Tournament fishermen prevail, bring in bluefin tuna during smoky day on the ocean
There was no escaping the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, not even if you were miles out in the ocean.
Brian Kimmins, the vice president of the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club, was 65 miles offshore Wednesday on his 50-foot Viking yacht Flying Tiger fishing Day One of the club's Bluefin Open and said they smelled the smoke all day. It got even smokier on the ride in.
As far as the fishing for bluefin went, he said they hooked a fish late in the day and fought it to the boat, where it broke off. They didn't dwell too much on the loss because it turned out to be a giant, which is off-limits for the tournament.
It probably wouldn't have matter anyway, because it was questionable if they'd even get back to the Manasquan Inlet in time to make the 7 p.m. deadline for the scales at Brielle Yacht Club.
One bluefin tuna was weighed in on Day One, an 80.1-pound medium landed on the boat Better Attitude, a 37-foot Egg Harbor out of Toms River. Andrew Barclay was the angler on the reel. Seven boats fished Day One of the five day tournament. Nineteen boats were out on Thursday, including some very experienced and talented crews such as Low Bid, Fish Stix and Pipe Dreamer.
More: What's biting: get the latest fishing reports here
Kimmins thinks today will be the big day on the water and he expects probably 50 boats will break the inlet. All told 97 boats entered the Open and are competing for $234K in cash prizes. Spectators can view the weigh-ins from 5 to 7 p.m. daily at the Brielle Yacht Club dock. Meanwhile, The Pig & Parrot is headquarters for tournament revelers.
On the topic of big fish in the water, a father and daughter from Jackson, Mike and Kaylee Cavallo, got a surprise glimpse of a great white shark when it tried to steal their sea bass. The duo were on the charter boat FinChaser and fishing for sea bass on the Axel Carlson Reef last Friday. The shark came up and took a swipe at the sea bass and missed just as they were lifting it out of the water. Mike happened to filming the trip on a GoPro strapped to his head and caught the encounter, which lasted just mere seconds, on camera.
More: Great white shark surprises fishermen off Point Pleasant Beach, tries to eat catch
John Chisholm, one of the East Coast's leading white shark researchers and adjunct scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, said the shark was an immature juvenile that he guessed was eight feet in length.
The sea bass have been on everyone's menu lately. The giant tuna and sharks are snacking on them and much of the for-hire fleet is zeroed in on them.
Golden Eagle skipper Rich Falcone said they made nice long drifts on Wednesday while his fares banged away at the sea bass. He said the fishing got better as the day went on, and when it was all over most of them had their 10-fish limit. He said a few ling and fluke also came up.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Tournament fishermen bring in tuna during smoky Bluefin Open
