MidAtlantic Tournament, August 18, 2021—The 2021 MidAtlantic is indeed off to a record-setting start. In addition to a record field of 203 boats the tournament’s total cash purse is now officially set at $5,939,050! Worthy of note is a significant portion of that cash pot this year comes from a special calcutta that was added to commemorate 30 years of MidAtlantic tournaments. The 30th Anniversary Mega Marlin Calcutta, with its $30,000 additional fee to participate, pays out 32 percent and 18 percent to the top two white marlin and top two blue marlin respectively. This calcutta alone has a total payout of nearly $1.6 million! It’s also important to mention that the MidAtlantic tournament is donating 1% of the total proceeds of that specific calcutta evenly to three worthwhile fishing organizations that benefit recreational anglers including the International Game Fish Association, Recreational Fishing Alliance and The Billfish Foundation.
Day Two dawned partly cloudy with a light breeze for the 94 boats that gave it a go. Yesterday’s billfish bite saw 169 white marlin and 13 blue marlin released and the hot bite continued on Day Two. The evening’s weigh-in session saw changes to several categories but the big news of the day came in the white marlin category where we have a new leader after Captain Donnie White pulled Anthony Martina’s Sea Wolf based out of Middletown, Delaware to the scale and weighed an 82-pounder for angler Pete Roskovich. Art Boykin of Berlin, Maryland on his Lucky Duck II is now in second place with his 80-pounder. Captain Andrew Dotterweich had his Fish On from Jupiter, Florida at the scale at exactly 5 p.m. when it opened and weighed a white marlin of 75 pounds and moved into third place.
In the blue marlin category, Larry Hesse’s Goin’ in Deep out of Manasquan, New Jersey remains in the lead with his 681-pounder followed by Steve Pilipauskis’ Reel Tight based out of Riva, Maryland with his blue marlin of 487 pounds. Third place remains vacant.
The hot tuna bite continued on Day two and once again a solid count of yellowfins and big eyes were weighed at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May and Sunset Marina in Ocean City but cracking the top three proved to be difficult. Bob Hugin of Summit, New Jersey still is atop the leaderboard with a 188 pounder on his The Right Place. Val Fichera’s Warden Pass based in Cape May, New Jersey weighed a 182-pound big eye today and moved into second place. Ken Hager’s Taylor Jean from Tinton Falls, New Jersey is now in third place with his 179-pound big eye.
We have a new leader in the dolphin division after William Keller’s Blood Money from Brielle, New Jersey weighed a 31-pound mahi. Jeff Spencer’s Bent Tent from Easton, Maryland weighed a 26-pound dolphin and moved into a tie for second place with Jeremy Blunt’s Wrecker’s out of Ocean City, Maryland. No wahoo were weighed on Day Two so Somerset, New Jersey’s Patrick McGovern’s aboard his Mack 900 remains in the lead with a 32-pounder followed by John Homick’s Salt Lick from Annapolis, Maryland with an 18-pounder. Third place remains vacant.
Pat Healy’s New Gretna, New Jersey-based Viking 80 factory demo led the day in releases with 16 white marlin which included two triple headers and one double header. Some of the other boats in the field with notable billfish releases on Day Two include William Keller’s Blood Money with five white marlin and one blue marlin. James Davis’ Wave Paver released 10 white marlin on Day Two and Dave Anderson’s Krazy Salts released eight.
Anthony Martina’s Sea Wolf released six white marlin while Doug Allen’s Big Oil and Lance Converse’s Lunatico on Effie Mae each released four white marlin on Day Two. Fletch Creamer’s Ditch Digger released two white marlin and one blue marlin and Michael Savino’s Texas Tea released two blue marlin.
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