Overnight a weak cold front spread through the MidAtlantic’s tournament ports of Cape May, New Jersey and Ocean City, Maryland bringing relief from the heat and humidity of the past few days but with the front came the associated steady northeast breeze and occasional gusts. Only 11 boats headed offshore this morning on Day Two while 170 used their “Lay Day.” While Lay Days, also known as non-fishing days, give crews a chance to rest up, they also provide time to re-rig, re-set and re-group for the next day’s fishing. With Friday’s offshore weather forecast questionable, the docks at Canyon Club Resort Marina and Sunset Marina were buzzing today as participants spent the day hard at work preparing for what looks to be back-to-back days of fishing.
Pat Healey’s Viking 80 based out of New Gretna, New Jersey remains atop the leaderboard in the white marlin division with a 70-pounder caught on Day One. Tim Tanghare of Vincentown, New Jersey on Big Oil remains in second place with a 69-pound white marlin which was also weighed on Day One. Third place currently remains vacant.
With no blue marlin weighed today, Jeff Crabtree’s New Smyrna Beach, Florida-based Pipe Down continues to lead the category with a 489-pounder caught on Day One. Second and 3rd place remain vacant.
Joe Stein III of Marriottsville, Maryland and his Marli remain in the lead in the tuna division with a 205-pound big eye just a few pounds ahead of Christopher Little of Pasadena, Maryland and his Talkin’ Trash with a 195-pound big eye. In third place is Random Chaos with Michael Pintozzi of Langhorne, Pennsylvania and his 112-pound yellowfin. All three leaders in the tuna category were caught on Day One.
Jeff Kogok’s Too Many Martinis from Saint Michaels, Maryland moved into second place in the dolphin category today after weighing a 33-pounder. David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida continues to lead the category with his 45-pounder caught aboard his Liquidity on Day One. Ed Russo of Carlstadt, New Jersey on his Big Deal now sits in third place with his 32-pounder which was also caught on Day One.
Joe Drosey’s Rhonda’s Osprey from Ocean City, Maryland remains in the lead of the wahoo division with a 23-pounder while second place still belongs to Avenue, Maryland’s George Hall on Hall Pass with a 22-pounder. Both fish were weighed on Day One.
Worthy of note Chris Volpe’s Gray Fox released three white on Day Two.
Continuing to focus on the tournament’s Premier Sponsors, Bob Shomo, Jr., Senior Vice President of Sales for Johnson and Towers Marine Division notes J&T will once again have a presence at the MidAtlantic. “Johnson & Towers is proud to once again be the premier engine sponsor for the MidAtlantic and we’ll have two engines on display in the tournament tent in Cape May along with representatives to answer any of your questions. The MTU 12V2000 M96X is the latest of the highly successful MTU series 2000 and this engine has become the benchmark of the industry with one of the best power to weight ratio’s available, quiet operation, no smoke while maneuvering and a customer friendly maintenance schedule,” he noted, adding the engine offers an 11-year warranty and is rated at 2002 horsepower. Shomo also noted J&T will have their technician walking the docks and doing a free inspection to any MTU powered boats as part of their Tech at Tournament program. Additionally, J&T will have a Volvo Penta D11-725 at the tournament, featuring class leading fuel burn, torque, and power to weight ratio. These features combined with an available 5 year/2000 hour warranty, make Volvo a good choice to spec in your next vessel build or repower. “Our goal at J&T is to keep you in the game and see you at the scales,” notes Shomo.
Just a reminder you can follow all the weigh-in action as it’s happening via the 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.
