Tight Lines

Capt. Ron Santee was upset wth the NY/NJ Bight water quality yesterday, but that changed today as he also had good drifting conditions with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands throughout the day. Several fares caught limits plus and the pool winner was a 5-pound fluke. That boat is chartered Saturday and Sunday.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar got off to a good start fluking this morning before a south wind interfered. There were several limits, an the pool fish was just short of 6 pounds.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported a relatively slow fluke bite today due to a strong southerly current. They still picked away at keepers with one limit and a pool fluke just short of 6 pounds.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro offers a last minute opportunity to get in a tuna trip aboard his Hi Flier from Barnegat as follows:

“We have two people signed on for our Open Boat Tuna trip tomorrow, Tues July 25, there is still room for two more.

Call right up until “go time” at 732 330-5674.

It looks like the nice weather is going to extend through Wed July 26 now so we are adding that date, as well.

These are 20 to 30 mile trips. Drifting with bait and possibly some trolling. We have been catching our own live bait right at the fishing grounds.

4AM to 2PM each day. $350 person, 

4 people max, all fish are shared.

We are also available for charter for bay, inshore, or offshore fishing. We are currently catching bluefish and fluke in the inlet and in the bay. “

The inshore forecast is for southwest winds at a mere 5 knots before going to south in the afternoon.

Dante Sorriente not only caught the winning 188.8-pound bigeye tuna during Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City, but reported on Facebook that they also lost a big blue marlin.

“Well, another Tounry in the books. Jimmy Johnson Quest for the ring. 3rd year Team MJs has fished and back to back Tuna champions. Captain Michael Yocco does it again. 22 years of Tourney fishing together dozens of wins but this one was up there in the top. My daughter Gianna was with us all 3 days and got to see her first Bigeye, Blue marlin and White marlin. Day one we fished for Tuna as most know the fishing has been awfully slow this season from Hudson south. We grinded all day but around 1:30 after a quick lure change we got our shot and made quick work of her.

Day 2 we opted to go Blue Marlin fishing as there was none on the board and best chance of winning the ring. Slow day but around 2 we got our fish. Came on hard on teaser and it quickly switched to flat line plug. Fish went nuts and jumped all over the ocean. Unfortunately we pulled the hook 20 feet from the boat. Can’t say it was the winner but it was a qualifier for sure. I’d venture to say 500 plus. Heart breaker for sure.

Thankfully after a week of slow fishing we were able to bring home 2nd place overall and first place Tuna. Thanks again to the Goat Wesly pipes, Cappo the legend, Willy scissor hands Will Kayhart. The best mate is the business Kyle Shipp. My brotha from another mother Beans Aka Frank Crescitelli, Tyler , Nicky 6 guns Perello, Big Jeremy Gers, My partner and boy Bob Wilson. Great times many more to come. On to the Huk.

Fish ate a 6 oz hoomagic Wine head custom hair color in the flat line on a 60-100 Magictail Rod which worked perfect!! Check out all your offshore needs at www.magictailoutfitters.“

Small blues reappeared yesterday in the Golden Eagle’s chum slick. That Belmar boat was picking away at chub mackerel and sea bass when the 2-4-pound choppers started hitting bait and poppers. Some anglers limited. There was no repeat of that today as they just picked at chubs which were unusually tough to catch.

The forecast is for southwest winds at just 5 knots before going south at 10-15 knots in the afternoon.

Capt. Ron Santee started out well with fluke yesterday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, but then had to struggle with either too little or too much current. Dano won the pool with a 5 1/2-pound fluke.

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It’s all over in Atlantic City but the shouting by those currently receiving checks for their winnings. Hopefully, there will be more specific info about who won what after that.

The one thing we can be sure about is that canyon fishing was terrible this week despite fishable weather throughout. The tournament listed the species count as 13 blue marlin, 24 white marlin, one sailfish, two bigeye tuna, 16 yellowfin tuna, nine dolphin and three wahoo. The 80-boat fleet fished three days for a total of 240 fishing days without being able to average even a fish per day. After there was a sign of life Thursday, the last day turned out to be another flop despite all the money on the line. What went wrong?

Calm weather continues as the Sunday forecast is for north at 5 knots before shifting to south in the afternoon.

Bruce Casagrande caught this 8-pound, 10-ounce fluke last week on the Jamaica II from Brielle.

One of several large fluke on Capt. Ralph Leyrer’s Last Lady from Belmar.

After yesterday’s heroics, TLC only had to watch a last day of very few weigh-ins which didn’t impede their path to defending last year’s title.

I don’t remember any other large offshore tournament that produced so little on the last day. It started well with only the second wahoo of the tournament as Canyon Lady took over first at 43 pounds only to be knocked back by Roll Grove at 43.3 pounds. After that there wasn’t much except a few average-sized yellowfin tuna. I’ll have details tomorrow after everything is official.

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The second last day of Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring out of Atlantic City proved to be a fantastic one for the TLC as they not only boated the biggest fish of the contest so far, a 568-pound blue marlin, but also added the first white marlin weigh-in and even a dolphin that moved into third. To top it off, TLC moved to first in the high points boat category with 1048.3.

Capt. John Thompson said the big blue came up on a teaser, allowing them to throw the pitch bait attached to an 80W rig for the hook-up by Devin O’Neill who won the battle in just 45 minutes. He also had the dolphin entry. Jeremy Warner caught the 67.5-pound white marlin , but that first place entry was dropped to second when the Viking 80 factory team arrived with a 69.8-pound white.

There are many other categories which will be settled during today’s final session. For instance, Miss Melanie has been leading Small Boat Tuna since the first day with 57.4 and 55.7-pound yellowfins, but Highly Leveraged is close behind at 96.7pounds. Any boat in that category could win with just one multiple blast.

There are also categories this year for Box Full of Tuna, which MJ’s leads with their 188.8-pound bigeye — and for Box Full of Yellowfins which Too Many Martinis leads with 155 pounds. after one of yesterday’s yellowfins fell just short of the 50-pound minimum.

On this last day, nothing appears to be unbeatable, even that 568-pound blue marlin. The white marlin lead is a target, and n the case of both dolphin and wahoo the leaders are only about half the weight of what the usual winners in large offshore tournaments weigh.

There are 65 boats fishing the last day, and I’ll do another blog with the results after the scales close at 9 p.m.

Calm weather continues over the weekend, with northwest winds at 5-10 knots forecast for Saturday.

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.