Celebrating 33 years of Competition, Opportunity and Camaraderie, the 2024 MidAtlantic kicked off today at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey and Sunset Marina, the tournament’s only official satellite venue, in Ocean City, Maryland. Hurricane Ernesto, though hundreds of miles off the east coast, dished out a stiff breeze and large ground swell for boats arriving at both tournament ports yesterday though those arriving today relayed conditions had somewhat improved. Pre-registration for this year’s event was strong as over 160 boats were entered as of early this morning. The afternoon’s late registration saw a steady flow of participants signing up for the tournament and squaring away calcutta entries as well. We’ll have a tally of the total purse and number of entries tomorrow but at last count the field was approach 200 boats and the purse this year will likely once again approach, if not top, $6 million!

Yesterday saw numerous boats getting in a last shot at pre-fishing and many were very pleased with what they saw as numerous white marlin and blue marlin were let go. Tournament fishing gets underway tomorrow as crews will pick three days to fish from Monday through Friday. The “Captain’s Choice” format allows crews to strategically pick their day to fish based on many factors including wind and sea conditions, sea surface temperature reports and chlorophyll information. They’ll be plying the canyons off the mid-Atlantic coast searching for white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, dolphin and wahoo. While participants may fish out of Cape May or Ocean City, all boats must fish within 125 miles of the Cape May Sea Buoy and they may not clear their inlet’s sea buoy before 3 AM. Fishing hours are 8 AM to 3:30 PM and any qualifying fish must be at the scale by 9 PM on the day caught. Minimum weight for white marlin is 65 pounds AND must also measure 69 inches to qualify. Blue marlin must weigh 400 pounds and measure 102 inches to qualify. Only big eye, yellowfin or longfin are eligible to win prizes in the tuna category and the minimum weight is set at 50 pounds. Any wahoo or dolphin must weigh at least 20 pounds to qualify.

Cash payouts from the events 11 tournament-sanctioned calcuttas will be awarded for the three heaviest of each tournament species and the MidAtlantic has always been known for spreading the wealth among its winners. Last year’s tournament saw two winners receive well over $1 million in prize money while three others received $460 thousand or more. Four others won $112 or more and seven additional winners won $50 thousand or more!

This year’s tournament falls during the August full moon which could have a positive impact on the billfish bite. Falling on Monday, historically white marlin and blue marlin get in a chewy mood on the backside of these lunar events and the tuna bite could be positively impacted as well. Could this be the year the tournament record of 840 billfish caught set in 2016 gets broken? Stay tuned! It’s the 33rd installment of The MidAtlantic and it’s gonna be another fun and exciting week! Keep in mind you can follow all the weigh-in action via live stream from Cape May and Ocean City by visiting the tournament’s web site www.themidatlantic.com. beginning at 5 p.m. each night, Monday through Friday.

Please note the MidAtlantic tournament is a private event. Nightly weigh-in sessions at Canyon Club Resort Marina and Sunset Marina as well as other tournament venues are not open to the public and require credentials for entry.

For more information on this year’s MidAtlantic contact Tournament Director Aaron Hoffman at 609-884-0177 or visit the tournament’s web site at www.themidatlantic.com where you’ll find all the facts, figures and information about the event including a complete breakdown of calcuttas, rules, points, and a Tournament Week schedule. You can also follow along on social media Facebook at The MidAtlantic Tournament; on Twitter @midatl and on Instagram @themidatlantictournament.