Bigeye Bite in Mid-Atlantic Canyons
Mahi and Sharks Move Tight to Southern New England
Small Bluefin Bite On Fire off Cape Cod
New Jersey Offshore
The Mid Atlantic 500,000 kicked off this week with poor sea conditions and 118 hopeful crews and captains ready to test their skills against each other, and Mother Nature, for big payoffs. Total prize pool for this year’s event tops $1.5 million dollars.
Day one was pretty much a wash out since boats have the option to pick the best three days. Only Reel Toy and Taylor Jean decided to brave the elements to try and get a head start on the others. Nothing hit the scales Monday, but Day two was a whole different story with 40 weigh-ins. Eight eyeballs (bigeye tuna) hit the scales ranging from 199 to 233 pounds. Reel Chaos led the pack in the tuna category. Only one bigeye was weighed in last year, a 500-pound-plus monster.
On Wednesday, with 101 boats on the water, Brent Morrison’s “Why Not” out of St. Augustine, Florida brought a Blue Marlin to the scales at 416 pounds that has a current payout of almost $310,000 if it stands. Reel Chaos’s 233-pound bigeye still stands, but 12 more eyeballs were brought in. With a total of 273 white marlin both landed and released for the first 3 days of competition, Robert Warder’s “Reelentless” still leads the pack with a 79 pounder. There is a whopping $667,330 on the table for the Parkland, Maryland boat.
New England Offshore
Offshore fishing starts just south of Martha’s Vineyard, where Terry Nugent of Riptide Charters set up to do some sharking and managed a legal mako and a hammerhead shark that was caught and released! Some bluefin are popping up around the Claw south of the Vineyard as well.
Also at the Claw, some white marlin are still cruising around, but it’s been sporadic. The Dump has the occasional yellowfin tuna, and there are plenty of chicken mahi at both the Claw and the Dump for anglers to enjoy on light tackle.
Bluefin tuna fishing is still good according to Dickie at the Hook Up on Cape Cod. Captain Eric Stewart is still trolling up good numbers of smaller tuna east of Chatham.
A big mass of school bluefin tuna are clobbering sand eels between the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen and Race Point off Provincetown. Early mornings have been best off Peaked Hill Bar, with the bite migrating up toward Stellwagen as the day progresses. Some anglers have recorded 9-fish outings!
Numerous techniques are working, but the hottest baits are soft-plastic stickbaits that mimic the sand eels best. Trolling, casting, jigging, and attaching the lures to bars is working well.
The west edge of the Bank up to the Northwest Corner has plenty of bait, but the bite has not been consistent. Live bait fishermen are turning up the occasional commercial fish.
Can you guys provide a small chart to go along with the reports to give those of us unfamiliar with the waters a better idea where the fish are. Thanx for your great reports