By the fourth day of Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City, it was starting to look as if the 80-boat field wouldn’t be able to catch a billfish big enough to weigh, but that changed suddenly as TLC from Avalon came to the weigh station with both a blue and a white. The blue set a high standard going into tomorrow’s final day at 568 pounds, while the white set the pace at 67.5 pounds. That didn’t hold up for long as the Viking 80 pulled in with a 69.8- white. However, TLC also weighed in a 12.8-pound dolphin to move into third in that category.

There was finally a second bigeye weighed, though it wasn’t close to MJ’s 198.8-pounder. Good to Go weighed in at 165 pounds to take over third in tuna.

Bites were still hard to come by Thursday, but it was am big improvement. Just about all of the fleet will be out there Friday to shake up the final results.

The 80-boat fleet fishing Jimmy Jonson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City will have plenty of tagets for a big money payoff during the final fishing day of the contest tomorrow. Canyon fishing has been slow with even yellowfin tuna and dolphin being hard to come by so far. I’ll have an update on the standings today after the scales close at 9 p.m.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro is planning an open trip on his High Flier from Barnegat to an area where 60-80-pound bluefin tuna are being caught. This is a bait fishing trip which runs from 4 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. The cost is $350, with a limit of four. Everything but food and drinks is supplied. Call 732 330-5674 for info.

At Belmar, Capt, Ralph Leyrer said fluke and triggerfish have been hard to catch, but there has been lots of sea bass action even though only one per angler can be kept.

The Golden Eagle reported slower chumming than usual, but still picked away at chub mackerel. Everyone added the sea bass they are allowed, and there were also some ling.

Vinny D’Anton got to the Monmouth County surf at 5 this morning along with his teen-aged grandsons Lucas and Brandon. The bite on poppers wasn’t as good as yesterday, but the youngsters still managed to release 24-inchers.

The forecast remains good with southeast winds at just 5-10 knots. Showers are likely, and thunder storms are possible.

Steve Merrill released his first blue marlin while fishing with his father Dave off Buxton, N.C. on Haphazard 61.

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament at Atlantic City will probably be pretty much decided during its last two days as there are few fish on the leaderboard presently that are likely to hold up to the large fleets which will be sailing Thursday and Friday.

The only entry so far that is looking good is MJ’s 198.8-pound bigeye tuna. There was so little excitement at the docks tonight that they used the crane to lift a yellowfin tuna out of Sushi. That fish weighed 72.8 pounds and took over third place in the tuna division. That was it except for a small dolphin. Thursday is often referred to as Moving Day in offshore tournaments — and that should certainly be the case with no blue marlin or white marlin on the board and a dolphin of only 29.1 pounds leading in that category.

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City got off to a slow start on Monday , but there was better action Tuesday even though the first legal weighed blue marlin and white marlin have yet to be boated. Dante Sorriente fought a 218.8-pound bigeye tuna on MJ’s to post the first leader that’s likely to still be on the leaderboard when the contest ends on Friday.

The first wahoo went on the board, but at 39.8 pounds, that Jersey Cape catch isn’t likely to stand up in a category that’s usually won by 50- to- 80- pounders. The dolphin leader remains a 29.1-pounder on Polarizer which is also well short of a winning norm. Fishaholic moved into third place at 10.6 pounds.

The two-day species count is up to 3 blue marlin, 10 white marlin, 1 bigeye tuna, 4 yellowfin tuna, 3 dolphin and 1 wahoo — just 22 fish for the 80-boat fleet. With everything wide open, there should be an exciting finish to the contest. I’ll have an update after the scales close tonight at 9.

Vinny D’Anton and Frank Manzi had a lot more action this morning in the Monmouth County surf where school stripers hit poppers and swimmers, despite some rain, after being drawn in by lots of 2-to-3-inch peanut bunkers. Fluke also remain abundant there, but almost all are shorts.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported another good day of chub mackerel chumming along with some sea bass and ling — plus a pollock.

The Big Mohawk had to deal with strong currents, but picked at fluke up to a few limits.

Light winds continue to prevail. The forecast is for northeast at just 5 knots, switching to southeast in the afternoon.

There was a big change today in Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City, but not an unexpected one as MJs upended the tuna category just as that crew has been doing since they were teenagers. They had only caught one yellowfin before the right tuna was raised. With Dante Sorriente in the chair, the odds were in their favor. When a crane raised it out of the cockpit, I estimated it at 200 pounds, but was wrong. It only made 198.8 pounds! I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up with an even bigger one this week.

Also added to the leaderboard was the largest yellowfin so far as that 96.7-pounder on Highly Leveraged moved into second in tuna. There was also the first wahoo entry as Jersey Cape weighed a 38.8-pounder.

Yesterday’s Quest for the Ring report at Atlantic City was in error about a blue marlin being weighed. That photo I saw just as I got back to watching the weigh-ins was from last year. I suppose the tournament dock crew was trying to liven up a poor first day as 34 boats only reported nine fish.

The species count did include a blue marlin, but it was a release on Beast — which also released one of the four white marlin. I had expected to see a lot of yellowfins over the 50-pound minimum as they have been common in canyon catches recently. Yet, there were only two on Miss Melania of 57.4 and 55.7 pounds. Polarizer had the largest dolphin at 29.1 pounds while also adding a white marlin release. The Experience weighed an 11.7-pound dolphin.

There are 52 boats out today, and I’ll bring their catches uo to date in a blog after the scales close at 9.

Dave Lilly’s team caught lots of fluke Saturday, including the 8-pounder that was the first day’s leader in the Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Fluke Tournament — and finished in second place. Fishing on one of his offshore spots, Lilly was surprised to also catch a quantity of big sea robins for the first time in years. However, a stop in Ambrose Channel once again failed to produce large fluke as has been the case this year.

A big swell made for tough fluking yesterday. The Big Mohawk from Belmar still managed a few limits. Today was also tough as there was a stiff south breeze plus a screaming north current.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had good chumming today for chub mackerel, bluefish and sea bass — all in the 1-2-pound class

Capt. Ron Santee managed to slug away at some keepers up to almost 7 pounds yesterday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands despite the poor drift.

The forecast is for west winds at 5 knots before shifting to southwest in the afternoon. There’s a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon.

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City got under way today, and at least one big fish has been boated. Unfortunately, I had dinner at the time the blue marlin was weighed — and as of this writing it still hasn’t been posted on the leaderboard. Thus, there could be a protest involved which hasn’t been straightened out as yet. It’s hard to get info about this event, but I thought I heard someone say that only 34 of the 80-boat field sailed today.

The only other weigh-ins were of a 29.1-pound dolphin on Polarizer, which also released a white marlin, and yellowfins of 57.4 and 55.7 on Miss Melani — and one other smaller dolphin. I’ll catch up on this tomorrow.

Tuesday’s inshore forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon. There’s a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported chumming up chub mackerel along with some sea bass, blues and ling on a beautiful day.

Cabana won the Ocean City, Md. Tuna Tournament with a 236-pound bigeye that was worth $495,000.

Fluke pro Dave Lilly’s team got off to a great start yesterday in the Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Fluke Tournament aboard Brian Farmer’s boat as Chris Gioffre boated an 8-pounder that took the $200 for first on Saturday, but the team got edged out of first today when an 8.8-pound fluke was boated. I don’t have any official reports as yet, but anglers who scored today certainly deserved their catches as Lilly said conditions were terrible in wind and rain that even kept fluke party boats in port.

The weather looks a lot better tomorrow with northwest winds at 5-10 knots before going southwest in the afternoon.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar did get out to chum in the Mud Hole for a pick of chub mackerel plus some sea bass though blues didn’t show up. They have room on their first inshore exotics trip on July 24.

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring offshore fishing tournament gets started Monday at Atlantic City.

Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring has its captains meeting Sunday at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City before entrants fish three out of nine days next week for a huge purse. Those not familiar with offshore tournaments may wonder how those days are selected.

Weather is the overriding concern, but if that works out everyone wants to fish on Friday as the soft spots on the leaderboard may influence the location the skipper may head to and how he will fish on that final day. Most boaters also like to fish the first day in order to get something on the leaderboard before the weather may turn for the worse. By then selecting Wednesday, it’s also possible to to give the crew a break by not having to do any back-to-back canyon runs.

Of course, that ideal schedule doesn’t always work out, and if a fishy area is found one day it may be wise to go back the next day before conditions change.

Tomorrow’s party at the Golden Nugget runs from 4-9 p.m. For info visit questfortheringac.com. Boats will leave very early during the week to be at their goal for lines in at 7:30. Lines out is at 3:30, and the scales are open from 5-9 p.m.

No live bait is permitted, and IGFA rules apply except that’s it’s allowable to immediately pass the rod with a fish hooked on the troll to another angler. Blue marlin must be 105 inches for weighing, while whites must measure at least 68 inches. Minimum weights for weighing are 50 pounds for tuna and 10 pounds for dolphin and wahoo.

Capt. Ron Santee thought the largest fluke of the year was coming up on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands this morning. The heavy throbbing had him expecting a 9-pound fluke, but “Bob” actually had a remarkable doubleheader of a 4-pound sea bass and a pool-winning 4 1/2-pound fluke. Santee got into some keepers and more shorts early in the trip, but conditions changed and the rest of the day was tough.

Vinny D’Anton only managed one small striper casting into the Monmouth County surf this morning before switching to fluke and making his day with an 18 1/2-incher on a pink slime Gulp Grub. Vinny said the continuing southeast wind hasn’t helped the surf fishing.

The forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20. Showers are possible.

Jimmy Johson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament returns to Atlantic City next week, and boaters can sign up Sunday in the Golden Nugget for $30,000 in order to be eligible for all categories — or lesser amounts for divisions they plan to concentrate on during the three days out of five they can fish.

All the details are available by visiting questfortheringac.com calling 305 255-3500 – or attending the Golden Nugget captains meeting tomorrow. I’ll provide daily updates on the contest next week.

Blue marlin, white marlin and bigeye tuna will be the featured species along with dolphin and wahoo. Yellowfin tuna will probably be the volume species, but are rarely large enough to win in the tuna division.

Fluke fishing has been pretty good on rough bottoms, though anglers had a hard time finding bigger specimens last Saturday in the Raritan Bay Anglers Club Charity Fluke Tournament. Entrants in this weekend’s Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Fluke contest will have a lot more time to find a winner as it’s a two-day tournament.

Though bluefishing has been very spotty, chumming for chub mackerel almost always has been resulting in full buckets for those using light spinning tackle. The Golden Eagle from Belmar did get some 2-pound blues today plus sea bass.

The weather forecast is for south winds at just 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.