The final fishing day of the 2023 MidAtlantic saw only 11 boats head offshore into a stiff southerly breeze and sporty sea conditions. By early afternoon the sun began to peek through high clouds though the gusty wind made for a bumpy afternoon and a rough ride home. With nearly the entire 181-boat field having wrapped up their eligible days of fishing as of Thursday evening, little change in the standings was expected. When the scales at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, New Jersey closed officially at 9 p.m. last night the leaderboard remained unchanged and it was time to celebrate as over $5.79 million was handed out to nearly three dozen different winners. Note that payouts to the winners will vary based on their level of calcutta participation.

The blue marlin division saw Ocean, New Jersey’s Chip Caruso’s aboard his Pipe Dreamer walk away with the Heaviest Blue Marlin award with his 889-pounder which netted $1,180,342! Shon Craig’s Amarula Sun hailing from Tarpon Springs, Florida held on to second place with his 548-pounder which was good for $494,886. Mount Airy, Maryland’s Jay Keller aboard his Tighten Up took third place with his 528-pounder and received $112,148. All three of the winning blue marlin were weighed on Day Three. It’s worth noting the payout for Pipe Dreamer’s payout is a tournament record for a blue marlin.

Once again big eye tuna showed up just in time at the tournament and while several large yellowfins were brought to the scale of the 58 tuna weighed nearly two dozen were that big eyes. Christopher Little of Pasadena, Maryland aboard his Talkin’ Trash took the Heaviest Tuna award with his 253-pound big eye and walked off won $361,353.

Summit, New Jersey’s Bob Hugin on his The Right Place finished in second and received $552,483 for a big eye tuna of 234 pounds. Ken Hager of Tinton Falls, New Jersey aboard his Taylor Jean pocketed $159,574 for his 216-pound big eye. All three of the winning tuna were weighed on Day Four.

Kyle Dougherty of Cape May Court House, New Jersey aboard his Y-Knot took the Heaviest Wahoo award with a 56-pounder caught on Day Three and won $51,129. Shillington, Pennsylvania’s Jim McCarthy aboard his Covert Mission finished in second place and won $67,666 for his 52-pounder caught on Day Four. Ocean City, Maryland’s Wayne Odachowski and the crew of his Water Damage weighed a 51-pounder on Day Three and held on to win $17,894 for finishing in third place.

The dolphin category saw David Schockley of Jupiter, Florida on Liquidity take the Heaviest Dolphin award for his 45-pounder weighed on Day One which was good for $67,321. Joe Bernert of Hatboro, Pennsylvania on his Quick Raise weighed a 34-pound dolphin 34-pounder on Day Four and won $51,474 for second place. Jeff Kogok of Saint Michaels, Maryland finished in third place with a 33-pounder weighed on Day Two from his Too Many Martinis.

Worthy of note, on the final fishing day of the tournament Captain Andrew Dotterweich on his Fish On released five white marlin.

Cash Prize Winners

Note that cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters.

Heaviest White Marlin – 87 lbs. – Common Sense – Clint Clement – Cape May Court House, NJ – $201,388
2nd Heaviest White Marlin – 76 lbs. – Boss Hogg – Howard Berger – Edgewater, MD – $1,406,938
3rd Heaviest White Marlin – 75 lbs. – Catch 23 – Michael Jordan – Jupiter, FL – $462,318

Heaviest Blue Marlin – 889 lbs. – Pipe Dreamer – Carmine Caruso – Ocean, NJ – $1,180,342
2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 548 lbs. – Amarula Sun – Shon Craig – Tarpon Springs, FL – $494,886
3rd Heaviest Blue Marlin – 528 lbs. – Tighten Up – Jay Keller – Mount Airy, MD – $112,148

Heaviest Tuna – 253 lbs. – Talkin Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MA – $361,353
2nd Heaviest Tuna – 234 lbs. – The Right Place – Bob Hugin – Summit, NJ – $552,483
3rd Heaviest Tuna – 216 lbs. – Taylor Jean – Ken Hager – Tinton Falls, NJ – $159,547

Heaviest Wahoo – 56 lbs. – Y Knot – Kyle Dougherty – Cape May Court House, NJ – $51,129
2nd Heaviest Wahoo – 52 lbs. – Covert Mission – Jim McCarthy – Shillington, PA – $67,666
3rd Heaviest Wahoo – 51 lbs. – Water Damage – Wayne Odachowski – Ocean City, MD – $17,894

Heaviest Dolphin – 45 lbs. – Liquidity – David Schockley – Jupiter, FL – $67,321
2nd Heaviest Dolphin – 34 lbs. – Quick Raise – Joe Bernert – Hatboro, PA – $51,454
3rd Heaviest Dolphin – 33 lbs. – Too Many Martinis – Jeff Kogok – St. Michaels, MD – $25,024

Salt Life Billfish Points Calcutta – Cape May

Most Points – 1645 – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $13,800
2nd Most Points – 1425 – Gina Lisa – Gina Addeo – Staten Island, NY – $8,280
3rd Most Points – 1125 – Judge – Martin Judge, Jr. – Wayne, PA – $5,520

Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta – Ocean City

Most Points – 1,950 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA – $27,600
2nd Most Points – 1800 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwaee, GA – $16,560
3rd Most Points – 1725 – Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD – $11,040

The following received calcutta winnings for various positions on the leaderboard during the tournament:

White Marlin

70 lbs. – Viking 80 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $123,188
69 lbs. – Big Oil – Tim Tanghare – Vincentown, NJ – $72,864
66 lbs. – Max Bet – Matthew Weber – Vero Beach, FL – $29,072

Blue Marlin

489 lbs. – Pipe Down – Jeff Crabtree – New Smyrna Beach, FL – $41,464
470 lbs. – The Zipper – Eddie Zajdel – Ocean City, MD – $25,944

Tuna

205 lbs. – Marli – Joe Stein III – Marriotsville, MD – $60,536
195 lbs. – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD – $41,952
113 lbs. – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ – $20,608
112 lbs. – Random Chaos – Michael Pintozzi – Langhorne, PA – $52,256
106 lbs. – Hall Pass – George Hall III – Avenue, MD – $12,972
67 lbs. – Fish On – Andrew Dotterweich – Jupiter, FL – $8,648
66 lbs. – Still Lucky – Steve Gladwin – Ocean City, MD – $4,324

Wahoo

46 lbs. – Waste Knot – Michael Tickle – Morehead, NC – $9,292

Dolphin

23 lbs. – Impulse V – Adam Demeusy – Newington, CT – $2,162

Point Winners (Trophies)

Most Points Overall – 2,010 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA
Most Points White Marlin – 1,950 – Trashman – Gene Sowers – Savannah, GA
2nd Most Points White Marlin – 1725- Billfisher – Jon Duffie – Gaithersburg, MD
3rd Most Points White Marlin – 1650 – Sweet Spot – Chris Kubik – Kill Devil Hills, NC
Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Big Stick – David Bowen – Suwanee, GA
2nd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Get Reel – Brian Arni – Nottingham, PA
3rd Most Points Blue Marlin – 300 – Reelin’ Feelin’ – Adam Youschak – North Wildwood, NJ
Most Points Tuna – 318 – Lovin’ Life – Billy Wrede – Randolph, NJ
2nd Most Points Tuna – 224 – Talkin’ Trash – Christopher Little – Pasadena, MD
3rd Most Points Tuna – 163.5 – Big Deal – Brian Rabbitt – Carlstadt, NJ

Catch Report

White Marlin Released – 735
White Marlin Boated – 15
Blue Marlin Released – 36
Blue Marlin Boated – 18
Tuna Weighed – 58
Dolphin Weighed – 15
Wahoo Weighed – 7

It’s worth noting the 750 white marlin caught, of which 735 were released, is the third highest in tournament history. That’s also a 98% release rate as well! Further, with 181 boats fishing three days for a total of 543-boat days of fishing that’s a catch rate of 1.38 white marlin per-boat-per-day!

As always, the MidAtlantic tournament prize structure features large payouts to multiple winners rather than one large check for one fish. This year two winners received more than $1 million in prize money while three others received $460 thousand or more. Four others won $112 or more and seven additional winners won $50 thousand or more!

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 and photos. 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. Until next year, tight lines!