OCEAN CITY- While the 2022 MidAtlantic Tournament held in Ocean City and Cape May last week got off to a rather slow start, the event finished with a flourish in the final two days with the leaderboard filled out with big fish in every category.
The annual MidAtlantic Tournament originated in Cape May, N.J. nearly three decades ago, but the event has had a decidedly Ocean City feel over the last decade or so. The MidAtlantic continues to be one of the top sportfishing events in the region with millions in prize money doled out to the winners in several categories.
In the white marlin category, the Kaarmaa and angler Anthony Alves took first with a 75-pounder caught on the last day and earned over $871,000 in prize money. Angler Michael Jordan on the Catch 23 was second in the category with a 73-pounder and earned over $658,000 in prize money, while the Random Chaos with angler Michael Pintozzi was third with a 66-pounder worth over $95,000.
In the blue marlin category, it was the Low Profile and angler Joe Trainor taking first with a 657-pounder worth over $576,000. The Lucky 7 with angler Robert Boyce was second with a 619-pound blue marlin worth over $161,000, while the Kilo Charlie with angler Christopher Kinsey was third in the category with a 6-7-pounder worth over $580,000.
In the tuna category, it was angler Art Boykin on the Lucky Duck taking first with a 210-pounder worth over $290,000. Bob Hugin on The Right Place took first and second in the tuna category with a 193-pounder worth over $604,000, and a 152-pounder worth over $188,000 in prize money.
In the wahoo division, it was the Special Situation and angler Charles Phelan taking first with a whopping 104-pounder, which was a new tournament record, worth over $65,000. The Craftsmanship with angler Keith Boyd was second in the division with a72-pounder worth $58,000, while the Oil Slick and angler Michael Penza was third with a 46-pounder worth over $14,000.
In the dolphin division, it was the Valentine taking first with a 43-pounder worth over $78,000. The Lovin Life was second with a 39-pounder worth over $34,000, while the Sea Wolf was third with a 33-pounder worth over $24,000.
After a slow start to the week, at least in terms of billfish, the action really picked up in the final two days with most of the registered boats still with fishing days remaining. When all was said and done, there 320 white marlin releases and 14 weighed at the scales. A total of 41 blue marlin were released during the tournament while 15 were weighed at the scales. There were also 86 tuna weighed, 18 dolphin weighed and nine wahoo weighed.
