Tight Lines

Every boat with a fishing day left will be fishing tomorrow as the MidAtlantic winds up with the day added to make up for the hurricane. No lead is safe at this point, though Luna Sea should feel comfortable with its 94-pound wahoo.

The tuna category may be a target as the 103-pound leader by Lit Up isn’t as large as usually required.

The tournament record was set in 1993 by the Dinardi brothers on their Absolut-ly from Brielle Yacht Club. Bernard and Drew were among the nicest people I’ve known, and devoted to each other. Though only weekend anglers they didn’t hesitate to compete with the best professional skippers on the coast and trolled into a barrage of large bigeyes to become one of the top winners — though the rewards then were quite modest. The largest of those bigeyes was a remarkable 254 pounds.

Boaters who braved the hurricane on Day 3 of the MidAtlantic managed to shake up the leaderboard. That was especially the case for Reel Toy with the first weighable blue marlin at 804 pounds plus a second place 26-pound dolphin.

Quite a few white marlin were released, but Canyon Lady weighed one at 75 pounds to take over first place in the featured category.

There was a big change in wahoo as Luna Sea weighed a 94-pounder that may be hard to beat. Jenny Poo had looked good at 60 pounds on Day 1.

Lit Up holds the tuna lead at 103 pounds over Max Bet at 97 pounds — while Blue Runner holds the next spots at 96 and 56 pounds.

Sushi weighed a 35-pound dolphin to take over first.

No boats fished today, but the fleet will be back out through Saturday if the seas cooperate.

Hopefully the seas will settle before the MidAtlantic 500 concludes on Saturday, but snglers will be trying whenever they can get out. A note in Facebook claimed 73 boats were out today after none tried yesterday. The Polarizer sent a video of trolling in rough seas for a few bites.I’ll report in tomorrow’s blog about the Day 3 results.

Northeast winds have also been tough on fluke fishing in the ocean as big swells are a problem in that fishery.

The great white marlin bite to the north continued with release counts up to 11 for Canyon Lady. Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 was leading the points competition with 900.

In the featured white marlin category, there was an entry by Tail Chaser of a spearfish or roundscale marlin which is considered a white for scoring purposes. Since it made the 69-inch minimum, it was weighed at 71 pounds — above the 69-pound minimum.

The leading tuna was a 103-pound bigeye on Lit Up, while Blue Runner out of Pt. Pleasant. and Max Bet each had a 96-pound yellowfin. Jenny Poo boated a 60-pound wahoo, and Catchin’ Grief added a 22-pounder. Pegasus leads in dolphin at 22 pounds.

Despite Hurricane Erin and a small craft advisory. the MidAtlantic 500 is underway with108 boats fishing today before seas get even worse.

AA small craft advisory went up today right through Thursday, but most of the boats entered in the MidAtlantic 500 can handle that. Inlets will be particularly dangerous in large swells, and small boaters should avoid returning on the outgoing tide.

White marlin fishing had just exploded during the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational. A photo of the winners follows:

The Viking 68 ran an overnight trip which produced releases of two blue marlin and 44 whites.

Doormat fluke have been rare this year, but the Norma K II from Point Pleasant reported one of 10.12 pounds on the boat scale during the Aug. 16 trip.

The former president of Viking Boats has passed away at 97.He was also an ardent conservationist who realized the importance of representation in Washington and helped in the founding of the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

Capt. Ron Santee had to keep moving his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands due to today’s traffc. “Crazy short action with Dave B landing over 30 fish without a keeper!!! Several customers did well with the keepers including Shawn Pearl who landed 4 beauties and a handful of guys with their three some with 2. Pool fish went 4 pounds 9 ounces.” Santee will pass on tomorrow due to the northeast wind forecast.

Though Hurricane Erin appears to be on path to go far offshore, its effects will impact the beginning of the MidAtlantic 500 which has added Saturday as one of the three days boats may select for fishing.

The Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club will present winners of their White Marlin VIvitational with their prizes at tonight;’s Awards Dinner.

Sunday’s forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for west winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to 20 in the afternoon

After white marlin fishing was tough in the big White Marlin Open, the following Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club White Marlin Invitational set a record when Shark Byte released 30 whites in a day — and many other boats weren’t far behind in the points race. Bigeye tuna also cooperated in the two days out of four contest which concludes tonight. I’ll have the results tomorrow.

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Next up is the MidAtlantic which may have to deal with a weather problem during the Aug. 17-22 period.

The forecast for tomorrow in NY/NJ Bight is for east winds at 5-10 knots.

There were 37 boats fishing for a purse of $574,780 today in the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational, but Shark Byte is in good shape with a record 30 releases in two days. Tuna were also cooperating as a record 115.3-pound yellowfin tuna was boated yesterday on Gray Fox, and there was also a 156-pound bigeye.

Capt. Frank Masseria said fluking on his Vitamin Sea from Port Monmouth was red hot with hundreds caught including lots of keepers.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands realized conditions weren’t right at the areas where fluking was good yesterday, so he made a run which worked out well. A 6 1/8-pounder took over the monthly fluke lead. That boat is chartered Saturday.

The forecast for NY/NJ Bight is for east winds at 10 knots with a chance of showers.

Rashawn Williams jumped up to first place in the Dream Boat Challenge when he entered a 13.06 pound fluke. That contest which is limited to Fisherman magazine subscribers, reported Williams is tied at 17 points with Jeffery Harrison as of the August issue with results up to 7/23/2025.

With a minimum size of 15 pounds, there haven’t been anybluefish entries in the contest to win a Steiger 21-foot center console rig plus many other valuable prizes.

Some anglers are upset because the commercial season remains open after recreational bluefin tuna were closed. Actually, those are two separate quotas which aren’t related. There is no commercial quota for school bluefins, and the commercial quota for giants is frequently closed as the limit nears.

Capt. Ron Santee said Tuesday’s fluking on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands started poorly in no current or drift. A move changed that as some anglers limited with fluke up to 5 5/16 pounds. The forecast is for west winds at 5 knots with a chance of showers.

The Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational is underway with Shark Byte leading in points with 375.