There’s been a pick of bonito in NY/NJ Bight this summer, but those great fighting and eating fish dominated this morning on the Golden Eagle from Belmar. Anglers caught them on both epoxy and plain jigs as well as bait. Small blues were also in the mix as many limits were taken.
Capt. Ron Santee had good drifting conditions Monday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, and went down on deck to school newcomers on how to catch fluke — just as his father Ron used to do. He limited, as did others — and the pool fluke of 6 pounds was boated by an angler who also caught a sea bass, a bonito — and a turtle! How do you do that?
A small craft advisory is up through Thursday afternoon. The forecast is for north winds at 15-20 knots before going northeast in the afternoon at 10-15 knots. With a 4-6-foot southeast swell, inlets remain rough on outgoing tides.
Hurricane Idellia passed by Ft. Myers without doing much damage before slamming much further north into Keaton Beach where they hadn’t experienced a hurricane in 125 years.
Pat Renna caught his first doormat in local waters — an 11-pounder.
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.
The ongoing Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club Offshore Open started off with small tuna, but a 47.3-pound dolphin on Uncorked would have been big enough to win last week’s much bigger MidAtlantic. This contest runs through Sept. 3, and gives entrants their choice of two day trips or one overnighter.
The weekend tuna entries were led by Clean Livin’ at 94.3 pounds, and Kelly Lynn with two of 71.5 and 58.1 pounds.
Though the winds are light, boaters will have to exercise caution at inlets due to large swells. Southwest winds will be 5-10 knots with possible showers.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported lots of 2-4-pound blues yesterday on jigs along with some bonito, chub mackerel and little tunny.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had a fine weekend jigging 4-7-pound blues, and over 60 bonito were added Saturday. The A-17 jig worked best.
Eric Kerber has been high speed trolling for wahoo while making moves for tuna, and finally came up with his first local wahoo from On A Mission.
Chuck Many released 10 black drum from his salt ponds at Hilton Head, S.C. before flying back north.
I kept losing the internet while transfering Jeff Merrill’s final report on MidAtlantic winners, and settled for getting what I could published. The balance of the report follows:
The dolphin category saw David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida on Liquidity take the Heaviest Dolphin award for his 45-pounder weighed on Day One which was good for $67,321. Joe Bernert of Hatboro, Pennsylvania on his Quick Raise weighed a 34-pound dolphin 34-pounder on Day Four and won $51,474 for second place. Jeff Kogok of Saint Michaels, Maryland finished in third place with a 33-pounder weighed on Day Two from his Quick Raise. Worthy of note, on the final fishing day of the tournament Captain Andrew Dotterweich on his Fish On released five white marlin. Cash Prize WinnersNote that cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters. Heaviest White Marlin – 87 lbs. – Common Sense – Clint Clement – Cape May Court House, NJ – $201,388 2nd Heaviest White Marlin – 76 lbs. – Boss Hogg – Howard Berger – Edgewater, MD – $1,406,938 3rd Heaviest White Marlin – 75 lbs. – Catch 23 – Michael Jordan – Jupiter, FL – $462,318 Heaviest Blue Marlin – 889 lbs. – Pipe Dreamer – Carmine Caruso – Ocean, NJ – $1,180,342 2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 548 lbs. – Amarula Sun – Shon Craig – Tarpon Springs, FL – $494,8863rd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 528 lbs. – Tighten Up – Jay Keller – Mount Airy, MD – $112,148 Heaviest Tuna – 253 lbs. – Talkin Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MA – $361,3532nd Heaviest Tuna – 234 lbs. – The Right Place – Bob Hugin – Summit, NJ – $552,483 3rd Heaviest Tuna – 216 lbs. – Taylor Jean – Ken Hager – Tinton Falls, NJ – $159,547 Heaviest Wahoo – 56 lbs. – Y-Knot – Kyle Dougherty – Cape May Court House, NJ – $51,129 2nd Heaviest Wahoo – 52 lbs. – Covert Mission – Jim McCarthy – Shillington, PA – $67,666 3rd Heaviest Wahoo – 51 lbs. – Water Damage – Wayne Odachowski – Ocean City, MD – $17,894 Heaviest Dolphin – 45 lbs. – Liquidity – David Schockley – Jupiter, FL – $67,321 2nd Heaviest Dolphin – 34 lbs. – Quick Raise – Joe Bernert – Hatboro, PA – $51,4743rd Heaviest Dolphin – 33 lbs. – Too Many Martinis – Jeff Kogok – St. Michaels, MD – $25,024 Salt Life Billfish Points Calcutta – Cape MayMost Points – 1645 – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $13,8002nd Most Points – 1425 – Gina Lisa – Gina Addeo – Staten Island, NY – $8,280 3rd Most Points – 1125 – Judge – Martin Judge, Jr. – Wayne, PA – $5,520 Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta – Ocean CityMost Points – 1950 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA – $27,6002nd Most Points – 1800 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwaee, GA – $16,5603rd Most Points – 1725 – Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD – $11,040 The following participants received calcutta winnings for various positions on the leaderboard during the tournament. Cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters. White Marlin70 lbs. – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $123,18869 lbs. – Big Oil – Tim Tanghare – Vincentown, NJ – $72,86466 lbs. – Max Bet – Matt Weber – Vero Beach, FL – $29,072 Blue Marlin489 lbs. – Pipe Down – Jeff Crabtree – New Smyrna Beach, FL – $31,464470 lbs. – The Zipper – Eddie Zajdel – Ocean City, MD – $25,944 Tuna205 lbs. – Marli – Joe Stein III – Marriotsville, MD – $60,536195 lbs. – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD – $41,952113 lbs. – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ – $20,608112 lbs. – Random Chaos – Michael Pintozzi – Langhorne, PA – $52,256106 lbs. – Hall Pass – George Hall III – Avenue, MD – $12,97267 lbs. – Fish On – Andrew Dotterweich – Jupiter, FL – $8,64866 lbs. – Still Lucky – Steve Gladwin – Ocean City, MD – $4,324 Wahoo46 lbs. – Waste Knot – Michael Tickle – Morehead, NC – $9,292 Dolphin23 lbs. – Impulse V – Adam Demeusy – Newington, CT – $2,162 Point Winners (Trophies)Note ties are broken based on time of catch. Most Points White Marlin – 1950 – Trashman – Geno Sowers – Savannah, GA (Ties Tournament Record)2nd Most Points White Marlin – 1725 – Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD 3rd Most Points White Marlin – 1650 – Sweet Spot – Chris Kubik – Kill Devil Hills, NC Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwanee, GA 2nd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Get Reel – Brian Arni – Nottingham, PA3rd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Reelin’ Feelin’ – Adam Youschak – North Wildwood, NJ Most Points Tuna – 318 – Lovin’ Life – Billy Wrede – Randolph, NJ 2nd Most Points Tuna – 224 – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD 3rd Most Points Tuna – 163.5 – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ Most Points Overall – 2010 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA (New Tournament Record) Catch ReportWhite marlin released – 735 White marlin boated – 15Blue marlin released – 36Blue marlin boated – 8Tuna weighed – 58Wahoo weighed – 7Dolphin weighed – 15 It’s worth noting the 750 white marlin caught, of which 735 were released, is the third highest in tournament history. That’s also a 98% release rate as well! Further, with 181 boats fishing three days for a total of 543-boat days of fishing that’s a catch rate of 1.46 white marlin per-boat-per-day! As always, the MidAtlantic tournament prize structure features large payouts to multiple winners rather than one large check for one fish. This year two winners received more than $1 million in prize money while three others received $460 thousand or more.
Monday’s forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots, but big seas are coming after that,
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had fine jigging for small blues up to an 8-pounder plus some bonito on Saturday.
Vinny D’Anton reports a continued pick of small stripers in the Monmouth County surf on Chug Bugs and Redfins. The mullet run hasn’t started yet, but there are lots of small peanut bunkers.
Jeff Merrill submitted the following official results of the very successful MidAtlantic:
The final fishing day of the 2023 MidAtlantic saw only 11 boats head offshore into a stiff southerly breeze and sporty sea conditions. By early afternoon the sun began to peak through high clouds though the gusty wind made for a bumpy afternoon and a rough ride home. With nearly the entire 181-boat field having wrapped up their eligible days of fishing as of Thursday evening, little change in the standings was expected. When the scales at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, New Jersey closed officially at 9 p.m. last night the leaderboard remained unchanged and it was time to celebrate as over $5.79 million was handed out to 35 different winners. Note that payouts to the winners will vary based on their level of calcutta participation.
In the white marlin category, Clint Clement of Cape May Court House, New Jersey aboard his Common Sense took the Heaviest White Marlin award with his 87-pounder and won $201,388. The largest payout in the white marlin category went to a 76-pounder taken aboard Howard Berger’s Boss Hogg from Edgewater, Maryland. Although Boss Hogg finished in second place, the crew still netted $1,406,938! The Catch 23 of Jupiter, Florida and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan finished in third place and won $462,318 with a 75-pounder. All three of the winning white marlin were weighed on Day Four. Note that the payout for Boss Hogg’s second place white marlin is a tournament record payout for the category.
The blue marlin division saw Ocean, New Jersey’s Chip Caruso’s aboard his Pipe Dreamer walk away with the Heaviest Blue Marlin award with his 889-pounder which netted $1,180,342! Shon Craig’s Amarula Sun hailing from Tarpon Springs, Florida held on to second place with his 548-pounder which was good for $494,886. Mount Airy, Maryland’s Jay Keller aboard his Tighten Up took third place with his 528-pounder and received $112,148. All three of the winning blue marlin were weighed on Day Three. It’s worth noting the payout for Pipe Dreamer’s payout is a tournament record for a blue marlin.
Once again big eye tuna showed up just in time at the tournament and while several large yellowfins were brought to the scale of the 58 tuna weighed nearly two dozen were that big eyes. Christopher Little of Pasadena, Maryland aboard his Talkin’ Trash took the Heaviest Tuna award with his 253-pound big eye and walked off won $361,353.
Summit, New Jersey’s Bob Hugin on his The Right Place finished in second and received $552,483 for a big eye tuna of 234 pounds. Ken Hager of Tinton Falls, New Jersey aboard his Taylor Jean pocketed $159,574 for his 216-pound big eye. All three of the winning tuna were weighed on Day Four.
Kyle Dougherty of Cape May Court House, New Jersey aboard his Y-Knot took the Heaviest Wahoo award with a 56-pounder caught on Day Three and won $51,129. Shillington, Pennsylvania’s Jim McCarthy aboard his Covert Mission finished in second place and won $67,666 for his 52-pounder caught on Day Four. Ocean City, Maryland’s Wayne Odachowski and the crew of his Water Damage weighed a 51-pounder on Day Three and held on to win $17,894 for finishing in third place.
Something went wrong with the tournament video of weigh-ins tonight, and I wasn’t able to follow them. There didn’t appear to be any new entries at that time. Jeff Merrill said he’ll have everything together in the morning, and I’ll forward that .
Offshore tournament anglers usually want to fish the last day when there may be some soft spots on the leader boards which could determine where and how to fish in those last hours.
However, weather conditions resulted in all but 11 boats using up their three days by Thursday, while those out to sea today have to struggle with rough seas. As a result, we aren’t expecting any big changes this evening — though you never know!
There don’t seem to be any real soft spots left as bigger fish scrambled both the white marlin and tuna standings. Viking 80C had looked good with a 70-pound white, but they’re all the way down to fifth now as Common Sense is looking very good with the huge 87-pound leader.Tthere was a mistake in last night’s blog as Boss Hoog weighed a 76-pounder at the last minute to take second ahead of Catch 23 with a 75-pounder.
Chip Caruso’s 889-pound blue marlin would be a very worthy winner, but in 2021 Billfisher upset the apple cart on the last day with a 1135-pounder.
The dolphin leader at 45 pounds on Liquidity is a good bet, but the wahoo category is somewhat below the usual winning size as Y-Knot leads at 56 pounds.
The largest bigeyes seemed to show up yesterday. Talkin Trash boated a 253-pounder that fell just one pound short of the tournament record set by Bernard and Drew Dinardi on their Absolut-ly in 1993. They added a 195-pounder, but The Right Place at 234 and Taylor Jean at 216 pounds took over second and third.
MidAtlantic media man Jeff Merrill noted that famed bigeye boat MJ’S was one of those who sailed today. I’ll have an update on the millions won later tonight.
The small craft advisory extends through tonight. Tomorrow’s forecast is for west winds at 5-10 knots with a chance of showers.
Chuck Many continues to do a job on a variety of fish in Hilton Head ponds. See photo at bottom of page.
After a big day with blue marlin, the spotlight was on whites and tuna
All but one boat fished today before small craft warnings may make the last day a rough one.
The primary white marlin category was turned upside down as the seemingly safe 70-pounder by Viking 80C was blasted by a remarkable 87-pounder on Common Sense. Then Reel King added a 73-pounder — and Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 was heard from for the first time with a 75-pound second place white.
Talkin Trash changed everything in tuna with a 253-pounder and added a 195. The Right Place showed up with a 234-pound bigeye, as did another Manasquan Inlet boat, Taylor Jean at 216 pounds.
After all the blue marlin the day before, there was only one brought in today as The Zipper boated a 470-pounder that didn’t change the top three. I’ll catch up on a few minor changes tomorrow.
The MidAtlantic is down to its last two days, and no one can complain about the volume of billfish that have been available so far. Yesterday’s big blue marlin breakout was impressive, and white marlin releases remained high. Big Stick had 15 along with a blue yesterday, while Judge recorded nine — and there were eight each for Ocean 80C and Krazy Salts.
Of course, getting that one bigger white that can be weighed in for millions of dollars remains elusive — though Max Bet did so yesterday with a third place 66-pounder.
Though Pipe Down started the day all alone with a 489-pound blue marlin, they were all the way down to fourth by the time the scales closed. Chip Caruso’s Pipe Creamer stands first at 889 pounds, followed by Amarula Sun at 548, Tighten Up at 528, and Intents with a 483-pounder.
Surprisingly, the tuna category was unmoved by the 165 boats fishing. Lit Up tied Low Profile for fourth at 101 pounds. The very vulnerable leaders are Marli at 205 pounds, Talkin Ttrash at 195, and Random Chaos with a 112-pounder.
Liquidity remains far out in front with a 45-pound dolphin, with Too Many Martinis moving into second at 33 pounds. The wahoo category got a shakeup as Y-Knot boated a 56-pounder and Water Damage added a 51 – while Waste Knot had a 46-pounder.
The Points leader is Big Stick with 1650, followed by Trashman at 1560, Sweet Spot with 1425 and Gina Lisa at 1350.
With 180 boats fishing today, there should be lots of movement on the leaderboards. I’ll do another blog with updated results after the scales close tonight. Just before publishing I got word from the scales that Talkin Trash has weighed a 253-pound bigeye!
There’ a small craft advisory inshore for Friday with south winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 and likely showers.
Nick Honachesky reports “I’ve officially made the dream come true – combining fishing and beer. Thanks to working with Heavy Reel Brewing Co. we’ve concocted a smooth tasting American Lines In Lager. Have one with me this Saturday at the brewery in Seaside Heights from 4pm to 6pm! Stay tuned for more events, sign up for the newsletter at www.saltwaterunderground.com “
After tonigh’;s blog warned that the leading 489-pound blue marlin may not be too secure, that was exactly what happened at the evening MidAtlantic weigh-ins. Tighten Up weighed a 529-pounder, Pipe Dreamer had a leading 889-pounder, and Intents added a 483. Amarula Sun tried to make up for their prospective winner lost to mutilation by their props by weighing a 548-pounder.
The white marlin division got a third place entry with a 66-pounder by Max Bet.
There was no change in tuna, but Y Knot took first in wahoo at 56 pounds. I’ll have a complete listing tomorrow.
Tight Lines 