OCEAN CITY- The 23rd Mid-Atlantic $500,000 fishing tournament being held this week in both Ocean City and Cape May, New Jersey got off to a rather sluggish start with just one qualifying white marlin on the board as of mid-week and much of the tournament’s estimated $2.4 million purse still up for grabs.
Now in its 23rd year, the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 continues to be one of the top sport fishing events in the region with around $2.4 million in prize money expected to be doled out this year. Tournament headquarters has always been the Canyon Club in Cape May, and that hasn’t changed, but the increased number of boats from the resort area has given the event a decidedly Ocean City flair.
Ten years ago, MA500 organizers opened up Ocean City as a second port from which to fish and the change was met with great enthusiasm. For the first two years, however, any Ocean City boat that caught a qualifying fish had to transport it to the official scales in Cape May.
Eight years ago, however, Sunset Marina in West Ocean City was added as an official sister port for the event and local anglers participating in the MA500 began to weigh potentially winning fish at their homeport. For three straight years, a boat fishing out of Ocean City swooped in on the last day to steal the tournament’s top prize, and a little bit of the thunder from their Jersey Shore brethren, with a big white marlin, and with the leaderboard still wide open for the most part heading into mid-week, it could happen again.
A total of 127 boats are participating in the tournament, spread fairly evenly over Cape May and Ocean City. After a fairly busy day one on Monday, just one qualifying white marlin had been weighed at Cape May, a 68-pounder caught on the “Canyon Lady.” No qualifying blue marlin were on the board as of mid-week although a local Ocean City boat was in a scrap with a big blue estimated at around 800 pounds on Monday before losing it at the boat.
On Tuesday, just 40 of the registered 127 boats ventured out and there were few changes on the leaderboard. Most of the participating boats were expected to fish yesterday and today, setting up what could be a dramatic finish. There were several good-sized tuna on the board as of mid-week, including a 123-pounder caught by the crew on the “Canyon Runner 60.” The crew on the “MJs” stood in second with a 113-pounder, while the “Goin in Deep” was third with a 107-pounder. The “Restless Lady” out of Ocean City held the top spot in the dolphin division with a 43-pounder, while the “Team Charles” held the top spot in the wahoo division.