Northeast Sportfishing Recap with HMY’s Jeff Thiel

Hi, I'm Riley Hutchinson with HMI Yacht Sales. We're here today to recap the summer fishing in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where we're here with yacht sales professional and Viking product specialist, Jeff Steele. So Jeff, can you give us an overview of the 2025 tournament season? Sure. We, I fished on the Crazy Salts for the tournament season. I was a part of four tournaments with them for the summer. We started the Jimmy Johnson in July, then went to Ocean City in early August, fished the Mid-Atlantic, and we finished up with the Challenge Cup. Awesome. Is there a tournament that stood out to you this summer? I would have to say the Mid-Atlantic stood out because there was so much building up to it with the hurricane and the weather and who was going to fish, who wasn't going to fish. It turned out we only had a little bit of bad weather and the fishing was lights out. It was really good. I'm pretty sure I remember you guys finished overall releases on that tournament. Yeah, we ended up catching 32 white marlins and a blue marlin. Oh yeah. Finished up the tournament. That's a heck of a tournament. HMI has so many clients and friends that fish up there over the summer. Do you have any standout performances or memorable experiences that you can think of? I would have to say I have to give to the Viking demo this summer. They finished up Pirates Cove and they made a power move. Dually got up at three o'clock in the morning, steamed all the way up to New Jersey, picked a crew up, and they were off to go fish outside the Linda Call like a thousand fathoms. And they ended up catching 65 white marlins probably out of say 90 bites they had. That crew is a powerhouse. It's amazing to make a move from North Carolina all the way up to go almost fish up by New York and in 24 hours just because you heard they were biting is... That's what makes Viking the best. That's right. As an HMI sales professional, what does it mean to see your clients compete on boats you've helped them purchase? It's great to see the growth of, you know, someone that bought a new boat and watch them over the years. One boat in particular would have to be the Jenny Marie. It's an owner operator, him and his son. They go out and each year they keep, you know, progressing. And this year I had an opportunity to fish with them. We were able to go out and catch 18 out of 24 white marlins and they just go out to have a good time. It's great to see them compete against the guys that are professionals, get paid to do it for a living. That's what it's all about doing what you love with the people you love. That's right. You mentioned previously during the Mid-Atlantic there was a hurricane, but how were fishing conditions overall compared to previous years? You know, I think this year was a little bit more challenging with the weather. You know, they extended the White Marlin Open to be a seven day tournament, which wasn't... it was a little too long in Ocean City. But all in all, you know, everybody, they get together. You know, we only have one opportunity to go and do these tournaments a year, whether it be the Mid-Atlantic or White Marlin Open. So we're going to persevere through that weather and go and fish them. Was there any surprises in species or fishing quality overall this year? I would say, you know, just particularly the white marlins were biting. We didn't have much bycatch this year. You know, you catch a few tunas here, a few dolphins, but, you know, predominantly we were just catching white marlins. For anyone interested in getting into the tournament circuit, do you have any advice? So, you know, I would ease into it. You know, maybe start with the smaller tournaments. I would, you know, build a crew, you know, get a couple of mates and a couple of buddies and just see how it works out in the first, you know, couple of smaller tournaments and grow from there. Fishing on the crazy salts, we've all been together for 20 years. Everybody can do one another's job and it helps as far as the success part of that. So I would say ease into it. Start little, then go big. Looking ahead, is there something you're looking forward to most for next season? Yeah, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with everybody on the boat. It's summer camp for adults. We enjoy getting away for the four weeks we get to get away and go fishing and be with one another. And, you know, we look forward to it every year. Hoping to see Crazy Salts a lot on the leaderboard next year. Thanks again, Jeff, for talking all things Northeast summer fishing with us. If someone wants to talk boats or tournament fishing, how can they reach you? Please give me a call or reach out to me by email. I'd be happy to answer any questions or help help out in any way I can. And that's a wrap for summer tournament fishing in the Mid-Atlantic. HMI is looking forward to the winter sailfish season. For all things bill fishing, keep an eye out. We'll see you next time.