The morning of Day Three of the 2023 MidAtlantic got off to a bumpy start as the sporty conditions from the back end of the cold front yesterday lingered into the morning hours today. Reports from offshore indicated conditions had improved by late morning for the 165 boats fishing today and the billfish continued to bite at a fierce pace as multiple releases of billfish were not uncommon. The blue marlin and wahoo categories each took a beating today as we now have three new leaders in both and also a third-place white marlin.
Day Three’s weigh-in session got off to a fast start as moments after the scale opened at 5 p.m. Captain Jason Genthner had Jay Keller’s Tighten Up from Mount Airy, Maryland already in position to weigh a blue marlin for Keller who was also the angler. A tip of the lower jaw to fork of the tail measurement indicated the blue marlin’s length to be 112” so it was hoisted to the scale and weighed-in at 528 pounds putting Tighten Up temporarily in the lead. Temporarily because word had filtered in from offshore late in the morning indicating a huge blue marlin had been boated. That rumor would be confirmed as a few minutes after Tighten Up pulled away from the scale Captain Rich Fernandez pulled Chip Caruso’s Pipe Dreamer out of Ocean, New Jersey into position with a massive blue marlin stretched across the cockpit. Andy Confortini fought the big blue on a 130-pound class outfit and had the fish to the boat in just 20 minutes. When stretched out on the huge marlin measured 133½” and when weighed pulled the scale down to 889 pounds and moved Pipe Dreamer to the top of the leaderboard! Worthy of note at 889 pounds that’s the third heaviest blue marlin in the tournament’s history. The barrage of big blue marlin today continued when Captain Danny Veid wheeled Shon Craig’s Amarula Sun from of Tarpon Springs, Florida to the scale with a 114¼” billfish which weighed 548 pounds for Craig who was also the angler. To recap, Pipe Dreamer leads the category with an 889-pounder while Amarula Sun sits in second place with their 548-pounder. Tighten Up is in third place with their 528-pounder.
The white marlin category now has all three places filled after Captain Austin Robins at the wheel of Matt Webber’s Max Bet based in Vero Beach, Florida weighed a 66-pounder for angler Anthony Webber and moved into third place. Pat Healey’s Viking 80 from New Gretna, New Jersey is still in the lead with a 70-pounder caught on Day One. Tim Tanghare of Vincentown, New Jersey on his Big Oil is right behind with his 69-pounder, also caught on Day One.
Joe Stein III of Marriottsville, Maryland aboard his Marli continues to lead the tuna category with a 205-pound big eye. Christopher Little of Pasadena, Maryland on Talkin’ Trash sits in second place with a 195-pound big eye while Random Chaos with Michael Pintozzi of Langhorne, Pennsylvania is in third place with a 112-pound yellowfin. As previously noted, all three tuna were weighed on Day One.
David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida still has the lead in the dolphin category with a 45-pounder aboard his Liquidity which was weighed on Day One. Jeff Kogok’s Too Many Martinis from Saint Michaels, Maryland remains in second place with his 33-pounder. Ed Russo of Carlstadt, New Jersey aboard Big Deal is still in third place with his 32-pounder, also caught on Day One.
As mentioned earlier, the wahoo category has totally changed as of today. Kyle Dougherty of Cape May Court House, New Jersey aboard his Y-Knot in now the leader with a 56-pounder for angler Chelsey Poole. Second place belongs to Ocean City, Maryland’s Wayne Odachowski aboard his Water Damage with a 51-pounder which Odachowski was the angler. Third place belongs to Michael Tickle of Moorehead City, North Carolina aboard Waste Knot with a 46-pounder for angler Chelsey Poole.
Some of the boats with notable billfish releases on Day Three include David Bowen’s Big Stick with 15 white marlin and one blue marlin. Gene Sowers’ Trash Man released 15 white marlin. Marty Judge’s Judge released nine white marlin while Pat Healey’s Viking 80 and Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts each released eight white marlin. Ryan Putman’s Is That So and David Schockley’s Liquidity each released six white marlin and Gina Addeo’s Gina Lisa let go five white marlin.
Keep in mind you can follow all the weigh-in action via live stream from Cape May and Ocean City by visiting the tournament’s web site www.themidatlantic.com. beginning at 5 p.m. each night.
Please note the MidAtlantic tournament is a private event. Nightly weigh-in sessions at Canyon Club Resort Marina and Sunset Marina as well as other tournament venues are not open to the general public and require credentials for entry.
For further information contact Tournament Director Aaron Hoffman at 609-884-0177 or check out the tournament’s web site at www.themidatlantic.com for all the facts, figures and information about this year’s MidAtlantic including a complete rundown of calcutta payouts, rules, points, tournament records, photos, and an event schedule. There’s also a link to purchase tournament apparel as well as links for all tournament sponsors. On social media follow the MidAtlantic on Facebook at The MidAtlantic Tournament; on Twitter @midatl and on Instagram @themidatlantictournament.
