Greetings and welcome to the 2025 MidAtlantic! Tournament Week kicked off today in Cape May, New Jersey and Ocean City, Maryland under beautiful sunny skies. Crews continued to arrive yesterday and today at both venues for sportfishing’s “Main Event” on the tournament calander every summer. The past two weeks have been hectic on several fronts, especially the last few days as Hurricane Erin developed into a major hurricane. Tournament staff have been closely monitoring all aspects and impacts the storm would have on the event. Keeping the safety of tournament participants, staff, sponsors and venues in mind a decision was made to add one day to the event and the tournament will now conclude on Saturday, August 23. Participants will now have six days to pick three to fish from Monday, August 18 through Saturday, August 23. All other rules and regulations for the event remain unchanged including times for lines in and lines out and the 125-mile boundary from the Cape May Sea Buoy. “We take date changes very seriously, but don’t see any way to avoid it under these exceptional circumstances,” Tournament President Rick Weber noted, adding current forecast models indicate the storm will pass well offshore and not make landfall and the extra day will offer options for those who need it. “We understand this may change some team’s plans and while some may choose to sit this year out, it will create opportunities for other new boats to participate,” Weber added.

Leading up to today pre-tournament registration was extremely brisk overall and the cap of 125 boats in Ocean City was reached well before today’s events got underway. Additionally, the white marlin bite to the north has been on fire the past few days with many boats releasing 25 to 30 white marlin on day trips and some tallied release numbers close to 40 on overnighters! Some big blue marlin have also be tangled with and released in the same area. Unfortunately, from what has been passed on to us, the “hot spot” may be well outside 125 miles of the Cape May Sea Buoy which is the “fence” for the tournament. Hopefully the northeast winds which are predicted over the next few days may push the water and the billfish down to within range of tournament participants this week. If so, it could be another exciting week at The MidAtlantic!

Fishing gets underway tomorrow and as noted above participants will have the next six days to pick three to fish the canyons off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May and Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland are the event’s official host marinas and boats may sail from either port during the week though they must return to that same port each day. Regardless of where they sail from, all boats must fish within 125 miles of the Cape May Sea Buoy and boats may not clear their inlet’s sea buoy before 3:00 a.m. Fishing hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Any fish to be weighed must be at the participant’s respective marina by 9 p.m. each day. Cash prizes are awarded for the three heaviest white marlin, blue marlin, tuna (big eye, yellowfin and true albacore) and wahoo and dolphin. To qualify white marlin must be 69 inches and 65 pounds while blue marlin must be 102 inches and 400 pounds. Tuna must weigh at least 50 pounds and wahoo and dolphin have a 20-pound minimum weight.

We’ll provide a total purse once final numbers are tallied up. Tournament updates will be provided each night after the scales close at 9 p.m. on Monday through Friday including highlights from the day’s fishing action. Fishing concludes on Saturday and a complete tournament wrap-up will be sent out on Sunday August 24. You can follow all the action of the 2025 MidAtlantic via the South Jersey Tournaments App which is available free for IOS or Android devices from the Apple App and Google Play stores. Also, be sure to follow all the weigh-in action via live stream from Cape May and Ocean City by visiting the tournament’s web site www.themidatlantic.com. beginning at 5 p.m. each night, Monday through Saturday.

Please note the MidAtlantic tournament is a private event. Nightly weigh-in sessions at Canyon Club Resort Marina and Sunset Marina as well as other tournament venues and sponsor displays are not open to the public and require credentials and/or prior arrangement for tour or entry.

For more information contact Tournament Director Aaron Hoffman at 609-884-0177 or visit the tournament’s web site at www.themidatlantic.com where you’ll find all the facts, figures and information about the 2025 MidAtlantic including a complete breakdown of calcuttas, rules, points, and a Tournament Week schedule. You can also follow the tournament on Facebook at The MidAtlantic Tournament, on Twitter @midatl and on Instagram @themidatlantictournament.