The Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club’s 36th Annual Offshore Open saw a hot bite of blue and white marlin plus yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the Northeast canyons. Anglers aboard Envelopeus and Tashtego won the first and second place blue marlin release honors, while Tra Sea Ann and Pepper won first and second place in the white marlin release divisions, respectively. Tra Sea Ann had 16 white marlin releases on their overnight trip. Canyon Runner swept the top two places in the tuna division with bigeyes weighing 264 and 201.5 pounds, winning over $156,000 along the way. Teams on Big Deal and The Right Place tied for third with 200.5-pound bigeyes.
The tournament followed an innovative format where participating boats could fish either two separate days or one overnight trip during the course of the weeklong event. This year was the largest in terms of participation in the event’s 36-year history, allowing the non-profit club to provide funding for a variety of fishing-related charities, including the Recreational Fishing Alliance and the George Burlew Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to marine biology graduate students.
