The 34th Annual MidAtlantic ended last night with an incredible day of fishing on Day Six. As you may recall the tournament was extended by one day due to Hurricane Erin and with all but one boat not having fished since Day Three crews were anxious to get offshore. The big question was what impact did Erin have on the red-hot billfish bite which saw 400-plus white marlin caught in two days of fishing by the fleet. The answer was very simple – no impact at all! A clear sky and light breeze made for ideal conditions for the 114 boats that sailed on the final day and you could run out of words to describe the white marlin bite that continued right where it let off before the storm. Though boats continued to rack up mind boggling numbers, most were feisty fish that weren’t close to meeting the tournament’s minimum length and weight. By the 9 p.m. close of the weigh-in though, some significant changes had occurred in other categories.
The evening’s weigh-in session got started quickly when the scales opened at 5 p.m. as Captain Raul Gonzalez had York, Pennsylvania’s Rob Gothier and his BAR South at the scale at Sunset Marina waiting to weigh a blue marlin Gothier had battled that stretched the tape measure out to 118 1⁄4” once she was placed on the dock. Moments later Weighmaster Frank Ingram steadied the scale and announced the weight of 617 pounds! No other blue marlin was weighed and as such Joppa, Maryland’s Danny Jones and his Reel Toy took the heaviest blue marlin award with the 804-pounder caught on Day Three and received $706,219. BAR South finished in second place and won $301,962. Since no third-place blue marlin was weighed the unwon prize money was split between Reel Toy and BAR South based on calcutta participation.
Though well over 300 were released, no qualifying white marlin was weighed on Day Six and the standings remained unchanged. Stone Harbor, New Jersey’s Jamie Diller and his crew of the Canyon Lady finished with the heaviest white marlin at 75 pounds caught on Day Three and won $875,363. Jimmy Hahn of Pocomoke, Maryland finished in second place with a 71-pounder on his Tail Chaser caught on Day One and received $394,144. Here too, since no third-place white marlin was weighed, the unwon prize money was split between Canyon Lady and Tail Chaser.
The tuna category saw a major shake-up on Day Six. Though there were plenty of yellowfin tuna caught during the tournament, bigeyes were elusive and had many tuna pros in the tournament scratching their heads leading up to the final day of fishing. That would all change as shortly after 8 p.m. when veteran tuna pro Captain Ed “Cookie” Murray backed the Torta of Jupiter, Florida’s Joseph Posillico to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May with a bigeye tuna to weigh which Posillico was also the angler. When off loaded it was quite evident the fish would shake-up the standings. Once hung on the scale Weighmaster Chris Booth yelled out the weight of 185 pounds which moved Torta to the top of the leaderboard in the category. However, waiting in the wings to weigh a bigeye for angler Dante Soriente was Captain Michael Yocco aboard his Cape May, New Jersey-based MJ’s. Yocco himself is a frequent tuna category winner at The MidAtlantic so it was a good bet his tuna could do some damage to the standings and it did tipping the scale at 173 pounds to move MJ’s into second place. Torta held on to take the heaviest tuna award and won $329,751 followed in second place by MJ’s who received $101,683. Third place went to Curtis Bay, Maryland’s Nick Neary on his Lit Up with a 103-poud big eye caught on Day One for which he received $135,148.
No wahoo came near the 94-pounder Stuart, Florida’s Scott Abeel caught on Day Three on his Luna Sea and Abeel took the top prize of $37,835. Bobby Pastorius of Ocean City, Maryland on his Jenny Poo finished in second place with his 60-pounder caught on Day One and received $49,059. Carmine Caruso of Ocean, New Jersey aboard his Pipe Dreamer finished third with a 23-pound wahoo caught on Day Three and received $8,372.
In the dolphin category Mike Niedoba of Atco, New Jersey aboard his Mike’s Low Budget weighed a 26-pounder on Day Six to move into third place. Charley Pereira of Nags Head, North Carolina on his Sushi took the heaviest dolphin prize and won $32,913 for the 35-pounder weighed on Day Three. Singer Island, Florida’s John Gudelsky aboard his Reel Joy finished in second place with a 26-pounder which was also weighed on Day Three and received $32,821. Mike’s Low Budget finished in third place and won $22,724.
Some of the boats with notable billfish catches on Day Six include Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts with 20 white marlin released. Rob Carmichael’s Lights Out (62 Viking) and Pat Healey’s Viking 68 each released 18 white marlin. Matt Weber’s Max Bet released 13 white marlin while Michael Jordan’s Catch 23 released 12. Alan Sadler’s Intents let go 11 white marlin while Pat Healey’s Viking 82 released 10 and William Garmany’s Reel Current released nine white marlin. Three boats released eight white marlin while 10 others had seven and seven others released six. It’s worth noting the white marlin bite was so good that several boats that were not in contention in the tournament decided to fish until dark. One non-tournament boat returned to Canyon Club Resort Marina at 11 p.m. last night with 24 white marlin release flags flying!
Other notable billfish catches on Day Six include Brian Denton’s Cookie Monster with seven white marlin and one blue marlin released. Ken Hagar’s Taylor Jean and Stuart Lackey’s Renegade each released six white marlin and one blue marlin. Mary Naylor’s Crumdale and Sean O’Donnell’s Got Game each released a blue marlin.
At award ceremonies held at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland a total cash purse of $ 3,209,420 was distributed to over 19 different winners. Additionally, the 768 total white marlin caught, of which 761 were released, is the second highest number in the tournament’s 34-year history and is a 99% release rate. This number is also significant since the fleet essentially only fished three of the six days available due to weather and 41 boats only fished two days. Using 301 boat/days and 768 total white marlin caught equates to a catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of 2.55 white marlin per-boat, per-day which shatters the previous record of 1.72 set in 2016.
It’s also worth noting the new tournament record Most Points Overall of 2550 set by Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts for 32 white marlin and one blue marlin breaks the old record of 2010 points for 26 white marlin and one blue marlin set by Gene Sowers on Trash Man in 2023. The new tournament record for Most Points White Marlin, also set by Krazy Salts for 32 white marlin, breaks the old record of 1950 points for 26 white marlin set in 2006 by Al Conan’s Ditch Digger and tied in 2023 by Trash Man.
Cash Prize Winners
Note that cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters and the number of days on the leaderboard.
Heaviest White Marlin: 75 lbs. – Canyon Lady – Jamie Diller – Stone Harbor, NJ – $875,363
2nd Heaviest White Marlin: 71 lbs. – Tail Chaser – Jimmy Hahn – Pokomoke, MD – $394,144
Since there was no third-place qualifying white marlin, the prize money was awarded to Canyon Lady and Tail Chaser based on calcutta participation.
Heaviest Blue Marlin: 804 lbs. – Reel Toy – Danny Jones – Joppa, MD – $706,219
2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin: 617 lbs. – BAR South – Rob Gothier – York, PA – $301,962
Since there was no third-place qualifying blue marlin, the prize money was awarded to Reel Toy and BAR South based on calcutta participation.
Heaviest Tuna: 185 lbs. – Torta – Joseph Posillico – Jupiter, FL – $329,751
2nd Heaviest Tuna: 173 lbs. – MJ’s – Michael Yocco – Cape May, NJ – $101,683
3rd Heaviest Tuna: 103 lbs. – Lit Up – Nick Neary – Curtis Bay, MD – $135,148
Heaviest Wahoo: 94 lbs. – Luna Sea – Scott Abeel – Stuart, FL – $37,835
2nd Heaviest Wahoo: 60 lbs. – Jenny Poo – Bobby Pastorius – Ocean City, MD – $49,059
3rd Heaviest Wahoo: 23 lbs. – Pipe Dreamer – Carmine Caruso – Ocean, NJ – $8,372
Heaviest Dolphin: 35 lbs. – Sushi – Charley Pereira – Nags Head, NC – $32,913
2nd Heaviest Dolphin: 26 lbs. – Reel Joy – John Gudelsky – Singer Island, FL – $32,821
3rd Heaviest Dolphin: 26 lbs. – Mike’s Low Budget – Mike Niedoba – Atco, NJ – $22,724
Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta – Cape May
Most Points: 2550 pts. – Krazy Salts – Dave Anderson – Palm Beach Gardens, FL – $5,060
2nd Most Points: 2025 pts. – Viking 68 – Pat Healey – New Gretna, NJ – $3,036
3rd Most Points: 1425 pts. – Canyon Lady – Jamie Diller – Stone Harbor, NJ – $2,024
Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta – Ocean City
Most Points: 2325 pts. – Max Bet – Matt Weber – Vero Beach, FL – $17,020
2nd Most Points: 2250 pts. – Catch 23 – Michael Jordan – Hobe Sound, FL – $10,212
3rd Most Points: 2175 pts. – Lights Out (Viking 62) – Rob Carmichael – Riviera Beach, FL – $6,808
The following participants received calcutta winnings for various positions on the leaderboard during the tournament. Cash payouts vary by the level of calcuttas a participant enters and the number of days on the leaderboard.
Tuna
101 lbs. – Floor Reel – John Ols – Laytonsville, MD – $22,816
99 lbs. – Blue Runner – Joe Miele – Manasquan, NJ – $6,256
97 lbs. – Max Bet – Matt Weber – Vero Beach, FL – $53,268
96 lbs. – Blue Runner – Joe Miele – Manasquan, NJ – $44,988
Dolphin
24 lbs. – Reel Chaos – Anthony Matarese – Pennsville, NJ – $8,372
Wahoo
21 lbs. – Mike’s Low Budget – Mike Niedoba – Atco, NJ – $1,564
Point Winners (Trophies)
Note ties are broken based on time of catch.
Most Points White Marlin: 2400 pts.* – Krazy Salts – Dave Anderson – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
2nd Most Points White Marlin: 2325 pts. – Max Bet – Matt Weber – Vero Beach, FL
3rd Most Points White Marlin: 2250 pts. – Catch 23 – Michael Jordan – Hobe Sound, FL
*Denotes new tournament record
Most Points Blue Marlin: 450 pts. – Taylor Jean – Ken Hager – North Palm Beach, FL
2nd Most Points Blue Marlin: 304.5 pts. – BAR South – Rob Gothier – York, PA
3rd Most Points Blue Marlin: 300 pts. – D.A. Sea – Edward Dunn – Grasonville, MD
Most Points Tuna: 253 pts. – Blue Runner – Joe Miele – Manasquan, NJ
2nd Most Points Tuna: 92.5 pts. – Torta – Joseph Posillico – Jupiter, FL
3rd Most Points Tuna: 86.5 pts. – MJ’s Michael Yocco – Cape May, NJ
Most Points Overall: 2550 pts.* – Krazy Salts – Dave Anderson – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
*Denotes new tournament record
Catch Report
White marlin/Roundscale Spearfish released – 761
White marlin/Roundscale Spearfish weighed – 7
Blue marlin released – 24
Blue marlin weighed – 2
Tuna weighed – 21
Wahoo weighed – 11
Dolphin weighed – 18
For more information on the 2024 MidAtlantic contact Tournament Director Aaron Hoffman at 609-884-0177 or visit the tournament’s web site at www.themidatlantic.com where you’ll find all the facts, figures and information about the event including a complete breakdown of calcuttas, rules, points and tournament photos. You can also follow along on social media Facebook at The MidAtlantic Tournament; on Twitter @midatl and on Instagram @themidatlantictournament.