Tuna Time
It seems like Mother Nature has had a vendetta against the Mid-Atlantic Tuna Tournament for the past two years. The weather was not as bad as first forecasted, but the wind was still blowing enough to remind our crew how well the Billfish handles heavy seas. We fished our first day on Friday, and we started by working the edge along the Baltimore in search of a yellowfin. The forecast kept most of the boats inshore looking for bluefins, but with the yellowfin category wide open we decided to take the longer ride. The water was greenish, but we were marking a lot of bait in the area. The notch was creating rips throughout with an easterly current. A commercial squid boat was working the area and things looked promising – Not a BITE. We had our first pull late in the day just inside the 100 line, unfortunately the hooked pulled during the battle. With the first day of the two day tournament under our belts, we were back at it the second day and so was Mother Nature. This time she threw in a little North East wind to make it interesting. Our crew had bluefin on the mind and bluefin we found. I would like to make an honorable mention to one of the crew members, a nice young man Wesley Adkins. Wes fought a big bluefin estimated at 200 lbs. for 50 minutes only to lose it boat side due to a broken 50 lb. class rod. The heart break was felt by the entire crew, as the big tuna was in her final circle inches away from being gaffed. As there is no time during a tournament to sulk about the past; the baits were back in the water and in no time we had our second tuna. The 37 Billfish and her crew finalized the second day by weighing in two bluefin tuna at 128 lbs and 98 lbs. Although the tuna didn’t win any prizes and the weather was so-so, the 37 Billfish did her job by raising fish and handling the seas without trouble. A reminder for this weekend, the 37 Billfish will be in Beach Haven for the white marlin tournament. If you’re in the area and would like to see what everyone is talking about, you’re invited to come see us at the Beach Haven Yacht Club.
Thanks
- Capt. Scott Krawiec
The 37 Billfish was unveiled this past weekend at the Ocean/Viking Showdown, and what a debut it was. She was well received by the fishing public and admired by many throughout the 4 day event. Not only does she look great at the dock – she tames the seas like no other 37 footer. The first day we saw seas that made larger boats turn around and take a lay day; not only did we fish, we were on a mission to make her own the name Billfish. The first day saw our crew 90 miles from Cape May outside the South Poormans. To appreciate how she handled the seas; during a period of time in the afternoon we encounter 6 to 8 foot seas with an occasional 10 footer without a skip in our step. The second day of fishing gave us calmer seas and a nice day. The ability to cruise offshore at 30 knots burning 17 gallons a side was a treat compared to the day before. The fishing throughout the tournament was slow, but we were able to raise some nice size yellowfins, a white marlin and a small blue marlin. Unfortunately, we were unable to capitalize on helping our team gain points, but on a positive note she raises fish. Please feel free to comment or ask questions, as we are extremely happy with the performance of our new 37 Billfish. Come and see us this upcoming weekend during the Mid-Atlantic Tuna Tournament at South Jersey Marina in