Video: Last Call bringing in the heaviest 2010 WMIT marlin, July 31.

WMIT 2010 Grand Champions 4 Play breaking a 16-year old Tournament record with this 276 pound big eye.

A Wet and Wild 2010 WMIT

August 4, 2010

What a wet and wild WMIT it was. It was one for the record books, tuna-wise, and definitely one for the talk-about table, considering what the boats faced on that Friday from rough-seas hell. Congrats to Nicole H. for toughing it out in seas that had even old salts a tad spooked. I needed Dramamine just hearing about 9-foot-plus seas.

While more than a few folks don’t want to recall, it was the year where fractions of an inch kept marlin out of the big money. It sure seems that fish shrink in transit -- not only in poundage but also in length, which makes sense. Bill F. is going to work on a measuring contraption, likely some sort of slide mechanism, which allows for a more accurate on-board measurement of a marlin, as opposed to the very tricky tape measure method. For those close to the measuring of the marlin dockside, it was a tough go even on a perfectly stable dock, with as many as four weighmasters working carefully in unison. Still, I don’t blame the captains with the “close” fish for bringing their catches in for official measurements. I just think that there was a message there – one sent before – that “close” can end up on the down side as often as the up side. It’s hard to accept that premise genially when you’re on the receiving end of a downer, but, dare I say it, that’s the way the marlin bounces.

No need to go into the 4 Play super-tuna much more, since it got tons of well-deserved ink. A worthy mention should be made of the captain’s strict adherence to the rules of the game. To his credit, he knew that merely touching the rod with the fish on it meant he had taken full responsibility of the fish, even though it might be said that he hadn’t, at that point, done the heavy hooking, so to speak. Thumbs up to the way that crew essentially did a Chinese fire drill to readjust to who took over the helm and related duties. It was a great example of team work, which seems to be a huge factor whenever a fish in on. That’s why all captains go out of their way to bring aboard the best crew, knowing that everyone immediately knows their roles regardless of where they’re at when a hookup happens. Thanks to 4 Play, the tourney’s web page (and my newspaper) got a very rare picture of a fish actually being fought out at the canyons. I used it in this week’s SandPaper. As oft noted, it enhances the already excellent WMIT website to be able to place action shots in there.

Mark J. was yet another club member who wondered why the WMIT weigh-in sessions can’t be held on the public dock, next to Morrison’s. He felt, as do others, this would elevate the contest into the realm of the Mid-Atlantic, as larger sponsors would surely come on-board once the WMIT went public. I’ll be the first to admit the logistics would be nightmare-ish, considering the weigh-ins would surely draw thousands and thousand of folks. Still, from a grain of an idea great things can grow, so keeping that grain in the minds of the tournament committee might someday lead to someone knowing just how to grow it – then transplant it over at Dock Road.

Not to bring up a sour and sore subject but next year’s WMIT will very likely be impacted by the saltwater registry. Sure, there’s gab about NJ’s fight to avoid implementing a saltwater fishing license but considering the Garden State ’s economic woes, more than a few legislators will likely balk at having to pay for the registry out of the general fund. I already got wind of one powerful NJ tax watch group bristling over legislation meant to have Trenton cover the cost of the registry. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be on the side of efforts to avoid the license thing but the odds are stacked against such efforts, even though the tax income from recreational fishing in NJ’s marine waters dwarfs the cost the state would pay for the registry. If the license does come into play, WMIT 2011 will be impacted. In other big game fishing tourneys, the responsibly for licensing compliance falls fully under the commands of boat captains. There are rules already firmly in place saying that all state and federal laws must be obeyed during a tourney. Importantly, it would seem likely, if the law says a license is needed, that possession of saltwater licenses would be questioned during the lie detector phase, possibly in more general terms, i.e. “Did you obey all state and federal laws while landing and transporting this fish?” I’m basing that purely on what I’ve been reading in other tourneys. The BHM&TC’s WMIT committee will have the honors of deciding which way to run with this tricky issue. Considering what a great job that committee has done over the years, the tougher the question the more it rises to the occasion.

On a far softer note, I’m sure glad I didn’t have to choose the Gerber Baby for WMIT 2010. Man, were there some little lookers in the clubhouse, one tot cuter than the next. Whenever I wanted to recharge, I went over and did some ‘Gimme a smile” time with the little ones. Many of the handheld or strollered babes got into the act, cheering on dad as his boat pulled in -- and sometimes getting a boat ride back to home port with dad and the boys. Heck, we even had twins (or close to it) in the mix this year. The tiny twosome, in a special twin stroller, even recognized dad and his boat from 35 feet away. Since I speak baby-ese, I’ll translate:

“Hey, check out dad over there in the boat!.”

“I see him! I see him!”

“Look, he’s waving at me”

“The heck, you say. He’s obviously waving directly at me.”

“No, he’s not. Don’t make me crawl over to that side of the stroller and show you who he’s waving at.”

“Bring it on, dude!”

See all ya’ll next year.

Best For Last

August 1, 2010

Weigh-in sessions traditionally start a tad slow and work up to the big stuff. The final day of WMIT 2010 saw the first weigh-ins of the day so sizzling that the biggest and best of the entire event arrived in the first dozen or so vessels.

There was also tension so thick for the first few arriving boats it all but hovered over the scales.

The day’s very first weigh-in was a white marlin. A first-in marlin is a bit of a rarity. This day would see three whites within the first five boats. Two of those three would be true whites.

The vessel arriving with the first billfish was in early (5ish) because it had hightailed toward the dock after an onboard tape measuring had the fish spot on the 68-inch minimum size. As the boat was tying up to the dock, the captain said, “It’s close,” knowing the fish was on the cuff, possibly having lost a bit of size during the trip in -- though length isn’t diminished nearly as much as weight from dehydration. That closeness had the captain and crew a tad on edge as the fish was hoisted up and placed on the dock for measuring. They were most encouraged by the heftiness of the marlin they were presenting. The leading 59.9-pound white marlin, taken yesterday aboard the Jersey Hooker, had been a bit tapered.

As the fish was being carefully measured, I had a real good view of the tape and saw the shortness set in. After careful reading of the length there was clearly no getting by the 67.5-inch mark, meaning the chubby billfish fell short – and the mood atop the boat slid into the lagoon. It was an odd mix of anger and depression that would be seen again – with a tad more of the anger end – in the very near future. Adding insult to shortness, the fish weighed 64.1 pounds meaning it woulda been a contender. Bill F. ID’ed it as a hatchet marlin.

No sooner had the short billfish steamed off than Last Call pulled up to the dock, right-side-up white marlin flag flying. With the tension from the disqualified white marlin weigh-in still hanging heavy, the hoisting and measuring procedure began all over again, however, Captain Gary McCulla and angler Randy Jones were noticeably more upbeat over this fish’s length. And for good reason, the white – a true white – came in at 69.5 inches. It was also thick, tipping the scales at 67.5 pounds. And what a difference a finger’s length makes, as this captain and crew got to explode in celebration and high-five-ness. I can tell you right now it’s easy for the weigh-in crew and even media folks like myself to get into the spirit of the moment, especially after the gloominess of the previous weigh-in. I couldn’t resist exchanging a few slimy high-fives since I knew the folks on the Last Call.

It was with palpable dockside relief that the next boat in, Hard Four, had mere tuna flags flying. I actually sauntered off a short ways, placing a folding chair outside the weigh-in area to pace myself after such a torrid mood-swing start to the tourney’s final weigh-in session. I was sipping water when the Hard Four handed up a gorgeous 142-pound big eye. Up I jump to take a gander at that serious chunk of sushi on the hoof. The “Tuna” category had taken a quantum leap. This was going to be wild weigh-in session.

And wouldn’t you know it, no sooner had the Hard Four pulled away with what seemed a solid lead in the tuna division than I looked up to see yet another white marlin flag flying. That in itself was unusual but making things more so was, once-again, the words “It’s close” ringing forth from the crew of docking vessel. However, there was a goodly amount of confidence on the part of the captain. Once again, the onboard tape measuring right after the fish was landed seemed to say winner. Long and short of it, the captain’s confidence was crushed as the fish came up as a few scales short of qualifying. He was not a happy camper –and understandably so. Words were muttered. As with the previous boats, the captain had left the canyons with some fishing time still left to go, knowing the “close” fish had to all but fly back to port to prevent size loss. Once again, the dockside mode went from sky-high to mud-bottom low. And I felt for the locals aboard Reel Trouble.

Whew. This tension stuff was becoming draining. And surely the smaller arriving vessel, 4-Play, with its humble tuna weigh-in, would calm the scene down a bit. Yeah, right. No sooner had I gotten back to my seat to jot down some notes about the white marlin escapades than a subtle buzz began issuing forth from the 4-Play weigh-in. Hard to say what that buzz is all about. Maybe just a heightened excitement level -- or, in this case, the less than subtle holler out that a larger set of scales would be needed for the arriving tuna. “Are you kidding me?” was on my mind, as I de-seated and hurried over to glance down into the 4-Play where I saw a fish bag that looked all but pregnant. What the heck in there? In this case, I backed off a bit to allow the scales change and hoisting procedure to carry on. I, like many docksiders, enjoy the slow exposure of the fish as it is hoisted from the boat and begins to come into view from beneath the bulkhead. What strained into sight put the jolt of the day into the crowd. A 276-pound big eye. Utterly awesome fish. If you need some perspective on how big a fish that is, simply register that a serious NFL lineman weighs in right about there. The only padding on this sucker was fatty meat. I got dribs and drabs of info from the captain and crew, who told of having the boat spun round and round by the behemoth tuna, in a fight that went from 8:30 to 11:30 .

(Sidebar: Yesterday a boat hooked up and lengthily fought a giant big eye, managing the fish right up to boatside before losing it. A crew member even got a picture of the huge fish, as it was oh, so close to capture.)

As photos and such were being taken of the “terrible tuna,” as someone in the crowd called it – in a good way, mind you -- - I got word the fish was taken on 80-pound tackle by Bruce Sinclair, as the vessel was being captained by Sam Leeper. Essential to the take were gaffer Matt Lucas and leader man Ken Juillet. Correction: Sam Leeper is the owner/captain/angler. He was by the wheel, the rod was in the t-top and went off, he reached up and toughed it and then it was his fish. Bruce was a fill in guy on his crew and was asked to take the wheel. So the true captain was Sam Leeper, but he touched the rod and told Bruce to drive.

With the monster tuna on the boards, the day settled down – but only a tad as the Cape Horn soon showed up with a winning 25.6 bull dolphin and Four the Boys helped locals look good with a 33.3 pound winning wahoo.

Without (in any way) diminishing the rest of the weigh-ins, the board was set within the first hour of the final weigh-in session. The action had been utterly outstanding and right then and there I committed to once again color commentating next year’s tourney.

I will be getting together a final blog-about with winning and such. Check back here soon. Below are some random blogs from what I jotted during the event.

WMIT Blog-abouts:

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If you’re wondering what that mouth and gill check is all about -- right before a fish’s weight is taken – that’s a look for the likes of ice cubes and, to a lesser degree, any hooks or tackle still attached. A careful look and finger feel is given the mouth and gills. That cavity search is meant to detect any foreign bodies that might add even a mite’s worth of weight to the fish. That might seem like small beans in the scheme of hoisting a 50-, 75- or100-pouind-plus fish but a few ice cubes have, in past tourneys, been all that separates one fish from another. That minimal degree of separation can be worth the biggest of bucks.

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I had a top angler tell me that the folks on the boat he frequents had been practicing trolling baits using circle hooks, way prior to the tourney. Virtually all tourneys require the use of these astoundingly functional lip-hooking devices. What this boat realized was the need to master the knack of using circle hooks on big game. By the by, you can Deep 6 the much-published notion that, in circle hook fishing, “You just pick up the rod and start reeling in the fish.” While the boys of the aforementioned boat wouldn’t forward any of their findings, I’ve used these more only water. At the same time, if you pick up a circle-hooked set-up and commence with one of those rapid fire rod-whipping hookup techniques -- famed on charter boats around the world -- you’ll be multiple-hooking only water. There is very much a knack needed. Still, circles are the future of fishing in catch-and-release survival success rates. They can, in theory, not only increase the fishing stocks but also hike the bag limits for anglers.

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There were some rocky moments for club’s “Lanyard Law” during this year’s tourney. The problems were often near the west-facing gate entrance. Entrant arrived, sometimes with fish to weigh, but lacked the mandatory neck accoutrements. Security personnel firmly denied entrance. Glares and flares occasionally ensued, nothing overly awful.

And it wasn’t as if the Lanyard Law hadn’t already been in place. For years, ALL folks on club property had to constantly wear their WMIT membership credentials around the necks. However, this year it was also a matter of double-strictly obeying state liquor licensing laws. Even small screw ups – caught by the sometimes overly-watchful eyes the ABC -- have been known to cost a club, organization or even businesses their ability to sell or serve liquor. While drinking is an auxiliary aspect to club life, losing the right to serve alcoholic beverages sure takes a tumbler’s worth of fun and camaraderie out of big events.

Sidebar: Many years back, I wrote an in-depth story on the NJ Alcoholic Beverage Commission -- and their in-field agents. I’m not saying this happens everywhere, but they use everybody from underage kids, sexy shills (undercover gals) and mock-inebriated seniors to “test” adherence to liquor license rules and regulations. I bring this up to show the tourney committee – and the BHM&TC overall – is not being paranoid by emphatically enforcing all aspects of selling alcohol.

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I’m always proud to be part of the volunteer team working this event. Not only are they super friendly folks but damn efficient to boot. From bartending to guest greeting to sign ups and info-giving to lanyard-checking to boat control to – first-and-foremost – the weigh-in team and essential data-taking teams, this BHM&TC WMIT crew is a catch - no guessing their weights, though, I learned lesson the hard way there. Also, webmaster Linda Bonvie and club photog Bill K. elevate the event to the highest degree of professionalism.
J-Mann