Tight Lines

There was lots of excitement when the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament at Morehead City, N.C. concluded Saturday night as Sensation arrived after a 6-hour fight with a blue big enough to win at least $3.5 million between the first place award and $739,500 for being the first to weigh in a 500-pounder. Yet, all that disappeared as shark bites were spotted on the blue which still weighed 619.4 pounds. According to tournament and IGFA rules, mutilated fish are not eligible. That left the tournament with no choice but to disqualify the great catch. There was nothing the crew could have done to prevent the bites which didn’t seem to interfere with the great fight.

That was good news for Sushi, which was leading the contest with a 484.5 -pound blue — and collected $2,769,417.50.Chasin A was second at 479.8 pounds for $412,262.5, while early leader C-Student finished third for their 270.2-pounder worth $274,175. There were lots of big winners in other categories, and I’ll catch up with them when more info is provided.

The Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) held its annual statewide fluke tournament on Saturday, and for the second year in a row had a doormat worth $50,000 entered. Anglers had to pay an additional fee to take a chance on catching a doormat over 12 pounds — which is what Edward Shaefer of Ridgewood did with a 12.4-pound, 30.63-inch fluke weighed at Liberty Landing in the Jersey City port. I’ll have much more about this contest in tomorrow’s blog.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar switches to fluke tomorrow, as does the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. The Golden Eagle from Belmar starts bluefishing Tuesday.

The forecast is for east winds at just 5-10 knots.

Though the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament ended up yesterday evening at Morehead City, N.C. with a lot of blues released on the final day, none were big enough to be brought to the scales — except possibly for one being fought into overtime on Sensation. As it turned out, that 2:15 hook-up turned into a Marathon battle carrying on for over six hours.

Yet, that wasn’t the end of the excitement. A crowd turned out to watch the weigh-in in the middle of the night, and that blue blew away the leaders at 619.4 pounds — which would not only win over $2 million, but also the big prize for the first blue over 500 pounds. Yet, there was one problem as two shark bites were spotted. According to both IGFA and tournament rules, mutilated fish are not eligible. A decision in this case was put off until today, and I haven’t been able to get any info on that so far.

Up to that point, the leaderboard was topped by Sushi at 484.5 pounds, followed by Chasin’ A at 479.8, C-Student with a 470.2-pounder, Sea Toy at 463.7 – and Predator with a 459-pounder.

There were also some changes in other species, including Skip Hook’s 59.3-pound dolphin that hadn’t been challenged all week falling to a 67.7-pounder on Offshore Outlaw. Waldor’s Ark led through the week with a 59.7-pound wahoo , but Double B took over at 70.5 pounds.

Tuna had been scarce all week, but High Yield’s 42.8 pound leader was pushed aside on the last day by 48.8 and 52.5 pounders on Odyssey — and a winning 52.8 on Reel Priority.

The awards haven’t been finalized as yet, but I’ll add info when received.

Monday’s forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before switching to southeast in the afternoon.

The C-Witch crew with their winning fluke in the JCAA Fluke Tournament Waretown port

Sensation hooked up on a blue marlin at 2:15, and may still be fighting it as the Big Rock site closed down a long time ago. I’ll get back tomorrow with the results. The blue marlin standings didn’t change, but there were some movements among the smaller species.

The 263 out of 271 boats fishing the 65th Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament that had a day left are out in the canyons off Morehead City, N.C. trying for a chunk of the millions that will be awarded after the scales close at 7 p.m.

Skip Hook may not have much to worry about with their 59.3-pound dolphin, and the odds are in favor of Waldor’s Ark with their 59.7-pound wahoo. but the major category has been switching rapidy. The volume of blue marlin has been outstanding as Marlin Fever took a big lead in the release category with a tournament record five blues released yesterday..

The Big Rock has an unusual $739,500 prize for the boat with the first blue of at least 500 pounds, but none of the leaders were quite that big,

Sushi took over the lead yesterday at 484.5 pounds, and held on as Chasin’ A weighed a 479.8-pounder fought by 14-year-old Carson Moser. That dropped early leader C-Student back to third at 470.2. Sea Toy is fourth at 463.7 pounds. If Sushi’s lead holds up, they are in line for $2,769,438!

Most unusual is the lack of tuna being weighed in. High Yield leads at a mere 42.8 pounds. Among the entrants is MJs, a North Jersey bigeye pro which released a blue marlin this morning.

I’ll keep track of the landings and will post again after the scales close,

Sea bass fishing continues to be good even if N.J. anglers have to sort through lots of shorts. The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported a 32-man limit on Friday.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots before going southwest at 5-10 in the afternoon. That calm weather wasn’t favorable for surfcasting this morning. As a result, Vinny D’Anton started with fluking which once again produced shorts on Gulp. When some whitewater developed on the change of the tide, Vinny switched to sand fles and caught a couple of large short bass

before having to leave his Monmouth County beach as swimmers arrived.

Ginger Tatum with a fine striper before release by Gary Caputi

Buying tackle for a fishing father is risky without knowing just what he may need, but you can’t go iwrong with fishing clothing. I virtually live in AFTCO shorts in Florida, and it wasn’t much different when I was fishing the Jersey surf into October before switching to waders. AFTCO shorts are built for the long haul, and some I’ve had for decades. With plenty of pocket space, I can carry the few lures or rigs I need along with pliers, a tape measure and small fish scale without being encumbered by a tackle box. AFTCO shorts are stain-resistant and dry quickly. In addition, AFTCO has a wide range of fishing and leisure shirts, including Guy Harvey models. They’re available at any fishing retailers, and can be checked out at AFTCO.com.

The sea bass season in N.J. is almost over, but the weather is perfect for a shot at them tomorrow morning with northwest winds at 10-15 knots. Showers are possible.

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Alex Katyan fished yesterday on Mimi VI from Point Pleasant and reported as follows: “Captain great Mate great bunch of guys. 11 man Seabass limit, Winter Flounder, Ling, couple of giant eels. My buddy Tony hooked a nice Thresher at the end of the trip that he got to fight for about 15min on a Seabass rig before the hook pulled. Plus I won the pool!!!

The Big Rock Blue marlin Tournament at Morehead City, N.C. is drawing to a close. No one has been able to win the big money for the first blue over 500 pounds, but Sushi came close this afternoon with a 484.5-pounder which bumped C-Student out of first with their 470.2-pounder from day 1. Two other boats were coming in with blues, and I’ll catch up with everything in tomorrow’s blog.

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Though blue marlin have been cooperating at the 271-boat, $5.8 million Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament out of Morehead City, N.C., that unusual contest hasn’t been able to give away the $739,500 prize for the first 500-pounder through the first two days. C-Student remains on top with its day one landing of a 470.2-pounder as 254 boats fished yesterday.

Grand Slam released three blues yesterday to take the lead in the release category as the fleet released 54 blues, two whites and five sailfish. Predator rushed in early today in hopes of breaking that 500-pound barrier, but their blue weighed 459 pounds to take over third place. Sea Toy holds onto second at 463 pounds, and Sea Wolfe was in early today with a 408-pounder for fourth.

High Yield entered the first tuna at 42.8 pounds, and Skip Hook boated a huge dolphin of 59.3 pounds which is in line for a payout of $539,750.

Capt. Frank Masseria switched to fluke for today’s charter on his Vitamin Sea from Keyport, and had his first good trip with that species.

The forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots before going southeast in the afternoon. Showers are likely.

Vinny D’Anton hosted Art Nigro from Pa. in the Monmouth County surf this morning, and showed him how to catch fluke on Gulp while he waited out a striper on sand fleas. The water temperature which had killed fishing the day before was back up and Art caught 10 fluke, though none were keepers. Vinny managed a 28 1/2-inch striper before switching to fluke which were all shorts.

Following are the results from last Friday’s Manhattan Cup run out of Liberty Landing Marina, as supplied by Gary Caputi:

All fish released — weights by formula

Manhattan Cup Winner – Angler Jim Wartsky, Capt. Chris Landry 46.4 lbs.

Warrior Division

Bluefish fly – Angler – Adam Fly

                             Capt. Mike Century 2.9 lbs.

Bass Bait – Angler Doug Lewis

                        Capt. Brian Rice 43.7 lbs.

Bass artificial – Angler Val Henderson

                                Capt. George Yurcak 18.5 lbs.

Bass Fly –   Angler Matt Briatta

                        Capt. Arthur Cortes 2.8 lbs.

Celebrity Division

Bass Artificial – Astronaut Commander Bruce Melnick

                                 Capt. Frank Crescitelli 17.75 lbs.

Bass Fly – Angler- Author Monte Burke

                    Capt. Frank Crescitelli 21.3 lbs.

Bluefish Bait – Angler Jim Jensen

                               Capt. Chip Capasso 7.6 lbs.

Manhattan Cup  General Category

Bass Bait – Angler Keith Overlander

                        Capt. Adrian Moeller 43.9 lbs.

Bass Artificial – Angler- Anthony Davino

                                 Capt. Anthony Grassi 2.7 lbs.

Bass Fly – Angler Pat Moffit

                    Capt. Brendan Ross 3.3 lbs.

Bluefish Artificial – Angler Kevin Moffitt

                                        Capt. Brendan Ross 3.9 lbs.

Bluefish Fly – Angler Anthony Davino

                             Capt. Anthony Grassi 1.3 lbs.

Smallest fish – Angler Kevin, Capt. Brendan Ross – 12”

Captain Award Most Striped Bass caught Capt. Anthony Grassi – 10

The first day of the 271-boat. $5.8 million Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament out of Morehead City, N.J. featured a pair of almost identical blues with C-Student’s 470.2-pounder edging a 463.7-pound blue on Sea Toy. C-Student missed out on the big money prize for the first blue over 500 pounds, so that $739,500 is still up for grabs.

There were 46 billfish releases the first day, all but four of which were blues. One blue was weighed at under the 400-pound minimum. Tuna Tango boated a 41.1-pound dolphin, and Weldor’s Ark had a 59.7-pound wahoo.

Vinny D’Anton got off to a good start yesterday morning in the Monmouth County surf as stripers of 28 and 29 inches took his sand fleas. There was one more hit before everything went dead. Vinny checked with other anglers there who also ran out of action. Yet, that was better than this morning when cold water moved in and there were no hits.

West winds at 10-15 knots are predicted for tomorrow.

June used to be prime time for sharking off the N.J. Shore, with several big tournaments being run at that time. However, with the protections recently applied to makos, interest in the poor man’s big game fishing has subsided.

Thus, I was surprised to find that Andreas Toy from Point Plesant had a charter out on Sunday that hooked up on a thresher which was lost when it landed on the line during a jump. They also fought a mako to boatside for the required release.

These days it’s often a better shot to fish around bunker schools inshore which are a big attraction for threshers which are frequently hooked by anglers fishing live bunkers for stripers — and even by fluke fishermen.

Sea bass remain abundant during the last days of the N.J. season. The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported a 32-man limit by 10 a.m., which gave them time to run inshore and pick through short fluke before coming up with 15 keepers.

The forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20. Showers are possible in the morning, and thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament is underway at Morehead City, N.C., with 271 boats and a purse of $5.8 million.

The weigh-ins listed yesterday for bluefin tuna weighed in the Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club’s Bluefin Open were actually from last year’s event but popped up as I searched for this year’s. The actual weigh-ins in the 80-boat, $162,192 contest were a lot less impressive. Teddi B won easily at 117.5 pounds over a 80.1-pounder on Better Attitude.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported sea bass fishing early today was a struggle at first due to the wind, but ended up well once again with many limits and a couple of 2 1/2-3-pound jumbos included. There were also a few ling. Only seven days are left in that N,J. season.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant has been starting off with bluefish. They had a good shot of 2-7-pound choppers Sunday before adding sea bass.

Tuesday’s forecast is for west winds at just 10-15 knots.

With the Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club’s Bluefin Open coming to a conclusion this evening, there have already been many large tuna weighed.

Deep Six leads the way with a 226-pounder, followed by Pipe Dreamer at 151 pounds, Touch of Grey with a 145-pounder and Playing Hookey with a 127,4 pound bluefin.

Hans Kaspersetz sent a photo of another great offshore tuna trip with Mark and Dru on Blue Runner from Point Pleasant.

Frank Manzi had the best surf catch reported from Monmouth County beaches this morning with three stripers up to a 34-incher on sand fleas. Vinnie D’Anton said he couldn’t raise anything on poppers, but was surprised to catch a blackfish of about 13 inches in the sand bars while fishing with sand fleas.

The Jamaica from Brielle reported reading sea bass up to 30 feet thick as Paula Nicholas won the pool with a 3.6-pounder. A couple of mackerel were also boated — though it wasn’t specified if they were Atlantics or chubs.

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