Day Two of the 2019 MidAtlantic dawned cloudy and warm with a light breeze for the 148 boats that gave it a go today. As noted yesterday, a new tournament record cash purse was set once again this year and the final number is set at $3,528,760! The billfish bite on Day One was quite respectable as 202 marlin including 179 whites and 23 blues were released. The tuna bite continued as numerous yellowfins were weighed as were dolphin and wahoo. As Day Two came to a close many boats were eyeing the weather forecast for the remainder of the week and chatter on the docks seem to lead that much of the fleet will take a Lay Day, non-fishing day, tomorrow.
This evening’s weigh-in session got off to an exciting start as we now have a new heaviest white marlin after Captain Blaine Champlain backed the Judge of Upper Marion Township, Pennsylvania’s Marty Judge to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May and weighed a 68-pounder for angler Bobby Ogden. John Raimondo’s Sea Mistress from Avalon, New Jersey now has the second heaviest white marlin with his 67-pounder weighed on Day One. The third heaviest white marlin currently belongs to Joe Rahman’s Auspicious based out of North Palm Beach, Florida after Captain Ed “Cookie” Murray put angler Kevin Stafford on a 65-pounder today. No blue marlin were weighed on Day Two leaving that category wide open as all three places are vacant.
In the tuna category several boats made moves to get on the board on Day Two. Charley Pereira’s Sushi based in Nags Head, North Carolina now has the second heaviest tuna in the tournament after weighing a yellowfin of 80 pounds. Tommy Hancock’s Dem Boys based out of Isle of Palms, South Carolina still has the heaviest tuna at 96 pounds while Mark Deblasio of Manasquan, New Jersey aboard Blue Runner owns the third heaviest tuna at 79 pounds. Dem Boys and Blue Runner’s tuna were both weighed on Day One.
The dolphin category currently has a tie at the top after Todd Dickerson of Laytonsville, Maryland weighed a 33-pounder from his Top Dog today to move into a tie with Reel Estate owned by Baltimore, Maryland’s Curtis Campbell. Ed Russo of Carlstadt, New Jersey on his Big Deal and Stone Harbor’s Jamie Diller aboard his Canyon Lady are tied for second heaviest dolphin at 27 pounds.
The wahoo category saw a new leader today after Ross Clubb of Newmanstown, Pennsylvania weighed a 33-pounder from his Chain Reaction bumping the 29-pounder caught on Day One by Thomas Quhoun of Ocean City, Maryland aboard his Special Situation to second. Hilltown, Pennsylvania’s Andy Schlotter on his My Time owns the third heaviest wahoo at 28-pounds, also caught on Day One.
Boats with significant billfish catches on Day Two include Danny Veid’s Amarula Sun with nine white marlin released. Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts and Jim Foulke’s Trust Me Too each released six white marlin. John Bayliss’ Tarheel and Doug Allen’s Big Oil each released five white marlin while Ed Russo’s Big Deal released four white marlin. Joe Rahman’s Auspicious released four white marlin and two blue marlin while Jeff Donohue’s Hatterascal released four white marlin and one blue marlin. Todd Dickerson’s Top Dog and Anne Armendia’s Give it Away each released three white marlin and one blue marlin. David Johnson’s JT, Todd Willard’s Fish On, Bill Haugland’s Lights Out, Ed Katzianer’s Wish You Were Here and Daniel Ross’ Whisky Kilo each released two white marlin and one blue marlin.
Please note the MidAtlantic tournament is a private event. 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. Be sure to visit the tournament’s official web site at www.themidatlantic.com where you’ll find all the facts, figures and information about this year’s event including a complete rundown of calcutta payouts, rules, points and an event schedule. There’s also a link to purchase official tournament merchandise. Each night you can follow the weigh-in session with live video feed from both marinas via a link on the tournament’s web site. You can also follow all the action on Facebook at The MidAtlantic Tournament; on Twitter; @midatl and on Instagram; @themidatlantictournament.