Friday, August 21 ~ Fish Day Five Press Release
Friday, August 21 2009 @ 09:00 PM MST
|
TOPLESSS IS TOPS! The record book takes another beating as the 2009 Mid-Atlantic draws to a close. |
| Talk about consistency! For the third consecutive year the final day of the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 produced a tournament record in the white marlin category! As predicted the weather began to deteriorate with the initial effect of Hurricane Bill’s far reaching wind starting to impact the east coast as the tournament drew to a close. On Day Five only 11 boats headed offshore in sporty sea conditions and one would believe topping Thursday’s record-setting weigh-in session would not be possible. But this is the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 and Day Five heroics and last minute changes have become very common. |
|
| Scott Steele of Catonsville, Maryland aboard his Toplesss saved his best day for last. Early in the evening’s weigh-in session he pulled up to the scales at Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland and sent a shockwave through the entire tournament as he weighed a new tournament record white marlin of 95 pounds and won the Heaviest White Marlin category and $653,375! Mark and Amy Granville-Smith of Manassas, Virginia aboard Phat Mann, winners of the Heaviest White Marlin category in 2007 with their then-record 92-pound white marlin, and John Raimondo of Newton Square, Pennsylvania aboard Sea Mistress finished in a tie for second with a white marlin of 78 pounds. Sea Mistress received $118,290 in prize money while Phat Mann received $106,415. | |||||||||
| Note that in the white marlin as well as other categories, any difference in prize money, where ties are concerned, is reflected in the levels of calcuttas the boats participated in as well as the number of days each fish was on the leaderboard. | |||||||||
| You may notice the 81-pound white marlin caught aboard the Top Notch and weighed on Day Four is not among the winners. After weighing the fish at 81 pounds, the boat left the weigh station and the biologists went to work with their normal examination. They found some ice lodged in the gullet that had failed to drop out of the fish when it was hung by the tail. It appeared to be enough ice to influence the weight recorded. Tournament management met with the owner of the Topnotch to explain the situation. After some discussion it was stated that the fish had been heavily iced on the way back to the dock, and that any ice remaining at weigh-in was inadvertent. None-the-less, the ice was weighed, tainting the accuracy of the official weight. The owner of the Topnotch, stated that he understood the issue and that the ice shouldn’t have been there. If there was any concern about the accuracy or legitimacy of the weight, he would prefer to simply withdraw and win without question another day. Tournament management agreed and that this was the right thing to do and removed the fish from contention. The final standings reflect that change. | |||||||||
| In the blue marlin category, Sonny Falcone of Staten Island, New York aboard his Cookie II swept all three places as no other qualifying blue marlin was weighed. Cookie II received $381,665 for their 453 pounder caught on Day One of the tournament. | |||||||||
| The tuna category was the most contested of the week and here to the prize money awarded is reflected by the levels of calcutta participation. Charlie Duerr of Tinton Falls, New Jersey aboard Sea Hag was the big winner as he received $173,600 for his 69-pound yellowfin while Adam Glushakow’s Predator from Salisbury, Maryland, who tied with Sea Hag, received $55,000 for his 69-pound yellowfin. A three-way tie for Third Heaviest Tuna with yellowfins of 67 pounds resulted in Bob Belansen of Cape May, New Jersey aboard Beast and Peter Cherasia of Rumson, New Jersey on Shark Byte each receiving $66,557 while Jeffrey Scanelli of Bohemia, New York aboard his April Fool won $54,682. | |||||||||
| Warren, New Jersey’s Bill Gallo aboard Joanna won the Heaviest Wahoo category with a new tournament record ‘hoo of 97 pounds and received $10,000. Mike Ackley of Mannington, New Jersey received $10,000 for his Heaviest Dolphin (mahi-mahi) of 37 pounds caught aboard Foray. | |||||||||
| As only 11 boats fished on Day Five, the catch report for the day was predictably light though Tequesta, Florida’s Greg Hill aboard Wanted released three white marlin while Shark Byte let go two white marlin on the day. | |||||||||
| The approaching weather did little to dampen the spirits of tournament participants as the Big Top tent at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May hosted the lavish Lobster House buffet dinner awards ceremony that included cool libations and entertainment by Bluebone. Tournament President Dick Weber graciously thanked everyone for their continued support of the Mid-Atlantic $500,000, especially in light of tough economic times and Tournament Director Bob Glover, with help from assistants Mark Allen and Scott Knoff distributed the tournament purse of over $1.7 million! | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| The Mid-Atlantic $500,000 is proudly sponsored by Baitmasters of South Florida; Bernie Robbins Jewelers; Big Game Fishing Journal; Canyon Club Resort Marina; Canyon Runner; Christi Insurance Group; Costa Marine; Craig J. Manno, Inc.; DeSatnick Real Estate; Dockwise Yacht Transport; Engines Incorporated; Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Farrow Systems; Fineline Glass; FLIR Systems, Inc.; Fraser-Volpe; Garmin; Grace Energy/Shell; Guy Harvey; ICOM; Interlux; Johnson and Towers; KVH; Lucky Bones Backwater Grill; Mack Boring and Parts; MAN Engines and Components; Midlantic Gold Rush; Ocean LED, Oceanview Marine Welding; Ocean Yachts; Offshore Electronics; Offshore Financial and Pelagic Offshore Gear. Additional sponsors include Penn Reels/Pure Fishing; Poly-Planer; Pompanette; Premier Detailing and Boat Cleaning; Ransome Engine/Caterpillar; Raymarine, South Jersey Marina; South Jersey Yacht Sales; Sperry Top-Sider; Sturdy Bank; Sunset Marina; Underwater Lights/Sea Vision; WKR Construction; World Billfish Series and WXWORX XM Satellite Weather. |