The 136 registered boats that fished today knew they were taking a calculated risk. Each boat is permitted to fish any three out of the five fishing days and while the weather wasn’t going to be great Monday, Tuesday’s forecast called for seas up to 11 feet which would be unfishable. The NOAA offshore forecast report for Monday canyon areas were: Southeast winds 5 to 15 kts becoming South 10 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft.
Most boats had an easy run out and 2-3 foot seas at 8:30 when fishing started. By 12:50 the winds were 15-19 knots and 3.6-foot seas. An hour later the buoy registered 29-35 knot winds with seas of 4.8 feet and building. Fishing had been good but not great for many boats. Two boats that did have a good fishing day were the Milling Around and the Slabjack weighing tunas currently winning $460,000 and $76,000 respectively.
The Tournament tests both men and machine and the 3-hour run back to Ocean City was going to be a rough ride. The wind was blowing from the South and the Slabjack reported an hour of sustained winds of over 40 knots with seas building to 12 to 15 feet.
There was one white marlin weighed but while it qualified by length (67 inches) was well under the 70 pound minimum that is also required to be eligible for prize money.
As of Monday night, the seas are still predicted to 11 feet and few, if any boats are expected to fish. The boats that fished today have 2 more fishing days available, while 215 boats still have 3 fishing days and will be fishing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with projected forecasts for light winds and calm seas. That will produce large boat parades at the inlet and can lead to an exciting finish.