Every year at this time I have to do a blog trying to straighten out the confusion created by skippers advertising inshore trips for “albacore”. The one thing guaranteed with such trips is that you will not catch an albacore.
Albacore are an oceanic species found in temperate waters throughout most of the world. They are impossible to misidentify due to their very long pectoral fins which reach almost to the tail. As a result, they are often referred to as longfins. In NY/NJ Bight they are most often taken from late summer through fall in the canyons. I only remember seeing them locally inshore of the canyons once while once many decades ago aboard the late Capt. Bob Pisano’s Ol’ Salty while trolling at the Texas Tower. Ironically, my personal record 60-pound albacore was chunked on Sept. 12,1985 on the west bank of Butterfish Hole only about a dozen miles from Montauk Point as an abundance of large sand eels drew them in where we caught them mixed in with both yellowfin and bluefin tuna in a very unusual situation.
The common name for the little tunny of false albacore probably came from anglers who had never seen an albacore which was not thought to be available to us before canyon fishing started. Only the general shape of the two species is somewhat similar. In addition to the long pectorals, albacore have no spots — and there’s a world of difference in edibility. Advertising albacore when little tunny are the target is like a restaurant advertising steak but serving hamburger with the excuse that they’re both beef.
Little tunny are, pound for pound, as game as any fish in the oceans. They are well worth the money to pursue with light tackle. and fight so hard that some can’t recover for a release. Though the flesh is coarse and bloody, they can be utilized by cleaning them right away and blanching all the blood out. Some do that by soaking the fillets in milk in the fridge overnight. When my charter customers wanted to try them, I dropped the fillets into a bucket of sea water along with ice. By the time we were back those fillets were white and very edible.
The Jamaica from Brielle had a great variety trip Friday as two bluefin tuna and two houndfish were included along with king and Spanish mackerel plus bonito, loads of chub mackerel and many bluefish limits. They will sail at 6:30 a.m. Monday on a limited trip to get more of the early bite. For reservations call 732 528-5014.
Phil Sciortino, at The Tackle Box in Hazlet, reported that St. Croix Pro Staffer Dave Torrick had double hook-ups from tilefish on last week’s trip of the Gambler from Point Pleasant by using Fisherman’s Choice marinated salmon strips.
Small craft warning s are up through Sunday afternoon. Northwest winds at 10-15 knots will gust to 25.
The weather has been pretty good for fishermen lately, but it appears that will be changing on Sunday.The inshore forecast is for only southwest at 10-15 knots — but with gusts to 25. Showers are also likely.
The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands has canceled its fluke trip for tomorrow. A fast drift today resulted in fishing not being as good as yesterday with only one limit taken.
Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reported that 10 ounces was required to stay near the bottom on his Fishermen, but Anthony Rullo worked through that to catch a double limit up to the pool-winning 6.11-pounder plus two large sea bass.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had another super variety day with lots of chub mackerel. The non-stop action included blues, sea bass, Spanish and king mackerel, bonito and little tunny.
With thunder booming outside my office, I’m cutting this off before the lights go out!
As noted in last night’s blog, Dave Lilly boated a 9-pound, 28 1/2-inch fluke at the Rattlesnake that was special because it hit a frozen snapper that his granddaughter Maddie had caught for him — and also because of its unique shape. As you’ll see, it was almost circular — and the oddest shaped that fluke pro has ever seen
Fluking conditions were better today. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands said the calm ocean was a big improvement over yesterday’s butt-kicking. The best action was on the change of the tide when it was solid for an hour as many limits up to 5.6 pounds were caught.
Also at that port, Capt. Rob Semkewyc had a similar report on his Sea Hunter.
It’s looking good again for tomorrow as the forecast is for west winds at 10 knots — going to southwest in the afternoon.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported super bluefishing today along with some bonito and little tunny plus a few houndfish, king and Spanish mackerel — and uncountable chub mackerel.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had posted a report about bluefin tuna with Tuesday’s date, but now notes a successful trip with yellowfin tuna up to 75 pounds that day. Today was very good inshore with “tons” of blues and even a cobia.
There was no lack of action on Tuesday’s mid-range exotics special of the Golden Eagle from Belmar. The Golden Eagle wad more success in getting yellowfin tuna into the boat than during previous trips with 14 caught while over 30 were lost. The tuna ranged from 40 to 65 pounds, and were hooked on both bait and jigs.
I can understand the losses as it was hard enough Sunday for just three anglers on a 32-foot center console to prevent tangles or untangle those that occurred when multiples were hooked. We only lost one, but I can imagine what a mess that is on a party boat where fares are often using tackle too light to control big fish alongside. Another such trip is being planned by the Golden Eagle.
Paul Haertel was also there for the hot Sunday bite. The long-time JCAA official said they had nine yellowfins up to 65 pounds on his center console. Despite the large number of boats over 70 miles offshore on Sunday, they were spread out in small clusters as everyone seemed to be catching and there was reason to gang up.
Though the forecast for today was only northwest at 10-15 knots, fluke pro Dave Lilly said he couldn’t keep his cap on, and wasn’t able to hold bottom at the Mud Buoy. He ended up with a boat limit at the Rattlesnake, but could barely hold even in shallower depths in a wind he estimated at 30 knots. All of that was worthwhile when he boated a 28 1/2-inch fluke that went 9 pounds on his Boga Grip. Best of all, Dave hoked that big fluke on a frozen snapper that his granddaughter Maddie caught for him to use for bait.
Hopefully, NOAA will be more accurate with tomorrow’s forecast of southwest winds of 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 with gusts to 20 knots in the afternoon when showers and thunderstorms are possible.
The Golden Eagle was back to inshore variety today, and reported good action with bluefish up to 6 pounds plus some sea bass and fluke.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant found some bluefin tuna Tuesday. Some anglers limited on blues before they headed out for little tunny and tuna that included a 35-pounder. They also lost a few tuna and released shorts. Both king and Spanish mackerel have been caught on recent trips.
The Jamaica from Brielle did well with blues today along with lots of chub mackerel plus a few bonito, little tunny, sea bass and fluke. Mike Madsen of Grand River, Michigan won the pool with a 9-pound little tunny.
Capt. Ron Santee Jr. has been getting into the best large fluke action of the season with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, but that often requires heavy sinkers. Thus, he figured it’s time for his fall, “Bring a heavier action rod” speech — Something that can handle 8-10 ounces and I don’t mean an Ugly stick that bends in half to the 4th guide with the weight, while you are telling me how many fish you caught with that rod!! You will loose rigs galore as we can’t bounce the sinkers out of the rocks with light tackle….You have been warned once again!“
Capt. Rob Semkewyc, of the Sea Hunter at that port said the last two days haven’t been up to par due to very fast drifts. Some keepers are caught, but he’s looking forward to better drifting conditions tomorrow.
Capt. Arthur Stokes was aboard a big boat Sunday morning when the generator was lost and they decided not to go way out to the yellowfin grounds. Stokes felt confident he could troll a bluefin not far from shore, and worked from Scotland to Shrewsbury Rocks with horse balao on a Tom Novak head to do just that with a 63-incher boated.
Apparently there have been many bluefins spotted. Capt. Chris Di Stefano got a report of boaters casting to fish that were in the 63-inch class at the Rattlesnake though they wouldn’t hit. It appeared that they were feeding on the abundant bunkers.
Party boats have also mentioned bluefins, though I I suspect they’re talking about much smaller tuna. The Jamaica from Brielle is making a limited trip at 6:30 a.m. Friday to seek them along with little tunny, bonito and bigger blues plus Spanish mackerel and dolphin. Call 732 528-5014.
At Belmar, the Golden Eagle noted good weekend fishing with bigger blues plus sea bass, large porgies and little tunny. Yesterday started slower, but they went into overtime to do well with the same species and bluefin tuna — though no sizes were specified.
Fluking has also been very good. Parker Pete reported on Facebook that Monday’s catch included 10 fluke from 6 to 9.6 pounds.
At Atlantic Highlands, the Fishermen got into larger fluke Monday when Sal Celcesco boated a 29 1/2-inch 9.6-pounder plus a 6.13 and a 4.5.
Scott Leadbeater ran his Aquasport off to Sandy Hook Reef on Saturday to boat his personal best 28 1/2-inch 7.2-pound fluke.
Dr. Pat Donnelly is one of the few who catches fluke limits consistently from his Shanakee out of Manasquan Inlet, but last weekend was outstanding even by his standards. The Brielle dentist’s crew limited Friday up to 7.8 and 6.4 pounds; again on Saturday to 9.7 and 7.5 pounds; and on Sunday up to Joe Martz’s personal best of 6.4 pounds.
The great weather continues tomorrow with a forecast of northwest winds at 10-15 knots.
It’s been many years since NY/NJ Bight anglers have seen yellowfin tuna fishing short of the canyons such as they’re experiencing right now. The only negative is that it’s still much further offshore than during the days when we were chunking them at such relatively nearby spots as Yellowfin Lump, but these fish seem to be more abundant and easier to hook.
Some of them are also bigger than I’d prefer them to be. Capt. Joe Massa and I joined Bob Correll on his Big A from Crystal Point Marina in Point Pleasant for a 5 a.m.Sunday run to numbers which Capt. Lou Grazioso gave us the night before. Sure enough, when we got there tuna chicks were working over swirls, and there were yellowfins and skipjacks flashing under the Sea Vee as soon as we threw some sardines in the water. Joe and Bob were hooked up right away, but as I lowered my sardine I saw a “carpet” of cownose rays under us. I got a light hit and hooked what I assumed was a ray as there was no hard run. I fought that fish just to get it up to be released, so I could get to the tuna, for about 10 minutes before seeing the color of a tuna that had been playing possum before than beating me up around the boat. Both that fish and another Bob caught at the same time needed two hands on the gaff to boat. I estimated them at 80 pounds, and after that battle felt like an 84-year-old man — which I am!
Nevertheless, I got a bait back in the water and soon hooked up another odd fish. That one made the typical sizzling run, but then felt like it was stuck in bottom. I was yanking on the rod to no avail as there was no sign of life. I figured the fish might be foul-hooked, and we ran up on the line to get a better angle on it before I could gain some line by pumping directly over what turned out to be a yellowfin with the hook in its side. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m sure I’d still be trying to gain line if we hadn’t run up to change the angle. With five large yellowfins taking up our space and ice, we left them biting at 12:08. That turned out to be a good move because the fuel pump on one engine went down on the way home. and we made the last 60 miles at 10 miles an hour. Thankfully, the beautiful day continued and the wind remained light while there were none of the predicted thunderstorms.
Grazioso was back out there Monday morning while working with Capt. David Goldman on Shore Catch, and their party had all the yellowfins they wanted by 8:30 a.m. before heading in.
I’ll catch up with the rest of that blog’s info, including inshore bluefins, in this evening’s blog.
There were no complaints about that fishery today, but Bob Correll lost an engine on the way back and the 20 mph ride for 60 mils resulted in this late blog. I’ll catch up tomorrow.
The Jamaica from Brielle ran beyond their usual daily range today and came up with more bonito, blues and little tunny than they’ve been seeing — plus a couple of bluefin tuna and some Spanish mackerel. As a result they are taking reservations for a special 6:30 a.m. trip to that area on Monday.
The inshore forecast remains good for tomorrow morning, with south winds at 5-10 knots. Thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon.
The mid-range yellowfin tuna bite continues. Mark Roy overnighted Thursday and his crew caught three of the 11 they hooked from Release Me out of Raritan Marina in Hazlet while chunking. He said there were 80 boats in the area on a Friday.
Following is the final official report from Jeff Merrill of the 2020 MidAtlantic tournament at Cape May. N.J. and Ocean City, Maryland.
August 22, 2020
For Immediate Release
Huge Blue Marlin, Big Tuna Dominate Day Five Weigh-In
as a Record Setting MidAtlantic Comes to a Close
The final day of the 2020 MidAtlantic dawned sunny though a light breeze kept temperatures cool as the 163 boats headed out on Day Five into calm seas offshore. With a 91-pound white marlin leading the category, admittedly everyone in the tournament acknowledged that number would be hard to beat. In the tournament’s 29-year history only five white marlin over 90 pounds had ever been weighed. However, with second and third place set at 77 and 70 pounds respectively going into the final day there was a chance they could be topped. The blue marlin category was still anyone’s to win since the 489-pound leader was the only qualifying blue to be weighed through four days of the tournament. With a tournament record cash purse of $4,074,430 up for grabs, there were still several other categories in reach. Worthy of mentioning is cash prize awards are based on level of calcutta participation so there will be a notable difference in payouts between fish in each category.
Day Five saw the billfish bite turn on and numerous boats had multiple releases and several large white marlin were brought to the scales. The tuna bite also continued and while big eyes remained scarce, yellowfins were plentiful for those focused on that category. Quite a few dolphin were also weighed, though wahoo remained scarce. However, the story of the day came in the blue marlin category, at what a tale it is! Day Five once again lived up to its “Moving Day” reputation, a phrase first coined by the MidAtlantic years ago because of the significant changes to the leaderboard that have occurred over the years on the final day of the tournament. MidAtlantic tournament staff went to work right away at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland when the scales opened at 5 p.m. and kept busy all night right up to the 9 p.m. closing.
The weigh-in session on Day Five got off to a fast start as John Adams of Juno Beach, Florida had been waiting at the Sunset Marina scale since 2:30 p.m. aboard Griffin with a blue marlin angler Wes Swandt IV had battled. The marlin stretched the tape measure to 126½ inches and had a lot of girth to her as well. It took plenty of muscle for tournament staff at the weigh station to heft the huge blue marlin from the boat to the dock but once set on the scale Weighmaster Frank Ingram yelled out the weight of 815 pounds to put Griffin into the lead in the category! However, there was rumor of another big blue marlin on its way to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina and while radio chatter was quiet about the length, the word was out it was definitely a good fish. It was just after 5:30 p.m. when Captain Mike Adkins backed the Is That So for owner Ryan Putman of Doylestown, Pennsylvania to the scale and the size of the blue marlin was finally revealed. Adkin’s, a seasoned tournament skipper, has seen and caught plenty of big blue marlin over his career and knew this girl would be a contender judging by its length and girth but stayed mum about its size during the day. Here too, tournament staffed worked feverishly to safely remove the huge marlin from Is That So and place her on the dock. The tape measure was laid out and amazingly the length was noted at 126¼ inches, a scant ¼-inch shorter than Griffin’s blue marlin. The rope was placed around the tail and the marlin was hefted to the scale. Putman, who was the angler and fought the fish for well over four hours, and the crew of Is That So anxiously stood by and held their collective breath. Moments later Weighmaster Chris Booth yelled out the weight of 803 pounds and the crew celebrated as Is That So moved into second place in the category. Amazingly only ¼-inch and 12 pounds separated the heaviest and second heaviest blue marlin in the tournament. Worthy of note, in the tournament’s 29-year history the only other blue marlin over 800 pounds was the tournament record 847 pounder caught aboard Wade Lober’s Why Knot in 2014. The two big blue marlin rocked the final standings in the category and in the end John Adams’ Griffin took home a tournament record payout for blue marlin of $692,764 for their 815 pounder while Ryan Putman’s Is That So was second at 803 pounds and won $177,352. Third heaviest blue marlin went to Joe Kelly of Holland, Pennsylvania with the 489-pounder he weighed on Day Four and he won $110,772.
The white marlin category also saw changes to the leaderboard as several were weighed to shake up the top three overall positions in the tournament as well as the top three port winners. The biggest move of the day came from the crew of Greenville, Delaware’s Todd Willard on his Fish On with Captain Andrew Dotterweich at the wheel after they weighed a white marlin of 77 pounds for angler Josh Jasper and moved into a tie for second place in the category. Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Brooks Smith aboard his Uno Mas weighed a 76-pound white marlin on Day Five for angler Eric Rojas but was bumped off the leaderboard. Final standings in the white marlin category show Bill Keller of Ellicott City, Maryland aboard his Blood Money the clear winner of the heaviest white marlin prize with his 91-pounder caught on Day Four and he received $267,085. The tie for second place at 77 pounds awarded Doug Allen of North Cape May, New Jersey aboard his Big Oil $538,557 while Willard’s Fish On won $523,987.
There were plenty of tuna weighed on Day Five but finding one to make the board with the third heaviest set at 129 pounds going into the final day was going to be a task. However, it was no surprise when Jupiter, Florida’s Mike Yocco aboard his MJ’s brought another large big eye to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina. Yocco was already sitting atop the tuna category with his 189-pounder weighed on Day Two but this indeed would be Yocco’s category this year as his second big eye of the tournament tipped the scales at 195 pounds, this one caught by angler Brandon Kape, and jumped to the top of the pack. No other tuna weighed on Day Five would have an impact on the leaderboard and the final standing have Yocco’s 195 pounder and 189 pounder taking first and second place and a combined payout of $913,883, a tournament record payout for tuna! Summit, New Jersey’s Bob Hugin aboard his The Right Place finished in third place with his 168-pound big eye caught on Day Three and received $147,235.
Numerous dolphin were weighed on Day Five though only one had an impact on the standings. Joe Ward of Westchester, Pennsylvania aboard his Fishbone weighed a 33-pounder and moved into a tie for second place. Gaithersburg, Maryland’s Judith Duffie aboard Billfisher took the top prize with a 46-pounder and received $100,345. Steve Summers of Potomac, Maryland aboard his Christine Marie and Ward’s Fishbone tied for second place and each received $22,983 for their 33-pounders.
There was only one wahoo weighed in the tournament but it was work a pile of cash. Marlboro, New Jersey’s Deane Lambros aboard Canyon Runner swept the top three places in the category and walked away with $135,736 for his 42-pounder weighed on Day Three.
Boats with significant billfish releases on Day Five included Alan Sadler’s Intents with two blue marlin and two white marlin released. Ed “Cookie” Murray’s Auspicious released three white marlin and one blue marlin and Pat Healey’s Viking 80 released a blue marlin and a white marlin. Bobby Rick’s El Cazador released a blue marlin. Peter Cherasia’s Shark Byte released six white marlin. Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts, Brook’s Smith’s Uno Mas, Adam Youschak’s Reelin’ Feelin’ and Rob Rowe’s Free Spool each released five white marlin. Jamie Diller’s Canyon Lady, Ed Dunn’s DA Sea and Christopher Kinsley’s Kilo Charlie each released four white marlin. Fletcher Creamer’s Ditch Digger, Chris Kubik’s Point Runner and Burke Wall’s Trash Man each released three white marlin.
During the evening’s award presentation, which were held in compliance with all local, state and federal policies in place due to the current pandemic, a tournament record cash purse of $4,074,430 was handed out. In all, 11 winners received checks of six figures or more including Mike Yocco’s MJ’s tournament record payout of $913,883. Additionally, eight other winners received payouts of $20,000 or more.
Cash Prize Winners
Heaviest White Marlin – 91 lbs. – Blood Money – Bill Keller – Ellicott City, MD – $267,085
2nd Heaviest White Marlin – 77 lbs. – tie – Big Oil – Doug Allen – North Cape May, NJ – $538,557
Fish On – Todd Willard – Greenville, DE – $523,987
Heaviest Blue Marlin – 815 lbs. – Griffin – John Adams – Ft. Lauderdale, FL- $692,764
2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 803 lbs. – Is That So – Ryan Putman – Doylestown, PA – $177,352
3rd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 489 lbs. – Salty Tiger – Joe Kelly – Holland, PA – $110,772
Though it appears all the results I listed in last night’s blog are correct, the official MidAtlantic press release which I indicated would be posted this morning hasn’t arrived as yet. I’ll post that whenever it appears.
There’s a lot of work involved in determining the winners of various categories other than weight, but a check of the standings indicates that Wave Paver won both Most Points Overall and Most Points White Marlin. The big blue marlin weighed yesterday couldn’t overcome the spurt in releases by Impulse V in the Most Points Blue Marlin race. The two bigeyes during the week by MJ’S weren’t enough to best a flood of yellowfins at the end of weigh-ins by Caitlin — which won Most Points Tuna.
Tight Lines 