Barbara Kerrigan does not need any help bringing home fish. Her passion is striped bass, but right now she is deep into catching black drumfish. She makes solo trips on her boat - a 21-foot Parker CC - and her biggest problem is keeping the line with the fish from tangling up. She puts out five lines and has lost fish, but never at the net.
She hooks a fish, works it to the front of the boat, puts the rod in the rod-holder, nets it and brings it over the side. Then she brings them home, filets them and puts them on the grill. Nothing to it!
Her fishing day starts around 3:45 a.m. in Somers Point. After taking her three dogs for a walk, she leaves 4:45 for Bidwell Creek where she docks her boat. Then, it is out to Delaware Bay. She made four 20-plus miles trips to Ship John Shoal and others across Delaware Bay off Delaware for striped bass. Now she is fishing for drumfish since bass slowed down two weeks back. When contacted for this story, she was cooking drumfish rack of ribs and steaks following recipes from Sid Martin at Woodburn fish store in Somers Point.
She has caught a lot of fish, weighing some at Dolphin Dock in Somers Point. She has caught stripers to 40 pounds and drum to 60 pounds, including a 65-pounder over the weekend.
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The Greater Atlantic Bluefish Tournament on Saturday, June 5, yielded some impressive numbers.
The most important is the more than $30,000 raised for charity, according to information from publicity chairman Gus Elias. Tom Ichinaga of Egg Harbor Township won the contest on Sakana Kira with a total of 38.67 pounds for his three heaviest fish. It was a narrow victory over second-place John Golgow of Bryn Mawr, Pa., on Reel Time with 38.06 pounds.
Attitude Adjustment with John Nolen of Ocean City was third at 36.37, E-Sea-Money and Joe Smith of Atco was fourth at 35.52, Reel Determined and Jimmy Zavacky of Wrightstown was fifth at 35.44.
Golgow took the overall heaviest-fish award with a 17.18 pounder and took the Great Egg Inlet port prize. John Schwartz on Skinny Dipper won the Little Egg Inlet prize with 34.73 pounds and Gaeten Simiriglio of Sewell won Absecon Inlet.
The contest ran a flounder division. Frank McGinley on the Lori Ann II won it with a 4.87-pound catch. Steve Amata, Summer Wind, was second at 4.32 and John Lawson, Wonderful, was third at 4.31.
Seventy-four boats competed.
