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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
The MJ’s crew seems to have the magic touch at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club White Marlin Invitational. Even when Joe Yocco’s newly-acquired Ocean 45 developed engine trouble heading out for the first day, the crew managed to finish in the money for the sixth time in the eight WMITs it’s contested. Yocco, of New Providence, got back...
The MJ’s crew seems to have the magic touch at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club White Marlin Invitational. Even when Joe Yocco’s newly-acquired Ocean 45 developed engine trouble heading out for the first day, the crew managed to finish in the money for the sixth time in the eight WMITs it’s contested.
Yocco, of New Providence, got back in time to take a lay day while they switched over to Fish Hard, a boat owned by one of the crew, Tom Keller of Rutherford. As a result, they were one of the few boats fishing last Friday when they once again trolled up a bigeye tuna. Yocco fought that fish for four hours on a stand-up 50-pound rig before the 229.5-pounder was boated to easily beat out a 154.5-pound bigeye caught on opening day by Hubris.
That not only won the tuna division, but also the Tuna Champion award as the MJ’s crew won $68,912.50. The original MJ’s crew members are college friends who started winning this tournament as undergraduates. Yocco’s son, Michael of New Providence, was joined by Dante Sorriente, Jared Fout and Will Kayhart from Caldwell.
The big money in the WMIT goes to the biggest white marlin, if anyone can catch one long enough to meet the contest’s minimum, which is set relatively high to assure that almost all whites will be released. Lou Morizzo put Ken Hill into a 58.4-pounder on Sun Runner that was worth $130,375.
Actually, that was a hatchet marlin, a recently recognized species that’s almost identical to a white and is recognized as the same in tournaments. There was a true white weighed in, and at 61 pounds it would have won for Pez Machine, but it fell short of the minimum length and was disqualified under the rules.
Pez Machine also got another bad break while releasing one of the only two blue marlin caught as Frank Criscola’s Crisdel from Brielle Yacht Club took the trophy on a time basis. Crisdel also finished second in white marlin points with 525, just one release behind Molly K’s 600 points. Captain Chaz was third at 450 points. There was no Grand Champion this year, as that requires a boat to weigh a tuna of at least 60 pounds in addition to a white marlin entry or release. There were lots of 40-to-50-pound yellowfins weighed, but only the two bigeyes were over 60 pounds.
The most impressive fish of the contest was the 57.6-pound dolphin boated on Melina. Not only an exceptional size in the Mid-Atlantic, it was larger than the winning dolphin in the big money Bisbee’s East Cape Tournament last week in Baja California, Mexico. Milling Around won the wahoo prize with the only entry at 34.5 pounds.
Jeff Demint, director of the American Littoral Society fish tagging program, reports last Saturday’s ALS tagging cruise on Capt. Art Hilliard’s Eagle out of Atlantic Highlands was successful. He only tagged fluke between 14 and 18 inches, and there were 80 of them caught by 22 anglers — who also released many others under 14 inches and bagged 20 to 25 keepers. Demint noted that four fluke have been recaptured from those he tagged the last two years for Metropolitan Outdoor Press Association members on their annual trip aboard the Eagle.
A second striped bass that I tagged while eeling last fall in Ambrose Channel with Gene Graman of Middletown on his That’s It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands has been recaptured. The first was hooked at Flynn’s Knoll, but the latest went a lot farther. The 34 1/2-inch (to fork of tail) 16-pounder I tagged on Nov. 3 was recovered on July 19 in Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire with a total length of 37 inches. For information on getting involved in tagging, call Demint at (732) 291-0055.
With beautiful weather forecast, a big fleet developed Sunday in the Atlantic Princess area. I counted about 80 boats within sight by late morning, but most seemed to get a shot at school bluefin tuna.
Bob Correll of Bay Head and I joined Joe Reap of Ramsey on his Reaper from Manasquan. Our first action on the drift occurred when two baits were hit by bluefish. I assumed the fish I had hooked on the third rod with an unweighted sardine was the same, but when I couldn’t “reel it through the guides” with a Shimano TLD25 I knew it had to be the 44-inch bluefin that it turned out to be. Reap later caught two, and Correll one, all in the 44-to-47-inch class. We scored with bait, but other boats did better with jigs.
Boats in the Angling category are only allowed one, but those in the Charter/Headboat category can boat one from 27 to less than 47 inches, and one over 47 up to less than 59 inches. I had NMFS highly migratory species tags, but Reap doesn’t have a tagging stick. However, we managed to tag the last tuna as Correll stretched out on the swim platform, grabbed its tail, and swung it up so we could punch a small hole in the back and push the tag in before the tuna shot away as soon as it hit the water.
Berkely Striper Club is holding a Fluke & Sea Bass Tournament from Aug. 13 to 21. Call Paul Haertel at 973 943-8201, or e-mail anglerpmh@aol.com.
Bobby Noonan of Lake Elsinor, Ca. fished with friends in the same area as they trolled not only a bluefin, but also two yellowfins not much over the 27-inch minimum. Capt. Hans Kaspersetz and I hoped to get Noonan and Joe Blaze of Brielle out for tuna Thursday, but the offshore weather forecast wasn’t good.
We tried fluking in Ambrose Channel instead, and had plenty of action in deep water to the east — but only boated two keepers up to 21inches. Finishing up with blind fly and plug casting in the bay, I got one shot from a 10-to-12-pound bluefish that hit a little Gags Grabber Mambo Minnow and was released.
Dave Lilly of Hazlet had been catching lots of keepers in Ambrose, but he too found it loaded with shorts Thursday. Along with his son Jeremy and Al Tumolo they managed only five keepers among dozens of shorts.
It would have been nice to catch some fluke Thursday that were as big as the winter flounder we released last week from Fintastic out of Point Pleasant. While fighting though loads of bergalls to catch some cod, sea bass and a couple of blackfish on a wreck in 130 feet, we brought up fat flounder to 21inches that had to be returned since they’re out of season. Capt. Arthur Stokes and mates Joe Marshall and Mike Cary (who are also skilled anglers) joined in the hot action.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 8/5/2011 6:47:43 AM by Seamus and last updated on 8/5/2011 6:47:43 AM.
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