With the MidAtlantic drawing to a close Friday night, the two billfish leaders worth millions won’t be easy to beat though my experience indicates they are no sure thing.

In the early days of that contest, I was a guest angler on Absolut-ly out of Brielle Yacht Club when I was the only one tending rods during long day of no hits when one doubled over. That turned out to be a blue marlin over 500 pounds, but that was a summer of big blues. When combined with a blue release, that fish won the Blue Marlin Champion trophy for the Dinardi brothers. However, it wasn’t worth a cent in the tournament, and became the only blue over 500 pounds that never payed off in contest history.

The 70-pound white marlin leading in the prime category for the Viking 80C will be hard to beat by rolling, but they do get bigger on this side of the Atlantic. My personal record as a boat captain is a 99-pounder caught by my wife Kathy while sharking off Montauk when I kept a Mako center console there many years ago. The very few huge whites I’ve heard of were caught by shark or giant tuna chummers.

We should have a better idea of how the MidAtlantic will play out after today’s results are in. I’ll be adding a blog after the scales close.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar didn’t catch much during Tuesday’s Exotics trip as northeast winds were blowing 25-30 knots. Today they had a pick of 2-4-pound blues with limits for those who worked at the jigging.

The inshore forecast is for south winds at 10 knots before increasing to 15-20 plus gusts to 25 in the afternoon. There’s a chance of showers.

Jeff Merrill reports for the MidAtlantic as follows:

“Overnight a weak cold front spread through the MidAtlantic’s tournament ports of Cape May, New Jersey and Ocean City, Maryland bringing relief from the heat and humidity of the past few days but with the front came the associated steady northeast breeze and occasional gusts.  Only 11 boats headed offshore this morning on Day Two while 170 used their “Lay Day.”  While Lay Days, also known as non-fishing days, give crews a chance to rest up, they also provide time to re-rig, re-set and re-group for the next day’s fishing.  With Friday’s offshore weather forecast questionable, the docks at Canyon Club Resort Marina and Sunset Marina were buzzing today as participants spent the day hard at work preparing for what looks to be back-to-back days of fishing.            

Pat Healey’s Viking 80 based out of New Gretna, New Jersey remains atop the leaderboard in the white marlin division with a 70-pounder caught on Day One.  Tim Tanghare of Vincentown, New Jersey on Big Oil remains in second place with a 69-pound white marlin which was also weighed on Day One.  Third place currently remains vacant. ”    

With no blue marlin weighed today, Jeff Crabtree’s New Smyrna Beach, Florida-based Pipe Down continues to lead the category with a 489-pounder caught on Day One.  Second and 3^rd place remain vacant.

Joe Stein III of Marriottsville, Maryland and his Marli remain in the lead in the tuna division with a 205-pound big eye just a few pounds ahead of Christopher Little of Pasadena, Maryland and his Talkin’ Trash with a 195-pound big eye.  In third place is Random Chaos with Michael Pintozzi of Langhorne, Pennsylvania and his 112-pound yellowfin.  All three leaders in the tuna category were caught on Day One.                   

Jeff Kogok’s Too Many Martinis from Saint Michaels, Maryland moved into second place in the dolphin category today after weighing a 33-pounder.  David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida continues to lead the category with his 45-pounder caught aboard his Liquidity on Day One.  Ed Russo of Carlstadt, New Jersey on his Big Deal now sits in third place with his 32-pounder which was also caught on Day One.     

Joe Drosey’s Rhonda’s Osprey from Ocean City, Maryland remains in the lead of the wahoo division with a 23-pounder while second place still belongs to Avenue, Maryland’s George Hall on Hall Pass with a 22-pounder.  Both fish were weighed on Day One.

Worthy of note Chris Volpe’s Gray Fox released three white on Day Two.        “

I also noted that Strokin’ seemed to be fighting whites all day and ended up with 10 releases.

The 489-pound blue marlin boated on Pipe Down during yesterday’s first day of the MidAtlantic was a great catch, but actually well short of the day’s best — if it had counted. As Jeff Merrill of the MdiAtlantic noted “The hard luck award for the day and possibly even the tournament goes to Captain Danny Veid of Tarpon Springs, Florida aboard Amarula Sun.  The crew hooked up a huge blue marlin about an hour before lines out and fought the massive billfish before getting it to the boat and cleanly placing two fly gaffs into her.  Unfortunately, the marlin then tried to free itself from the gaffs and in the process got caught in the propellers mutilating the fish.  The MidAtlantic follows IGFA rules which clearly states mutilated fish are disqualified.  Worthy of note the crew of the Amarula Sun self-disqualified the fish which after weighing still pulled the scale down to 808 pounds!”

The MidAtlantic started off with a bang as most of the 181boats competing for a purse of $5,790,020 took advantage of good weather to use one of their three days out of five. Just as we began to wonder if a white marlin big enough to weigh existed, there were two qualifying in that biggest money category. The Viking 80C demo boat hit the 70-pound mark that’s rarely beaten during trolling tournaments, but was still only one pound up on Big Oil.

Large dolphin have also been scarce this summer, but the 45-pounder caught on Liquidity stands a good chance of holding up — and a volume catch on Big Deal took over the next three spots at 25,26 and 32 pounds.

After even MJ’s couldn’t catch a bigeye in the Big Rock Tournament, they’ve been building up to the point where Crisdel had blasts from wolfpacks of bigeyes a couple of times while winning the WMIT. The present leaders of 205 pounds for Marli and 195 pounds on Talkin Trash may not make it to the

finish.

There were lots of marlin releases yesterday, including 8 whites and a blue on Lovin Life;8 whites on Gina Lisa; and 7 whites each on Taylor Jean and Viking 80.

Once again, I’ll be doing a blog after the scales close this evening in order to bring results up to date.

Tomorrow’s inshore forecast is for northeast winds at 10-15 knots before going east 5–10 in the afternoon.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had hot jigging Monday for small blues plus some mixed size bonito. Small jigs worked best.

After boaters couldn’t come up with a blue or white marlin big enough to weigh in at the White Marlin Open and WMIT, that problem was overcome on the first day of the MidAtlantic. Pipe Down weighed a 489-pound blue marlin that was well over the 400-pound minimum for that species. Then V iking 80C brought in a 70-pound white that stood up against a 69-pounder on Big Oil. Almost the entire fleet fished today. and they managed just a few bigeyes. Marli leads at 205 pounds, followed by Talkin Trash at 195, Random Chaos at 112 — and Low Profile with a 101-pounder. Crisdel dominated in tuna a few days ago at the WMIT as they raised schools of bigeyes, but only weighed a 57-pound tuna today.

A very impressive dolphin was the 45-pounder by Liquidity, while Big Deal loaded up with dolphin of 25, 26 and 32 pounds. Rhonda’s Osprey leads in wahoo at 23 pounds.

The unofficial field for the 2023 MidAtlantic out of Cape May plus Ocean City, Md consists of 181 boats fishing for a purse of $5.7 million- and176 of those boats fished the first day. That should result in a very busy weigh-in period starting at 5 p.m. I’ll add a post after the scales close.

The MidAtlantic has a double minimum for billfish weigh-ins as whites must be 69 inches and 65 pounds — while blues have to make both 102 inches and 400 pounds. Tuna count at 50 pounds, while dolphin and wahoo must be at least 20 pounds.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant has room on bottom fishing trips the next two days as well as on many others coming up. Call for details call 732 370-8019.

The Paramount from Brielle will be running squid trips from 7 to noon Tuesday and Wednesday.

The forecast is for northeast winds, but at just 5-10 knots.

Frank Criscola’s Crisdel out of Brielle Yacht Club won the White Marlin Invitational for the second straight year. A couple of blasts from bigeye schools filled the scoreboard for a $147K win.

Capt. George Steller couldn’t find bigeyes as large as last years, but a 116.1–pounder led the way. Now it’s on to the MidAtlantic and much bigger pay-offs as that contest begins fishing in the morning.

There wasn’t much other information available from the WMIT, but Git Up did win the dolphin category with a 16-pounder.

Capt. Ron Santee reported from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands that there was way too much current which he couldn’t get away from. Those who worked hard with a lot of lead were able to put a catch of fluke together.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had plenty of action all morning with 2-4-pound blues plus a few Spanish mackerel and a bonito. Both plain and tailed jigs worked well.

The inshore forecast is great, with southwest winds at 5-10 knots in the morning.

The White Marlin Invitational concludes today at Beach Haven with 52 boats using their last day, but offshore anglers will swiftly move over to the MidAtlantic as fishing begins Monday out of Cape May plus Ocean City, Maryland.

It’s been hard to get info out of the WMIT, but as of this morning Shark Byte had the points lead with 650 — followed by Code Blu. Git Up and Crisdel with 450. Bandit had the three leading tuna at 115.9, 107.6 , and 105.3 pounds –with Crisdel next at 104.6 pounds. There were no eligible dolphin or wahoo, and no weigh-ins of white or blue marlin.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle had jigged limits of 2-4-pound blues plus bonito on Friday while the pool went to a 14-pound jumbo blue– the first jumbo I’ve heard of in some time.

Sunday’s forecast is for west winds at 5-10 knots before going southwest in the afternoon at 10-15 knots.

It took some time to get results, but the White Marlin Invitational got off to a decent start yesterday with a few tuna and many billfish releases.

Shark Byte took the lead i buillfish release points at 650 — ahead of Code Blu, Git Up and Lovin Life and Crisdel with 450 each. Bandit had a bigeye blast with 115.9- and-107.6-pounders — while Crisdel weighed a 104.6-pound yellowfin.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Assn, as follows:”

Recent catches in the waters off Long Beach Island have included triggerfish on the bottom, and mahi, cobia, and Spanish mackerel up in the water column. There have also been some reports of a resurgence of croakers around. Meanwhile, the artificial reefs continue to give up good numbers of fluke.”

Last call for the HRFA Catfish Chaos tomorrow from 12:01 a.m. to 3 p.m. You must register today by calling Dan Harrison at 551 265-3460. The fee is $20 for adults and $10 for those under 16. There are many NY and NJ weigh-in stations.

Catfish Chaos DerbyAugust 19, 2023- Last day to register -Aug. 18

Speaking of the reefs, Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” announced that the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife sank a scallop boat on the Garden State North Reef Site on Friday, August 11. This deployment was sponsored by the Sportfishing Fund and the Junior Mate’s Reef Project of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.

This deployment follows others that add to the marine habitat to provide the marine ecosystem with food and shelter for all marine organisms. This in turn will develop enhanced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers.

Captain Brett Taylor and “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” had a double charter this week and boxed a nice mahi-mahi in the morning while fishing ocean structure. That group also reeled in10 keeper fluke to 24-inches along with three sea bass. His afternoon group fished in the bay with poor tidal conditions yet still picked some 62 fluke with three keepers and a blowfish. Steady action!

This week’s blog about a 5-foot tarpon being caught in Nantucket has to be corrected.. It came from Mike Monte of Nantucket, but he was reporting something he’d heard from Mashpee on Cape Cod. I hope I didn’t cause overcrowding on the ferry by Yankee tarpon seekers.

Bill Venezia is the new monthly pool leader on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. He boated a 9-pounder today. Capt. Ron Santee said the drift was very fast, but those who used lots of lead and worked hard did well. That boat is chartered on Saturday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had good jigging on the hills today for 2-4-pound blues plus some bonito. Limits were common.

Capt. Ralph Leyrer is a bottom fishing specialist on his Last Lady from Belmar, but he scheduled a tuna trip this week which produced a 50-inch bluefin. Then he got back to his specialty with a big catch of triggerfish. Leyrer has an opening this Wednesday for triggers and porgies.

Jack Ralston fished both half-day trips of the Gambler from Point Pleasant this week, and won the pool each time. His largest fluke was a 23.5-inch, 4.7-pounder.

The Jamaica from Brielle had fine variety fishing Wednesday as blues, sea bass, fluke and chub mackerel were joined by king and Spanish mackerel plus bonito.

The Paramount from that port is starting squid jigging trips at 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

A small craft warning is up for Friday. Southwest winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 are predicted . Showers and thunderstorms are likely.

The White Marlin Invitational is being contested out of Beach Haven. If there are some outstanding catches weighed, I’ll add a blog after the scales close tonight.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) will hold the fourth annual Women’s Fishing Expo at Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Saturday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.“New York is home to some of the world’s best fishing destinations and DEC is proud of the fact that women are a fast-growing segment of the fishing and outdoor recreation community,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “The annual Women’s Fishing Expo gives participants the skills and knowledge to feel confident about getting outdoors and casting a line.” “Fishing is a great way to enjoy the beauty of our great State Parks year-round,” State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “We’re glad to work with DEC to offer this Women’s Expo again, which opens up opportunities to learn more about a lifelong sport and make it a family experience or simply a quiet getaway.” “DEC is happy to be partnering with New York State Parks once again to bring back the Women’s Fishing Expo for its fourth year,” DEC Regional Director Cathy Haas said. “These expos are tremendously effective in introducing more women to Long Island’s plentiful fly-fishing opportunities and we look forward to its continuing success this year.” The Women’s Fishing Expo will provide hands-on instruction and experiential learning in a fun and supportive environment. This event will be run primarily by women anglers and fisheries professionals and will also feature women-owned businesses and fishing clubs for networking opportunities. Everyone is welcome to attend, although the event is focused on introducing women and girls to fishing.Expo activities begin at 10 a.m. and are free of charge. Participants will be able to learn about fishing on Long Island and statewide, fishing basics and intermediate fishing skills, basic knots, fly-tying demonstrations, fly-casting instruction, fisheries management information, a trout hatchery tour, marine fishing information, and free fly fishing on the renowned Connetquot River. Fly casting and flyfishing are limited to those aged 14 and older.This is a rain or shine event. Spots are limited, and pre-registration is required. For more information, or to register, call the DEC’s I FISH NY Program at (631) 444-0283, or email fwfish1@dec.ny.gov with the subject title ‘Women’s Fishing Expo.’A vehicle use fee of $8 will be in effect. Parking is free for Empire Passport holders. The 2023 Empire Passport can be purchased for $80 at State Parks offices, or online at the New York State Parks website.For information about freshwater fishing on Long Island, call the DEC Bureau of Fisheries at (631) 444-0283, e-mail fwfish1@dec.ny.gov or visit DEC’s website.In 2022, 19.8 million women went fishing in the U.S., a 40-percent increase over the past decade according to the latest annual Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) Special Report on Fishing. This is the highest number the group has recorded since participation tracking began in 2007. Overall, women make up 36 percent of fishing participants, according to the report.New York State has expanded recreational opportunities of residents and tourists, positioning New York as a recreation destination, connecting communities to State lands, and improving the quality of life. The NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative is an effort to improve recreational opportunities for sportsmen and women and to boost tourism activities throughout the state. This includes streamlining fishing and hunting licenses, reducing license fees, improving access for fishing, and increasing hunting opportunities. In support of this initiative, $10 million in NY Works funding was dedicated to fish hatchery repairs and 50 new land and water access projects such as boat launches, hunting blinds, trails, and parking areas.To further encourage fishing, DEC and partners hold free clinics throughout the state and offer Free Fishing Days since 1991 to allow all people the opportunity to sample the incredible fishing New York has to offer. For a current schedule, visit the DEC website. The site will be updated as new events are added throughout the year.

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Yesterday’s blog featured a sheepshead just a little bit lost in Raritan Bay, but Mike Monte easily topped that one with a report of a five-foot tarpon caught in the Nantucket surf. The surprised angler was fishing a chunk of bluefish for sharks.

Closure: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna General Category (Commercial) Fishery

FISHERY: General Category Bluefin Tuna

CLOSED: August 17, 2023, 11:30 pm – August 31, 2023

REASON FOR CLOSURE:

Based on the best available landings information, the 355.4 mt quota is projected to be reached and exceeded shortly

PERMITS AFFECTED:

Atlantic Tunas General category permitted vessels and highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna.

Commercial fishermen aboard vessels with an Atlantic Tunas General category or HMS
Charter/Headboat permit may not retain, possess, or land large medium or giant Atlantic bluefin tuna from 11:30 p.m., August 17, 2023 through August 31, 2023. Previously-designated restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for the rest of the June through August time period will be waived when this closure takes effect.

RECREATIONAL: Not affected by this

The Bolden Eagle from Belmar had very good jigging for 2-4-pound blues on their first two drifts, and then continued to pick as everyone limited while adding some large bonito.

Thursday’s forecast is for southeast winds at 5-10 knots with a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms in the afternoon.

The Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s 54th White Marlin Invitational is underway –and I should have some results tomorrow. Crisdel was last year’s big winner with a 194.3-pound bigeye.