It was another slow day at the scales on day 3 of the Mid-Atlantic $500,000. of the 141 boats in the tournament, 120 took a lay day on Wednesday. This left few fish at the scales but means that much of the feild will be fishing both Thursday and Friday so it should be an eventful end for the 2008 MA500.
Here is the official press release from tournament publicity coordinator, Jeff Merrill:
For Immediate Release
August 20, 2008
Cooler than normal temperatures for August accompanied by a fresh ocean breeze kept most of the fleet tied to the dock on Day Three of the 2008 Mid-Atlantic $500,000. Although it was indeed a beautiful day for the beach, shopping or taking in some of the sights of Cape May and Ocean City, Maryland, less than favorable conditions were found offshore by the 21 boats that gave it a go today. For the second day in a row the weight categories of the leaderboard remained unchanged. The weather forecast looks good for the next two days and a large portion of the 141 participating boats still have two days left to fish so it's shaping up to be another exciting finish for sportfishing's "Main Event."
The white marlin division leaders were all caught on Day One and the category continues to be lead by Rich Ryon's Anthracite with his 75-pounder. Dan Paulus's Hullabaloo remains in second place with a 73-pounder while Jim McCarthy's Covert Mission sits in third place with a 72-pound white marlin.
Adam Demeusky's Impulse V remains in control of the blue marlin division with the 719-pound blue marlin caught on Day One. Second and third place remain vacant.
Mike Tyson's Runaway continues to have the top two tuna of 80 and 77 pounds while third place is still held by Sean O'Donnell's Got Walls with a 75-pounder. All three tuna were caught on Day One.
In addition to the white marlin category lead, Anthracite has the heaviest dolphin (mahi-mahi) of the tournament at 43-pounds while John Gallagher's Raging Bull still holds the wahoo category lead at 35 pounds. Both fish were caught on Day One.
Boats with billfish catches on Day Three include Jim Foulke's Trust Me with three white marlin releases and Ray Azzato's Endurance, Mack Boring's Mack Attack and Don Gentilini's Super Crew with two white marlin releases each. John Raimondo's Sea Mistress, Howard Teitelbaum's At Last and Mike Freundlich's Nightwind released one white marlin each while Steven Scioscia's Tail Spin released a blue market.
Tonight it's cocktails and prime rib dinner under the tent. Please note the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 is a private event and is not open to the general public. Tournament credentials are required for access to any tournament-related facilities, activities or social event.
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 Marine Insurance; Costa Marine; CWR Electronics; Engines Incorporated; Enterprise Rental Car; EZ2CY; FLIR Systems, Inc.; Fraser-Volpe; Garmin; Grace Energy; Guy Harvey; Homestead Realty; Johnson and Towers; Lucky Bones Backwater Grille; Mack Boring and Parts; MAN Engines and Components; Midlantic Gold Rush; OceanLED; Ocean Yachts; Offshore Financial; Pacific Fins Resort and Pelagic Offshore Gear. Additional sponsors include Penn Reels; Pettit Paint; PipeTowers; Pompanette; Premier Detailing and Boat Cleaning; PropSpeed; Ransome Engines; Raymarine; Saltwater Sportsman; South Jersey Marina; South Jersey Yacht Sales; Sperry Top Sider; Sturdy Bank; Sunset Marina; The Fisherman; Twin Disc; Underwater Lights USA; Washington Inn; Win-Tron Electronics; WKR Construction; World Billfish Series; WXWORX XM Satellite Weather and ZF Marine.
For more information visit the tournament web site at www.ma500.com where you can also view the weigh-in live courtesy of www.sportfishermen.com.
For a blow by blow recap of the day's fishing and photos check out: 2008 Mid-Atlantic $500,000 - MA500 Day 3 Coverage
