537-pound mako shark highlights South Jersey offshore fishing: Shep – Press of Atlantic City

A spectacular weather weekend!

Fishing was about as good as it gets, too.

It sounds from reports as though a lot of fishers were out on boats, casting from the surf, jetties or piers, buying tackle and bait, renting boats and fishing from kayaks and even paddleboards.

Sea bass and summer flounder were and are a potent 1-2 with middleweight to light-heavyweight striped bass, and 10-pound-plus bluefish are not too shabby, either. The continued improvement in weakfish catches adds to the fun.

Offshore fishing is starting to get exciting, too. Sea bass are plentiful and stacked up over the wrecks and from 25-30 miles off to as close as six miles.

A couple of sharks weighed over the weekend should get the offshore contigent wired.

Paul Hoffman at Canyon Club in Cape May had to borrow the scale from the companion South Jersey Marina in Cape May to weigh a 537-pound mako caught Saturday night on the Mushin (photo B8).

Alan Lee is captain of the Mushin and had his regular crew of Chad Bennett, Darryl Goffreda and Brian McCutchen.

Paul said it was a repositioning trip, moving from Pt. Pleasant south to the Canyon Club for next couple of months.

Pretty good timing for the South Jersey Shark Tournament this week at South Jersey Marina.

Tournament director Aaron Hoffman, Pauls son, was putting up the tent Monday afternoon for the ceremonies scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday.

Captains and crews can fish two of three days from Thursday through Saturday. Late registrations are $600 per boat starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with the captains meeting at 7:30.

Last years purse was a whopping $317,000.

Sterling Harbor Marina in Wildwood weighed a 293-pound thresher shark for Thomas Dalfonso, of Elk Township, on his boat Reel Trouble out of Wildwood. He was fishing with son Thomas and Mike Dougherty along the 30-Fathom Line.

It was entered into The Press Fishing Contest in the Offshore Category.

A couple of super weather days have made it almost seem like midseason on the fishing scene,

Catharine Algard from Sterling Harbor said there are plenty of blue sharks and some makos in the mix, too.

Jims Bait and Tackle ran its shark contest Friday and Saturday out of Cape May. They had some makos reported but none made the minimum.

The other offshore news from Jims is that a few bluefin tuna were reported caught on the troll at Baltimore Canyon and 28-Mile Wreck, according to Matt Slobodjian.

Saturdays results of the Greater Atlantic Bluefish and Striped Bass Tournament, presented by the Greater Atlantic Cancer Fund, is a good indication of continued super fishing for both.

Jason Pilla, of Galloway Township, took the bluefish division with a 10.32-pound catch. Jerry Coombs, of Little Egg Harbor Township, was the striper winner at 38.9 pounds.

This was the 30th year for the contest. All of the money raised assists people with cancer or other life-threatening illness who also are having financial difficulties due to their illness.

Thanks to Ed Goldman for the report.

A couple of weeks back, Ed also provided information prepared by David Burke about the Nuncio Bruno Kids Bluefish Tournament headquartered in the newly opened Chestnut Neck Boat Yard in Port Republic.

The 19th annual event honors the memory of Ann and Nuncio Bruno and is organized by the Absecon Saltwater Sportsmen Association.

Noel Feliciano said Friday he had a few weigh-ins by late afternoon.

James Sherman, a 5-year-old from Estell Manor, caught the heaviest blue at 11.92 pounds. Kylie Jenson, 4 from Milltown, was just behind at 11.39 pounds. Brandon Albett, 16 from Estell Manor, caught a 10.76-pounder. A total of 25 blues, five of which were more than 10 pounds, were caught in windy conditions by 54 contestants ages of 3 to 16.

Become a fan of Shep on Facebook at:

Mike Shepherd is the retired sports editor of The Press. His column appears in the Tuesday and Saturday print editions and online.

See the original post:

537-pound mako shark highlights South Jersey offshore fishing: Shep - Press of Atlantic City