The Day 3 weigh-ins at the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational proved to hold all of the excitement that any last day of a competition should. At the day's beginning, the white marlin category was wide open and the top tuna easily beatable. There was plenty of room for lat-minute heroics and it didn't take long for it to happen. A storm offshore also lended to the final day's excitement and left some crews with sea stories as big as the tournament itself.
The Marlin Hunter sat tied to the bulkhead behind the Beach Haven club house as the scales opened for last round of weights. They had gotten their bite and headed to the barn early, to be sure that the first white marlin of the tournament didn't miss its appointment with the weighmaster. They had the white on deck as they pulled to the scales and upon hanging the billfish celebrated the weight of 82 pounds even. Champagne sprayed and cheers erupted as the new leaders let the reality of the feat sink in. The Captain of the Marlin Hunter Kurt VonSeekamn from Ridgewood, NJ said that the fish ate a naked ballyhoo and was caught by Fritz "Skippy" Butler at the 100-fathom line near the Lindenkohl Canyon. He also said that they caught the fish right before the storm hit and were able to just avoid the weather by running north and around it before it slammed the area.
The next boat to weigh in was the MJ's and while they didn't have a billfish onboard, their weigh-in was just as big a hit with the crowd. They put a 129.1-pound yellowfin tuna on the scale to blow past the Endless Drifter's day 1 leading fish. They had not been able to avoid the weather and were forced to take reported 50- to 60-knot winds and steep 6- to 8-foot seas right on the chin. As if surviving the squall in one piece wasn't enough of a challenge, they had hooked this large tuna just moments before the thunderstorms and had to fight the fish as well as the weather. Mike Yocco, the angler, said it was one of the best fights he's ever had, top 5 because of the weather as much as the fish. They reportedly cut 7 of 8 lines they had out and just maintained the hook-up until the line of storms passed and they could fight the fish properly. It was well worth it as it wouldn't be challenged before the scales closed on the event. The fish was in the Spencer Canyon when they hooked it.
The rest of the time at the scales on day three was much the same as the first two, with yellowfin ranging from 40 to 80 pounds common and a few tuna that pushed into the 90's. The big prize that boats were shooting for was the two day stringer weight of six tuna (three best per day) and the super calcutta money. The Reel Trouble topped off their catch of tuna with a 92.6-pound yellowfin that helped secure the top spot in the super calcutta. The Milling Around out of Atlantic Highlands, NJ also helped to secure their prize here on day three by adding a trio of tuna at 68.4, 75.5 and 81.8 pounds. This left them in third place for the stringer weight with the Endless Drifter's total from days 1 and 2 topping the list. The Milling Around fished the Toms Canyon on the final day and according to Capt. Ken Gallup they found them while working an 80-degree temperature break. The Fish Trap had a solid stringer to add to their total, with 77.7-, 83.6-, and 88.4-pound tuna in the hold which put them into second place for a two-day total weight.
Before the day was out, the crew of the Marlin Hunter was forced to sweat just once as word of a boat with another white marlin filtered in. It was a dog with more bark than bite though as the fish shrank on ice and was never brought to the scale, reportedly measuring short of the 68-inch tournament minimum. On the release side, speed was key as the time of your releases was almost as important as the number of them. The Mack Attack, Mack Boring team was the big winner here as they led both the blue and white marlin release categories and therefore the total release win as well. The Nutz 'n Bolts and The Shark rounded out the blue marlin category while the Crisdel and Hang Tough filled out the white marlin release top three.
The 44.7-pound dolphin from day 1 held up as the largest of the event and the Still Smokin' took home the prize money for that calcutta. For the wahoo/dolphin category, it was Team Mid-Atlantic Engines that took the lead with the first fish weighed on day 1 and the 52.2-pound hoo was never challenged leaving them with the largest fish and also the calcutta money.
It was another great year for the oldest white marlin invitational tournament in history, and everyone is already looking forward to next year's fishing. Much of the field now sets it sights further south for the White Marlin Open, and the Mid-Atlantic 500,000 after starting off their tournament season in Beach Haven. The Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club showed again that they are the cream of the crop and hosted another fabulously successful event.