue marlin flags. Their white marlin weighed in at 72-pounds and took over third place. It was their blue marlin that electrified the crowds. The fish caught by David Cash from Palm Beach Gardens, FL strained the scales at 775-pounds, vaulting into first place to add another $1,100,000 to their winnings! No boat in 48 years had ever won two divisions. Their white marlin was pushed out of the top three when the “Sushi” showed up at the last minute, but the boat still ended up with $2,220,000 and the respect of all the other teams. The final blue marlin winnings were the “SEVEN” with
$1,100,000, the “Mama C” netting $240,000, and the “Canyon Lady” taking $95,000. There were some big winners in the tuna division. In addition to the $1,100,000 taken by the “SEVEN”, “A Few G’s” out of Furnace Creek, MD took $270,000, the “Cookie Monster” from Dover, DE earned $100,000, and three boats tied with $80,000: “Kilo Charlie” from Ocean City, MD, the “Real Chaos 62”, and the “Reely Chaotic” out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In the wahoo category a monster 84-pounder off the "El Azul" took first, the “Island Hopper” took second with a 48.5-pound fish, but the big winner was the third-place fish. The “Oysta Gangsta” out of Seaford, DE was also in the small boat division and their total prize money of $90,000 was earned by Tim Richardson from Easton, MD for his 46.5-pounder. There were five $18,000 plus winners in the dolphin division lead by 31.5-pounder taken aboard the “Kilo Charlie” from Ocean City, MD. The other $20,000 included: “Point Runner”, the “Due Course”, the “Boy’s Toy”, and the “Catch 23” Rounding out the gamefish leaderboard was the shark division were the “Go Fish” out of Middle River, MD weighed a 132.5 and a 131-pound to take $4,500 for the two catches. For a full list of all winners visit our website: whitemarlinopen.com
Chuck Many normally has no desire to fish for fluke when he could be catching stripers, but he put together a crew on Tyman from Highlands in Saturday’s Fluke Masters Tournament out of Leonardo and ended up in third place with five fluke totaling 27.52 pounds — including a 10.62-pound doormat that he hooked.
The forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots plus gusts to 20 before increasing to 20 knots in the afternoon.
Tight Lines 