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Huge Blue Marlin, Big Tuna Dominate Day Five Weigh-In at MidAtlantic

The MidAtlantic”The final day of the 2020 MidAtlantic dawned sunny though a light breeze kept temperatures cool as the 163 boats headed out on Day Five into calm seas offshore. With a 91-pound white marlin leading the category, admittedly everyone in the tournament acknowledged that number would be hard to beat. In the tournament 29-year history only five white marlin over 90 pounds had ever been weighed. However, with second and third place set at 77 and 70 pounds respectively going into the final day there was a chance they could be topped. The blue marlin category was still anyone to win since the 489-pound leader was the only qualifying blue to be weighed through four days of the tournament.  With a tournament record cash purse of $4,074,430 up for grabs, there were still several other categories in reach. Worthy of mentioning is cash prize awards are based on the level of calcutta participation so there will be a notable difference in payouts between fish in each category.             Day Five saw the billfish bite turn on and numerous boats had multiple releases and several large white marlin were brought to the scales. The tuna bite also continued and while big eyes remained scarce, yellowfins were plentiful for those focused on that category. Quite a few dolphin were also weighed, though wahoo remained scarce.  Day Five once again lived up to its Moving Day reputation, a phrase first coined by the MidAtlantic years ago because of the significant changes to the leaderboard that have occurred over the years on the final day of the tournament.  MidAtlantic tournament staff went to work right away at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland when the scales opened at 5 p.m. and kept busy all night right up to the 9 p.m. closing.The weigh-in session on Day Five got off to a fast start as John Adams of Juno Beach, Florida had been waiting at the Sunset Marina scale since 2:30 p.m. aboard Griffin with a blue marlin angler Wes Swandt IV had battled. The marlin stretched the tape measure to 126½ inches and had a lot of girth to her as well. It took plenty of muscle for tournament staff at the weigh station to heft the huge blue marlin from the boat to the dock but once set on the scale Weighmaster Frank Ingram yelled out the weight of 815 pounds to put Griffin into the lead in the category!  Untitled 1 36However, there was rumor of another big blue marlin on its way to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina and while radio chatter was quiet about the length, the word was out it was definitely a good fish. It was just after 5:30 p.m. when Captain Mike Adkins backed the Is That So for owner Ryan Putman of Doylestown, Pennsylvania to the scale and the size of the blue marlin was finally revealed. Adkin, a seasoned tournament skipper, has seen and caught plenty of big blue marlin over his career and knew this girl would be a contender judging by its length and girth but stayed mum about its size during the day. Here too, tournament staffed worked feverishly to safely remove the huge marlin from Is That So and place her on the dock. The tape measure was laid out and amazingly the length was noted at 126¼ inches, a scant ¼-inch shorter than Griffin blue marlin.  The rope was placed around the tail and the marlin was hefted to the scale. Putman, who was the angler and fought the fish for well over four hours, and the crew of Is That So anxiously stood by and held their collective breath.  Moments later Weighmaster Chris Booth yelled out the weight of 803 pounds and the crew celebrated as Is That So moved into second place in the category. Amazingly only ¼-inch and 12 pounds separated the heaviest and second heaviest blue marlin in the tournament.  Worthy of note, in the tournament 29-year history the only other blue marlin over 800 pounds was the tournament record 847 pounder caught aboard Wade Lober Why Knot in 2014. The two big blue marlin rocked the final standings in the category and in the end John Adams Griffin took home a tournament record payout for blue marlin of $692,764 for their 815 pounder while Ryan Putman Is That So was second at 803 pounds and won $177,352.  Third heaviest blue marlin went to Joe Kelly of Holland, Pennsylvania with the 489-pounder he weighed on Day Four and he won $110,772.  The white marlin category also saw changes to the leaderboard as several were weighed to shake up the top three overall positions in the tournament as well as the top three port winners. The biggest move of the day came from the crew of Greenville, Delaware Todd Willard on his Fish On with Captain Andrew Dotterweich at the wheel after they weighed a white marlin of 77 pounds for angler Josh Jasper and moved into a tie for second place in the category. 
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Capt. Michael Yocco and team MJ’s. Photo courtesy MJ’s Sportfishing | Tanner Holly

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Brooks Smith aboard his Uno Mas weighed a 76-pound white marlin on Day Five for angler Eric Rojas but was bumped off the leaderboard. Final standings in the white marlin category show Bill Keller of Ellicott City, Maryland aboard his Blood Money the clear winner of the heaviest white marlin prize with his 91-pounder caught on Day Four and he received $267,085. The tie for second place at 77 pounds awarded Doug Allen of North Cape May, New Jersey aboard his Big Oil $538,557 while Willard Fish On won $523,987. There were plenty of tuna weighed on Day Five but finding one to make the board with the third heaviest set at 129 pounds going into the final day was going to be a task. However, it was no surprise when Jupiter, Florida Mike Yocco aboard his MJ brought another large big eye to the scale at Canyon Club Resort Marina.  Yocco was already sitting atop the tuna category with his 189-pounder weighed on Day Two but this indeed would be Yocco category this year as his second big eye of the tournament tipped the scales at 195 pounds, this one caught by angler Brandon Kape, and jumped to the top of the pack. No other tuna weighed on Day Five would have an impact on the leaderboard and the final standing have Yocco 195 pounder and 189 pounder taking first and second place and a combined payout of $913,883, a tournament record payout for tuna! Summit, New Jersey Bob Hugin aboard his The Right Place finished in third place with his 168-pound big eye caught on Day Three and received $147,235. Numerous dolphin were weighed on Day Five though only one had an impact on the standings. Joe Ward of Westchester, Pennsylvania aboard his Fishbone weighed a 33-pounder and moved into a tie for second place.           
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Heaviest white marlin (91 pounds caught aboard Blood Money). Photo courtesy Unscene Productions

Gaithersburg, Maryland Judith Duffie aboard Billfisher took the top prize with a 46-pounder and received $100,345. Steve Summers of Potomac, Maryland aboard his Christine Marie and Ward Fishbone tied for second place and each received $22,983 for their 33-pounders. There was only one wahoo weighed in the tournament but it was work a pile of cash.  Marlboro, New Jersey Deane Lambros aboard Canyon Runner swept the top three places in the category and walked away with $135,736 for his 42-pounder weighed on Day Three.   Boats with significant billfish releases on Day Five included Alan Sadler Intents with two blue marlin and two white marlin released. Ed Cookie Murray Auspicious released three white marlin and one blue marlin and Pat Healey Viking 80 released a blue marlin and a white marlin. Bobby Rick El Cazador released a blue marlin.  Peter Cherasia Shark Byte released six white marlin. Dave Anderson Krazy Salts, Brook Smith Uno Mas, Adam Youschak Reelin Feelin and Rob Rowe Free Spool each released five white marlin.  Jamie Diller Canyon Lady, Ed Dunn DA Sea and Christopher Kinsley Kilo Charlie each released four white marlin. Fletcher Creamer Ditch Digger, Chris Kubik Point Runner and Burke Wall Trash Man each released three white marlin. During the evening award presentation, which were held in compliance with all local, state and federal policies in place due to the current pandemic, a tournament record cash purse of $4,074,430 was handed out. In all, 11 winners received checks of six figures or more including Mike Yocco MJ tournament record payout of $913,883. Additionally, eight other winners received payouts of $20,000 or more.      Cash Prize Winners Heaviest White Marlin 91 lbs. Blood Money Bill Keller Ellicott City, MD – $267,085   2nd Heaviest White Marlin 77 lbs. – tie Big Oil Doug Allen North Cape May, NJ – $538,557  Fish On Todd Willard Greenville, DE – $523,987 Heaviest Blue Marlin 815 lbs. Griffin John Adams Ft. Lauderdale, FL- $692,764    2nd Heaviest Blue Marlin 803 lbs. Is That So Ryan Putman Doylestown, PA – $177,352  3rd Heaviest Blue Marlin 489 lbs. Salty Tiger Joe Kelly Holland, PA – $110,772      Heaviest Tuna 195 lbs. – MJ Mike Yocco Jupiter FL – $655,986   2nd Heaviest Tuna 189 lbs. MJ Mike Yocco Jupiter, FL – $257,896   3rd Heaviest Tuna 168 lbs. Bob Hugin Summit, NJ – $147,235  Heaviest Wahoo 42 lbs. Canyon Runner Deane Lambros Marlboro, NJ – $135,736 *No other wahoo was weighed so Canyon Runner also received 2nd and 3rd place money.     Heaviest Dolphin 46 lbs. Billfisher Judith Duffie – Gaithersburg, Maryland – $100,345 2nd Heaviest Dolphin 33 lbs. tie Christine Marie Potomac, MD – $22,983 Fishbone Joe Ward West Chester, PA – $22,983   Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta Cape May  Most Points 825 Sharee Buell Polk Brandon, MS – $10,810  2nd Most Points 675 Krazy Salts Dave Anderson Moorestown, NJ – $6,486     3rd Most Points 523 Canyon Lady Jamie Diller Stone Harbor, NJ – $4,324     Atlantic Tackle Billfish Points Calcutta Ocean City  Most Points 1725 Wave Paver James Davis Kissimmee, FL – $27,260    2nd Most Points 1340 Point Runner Chris Kubic Kill Devil Hills, NC – $16,356   3rd Most Points 1050 Big Stick David Bowen Suwanee, GA – $10,904       The following received calcutta winnings for various positions on the leaderboard during the tournament: White Marlin 76 lbs. Uno Mas Brooks Smith Ft. Lauderdale, FL – $39,339    68 lbs. The Zipper Ed Zajdel Ocean City, MD – $22,560    74 lbs. American Beauty Michael Posillico Farmingdale, NY – $21,432 65 lbs. Effie Mae Russell Garufi Bishopville, MD – $15,792  68 lbs. Wish You Were Here Rick Wheeler Pleasantville, NJ – $13,160 66 lbs. Kilo Charlie Christopher Kinsley Seven Valleys, PA – $13,160 70 lbs. Lucky Fin Paul Cabeda Hughsville, MD – $11,280 73 lbs. Canyon Lady Jamie Diller Stone Harbor, NJ – $10,716     Tuna 129 lbs. Gret 3 J John Conrad Lititz, PA – $65,424   73 lbs. Wave Paver James Davis – Kissimmee, FL – $36,096       71 lbs. King Blue Travis Waits Mt. Pleasant, SC – $18,048 63 lbs. Wrecker Jeremy Blunt Ocean City, MD – $15,792   62 lbs. Meraki Jay Mascaro Jamison, PA – $15,792 67 lbs. Three Enough Justin Branning Belmar, NJ – $13,160 64 lbs. First Draw Dan Fabbri Vineland, NJ – $12,690 62 lbs. Artemis Charles Moore Charleston, SC – $8,460     61 lbs. Top Shot Michael Scagnelli Holmdel, NJ – $2,115 61 lbs. Captn Reub Michael Ratigan Chalfont, PA – $2,115   Dolphin 24 lbs. Big Deal Ed Russo Carlstadt, NJ – $5,358   31 lbs. High Seas Christopher Hisey Glenmoore, PA – $2,115  Point Winners (Trophies)  Most Points White Marlin 1575 Wave Paver James Davis Kissimmee, FL      2nd Most Points White Marlin   1340 Point Runner Chris Kubic Kill Devil Hills, NC    3rd Most Points White Marlin 1276 Uno Mas Brooks Smith Ft. Lauderdale, FL     Most Points Blue Marlin 450 Impulse V Kate VanValkenberg Avon, CT      2nd Most Points Blue Marlin 350.75 Is That So Ryan Putman Doylestown, PA     3rd Most Points Blue Marlin 300 Big Stick David Bowen Suwanee, GA    Most Points Tuna 285 Caitlyn Mike Murray Barnegat, NJ     2nd Most Points Tuna 252.5 First Draw Dan Fabbri Vineland, NJ   3rd Most Points Tuna 247.5 MJ Mike Yocco Jupiter, FL     Most Points Overall 1761.5 – Wave Paver James Davis Kissimmee, FL