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More Than Just Fish And Money Make Jimmy Johnson’s Atlantic City Tournament Popular
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (July 17, 2024) – Ken Gallop loves the atmosphere.
So much so that he keeps coming back.
More than 75 boats and about 750 anglers — no Michael Jordan this time — are competing this week in the fourth annual Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring fishing tournament, based at Frank S. Farley State Marina at Golden Nugget Atlantic City, with a secondary weigh station in Ocean City, Maryland.
“The whole atmosphere is great, and bringing it back to New Jersey, we are really happy here,” said Gallop, the captain of John Stavola’s Milling Around and a resident of Tinton Falls, Monmouth County. “I have done the tournament since its inception. It’s a big tournament.”
The weeklong event started Sunday with an opening ceremony and party at the nearby Golden Nugget Atlantic City’s Grand Ballroom. Competition began Monday and was set to continue through Friday. The event will conclude Saturday with an all-day party and award ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. This week’s prize purse is worth more than $1.5 million, plus Calcuttas, or side bets.
Conditions were very windy Tuesday, but 54 boats still ventured out. Each boat went out about 120 miles off the coast. Boats left the marina at about 9 a.m., and the first boat, SUSHI, came back at 6:24 p.m. with two big-eyed tuna and a yellowfin tuna.
Angler Cameron Coblentz caught one of those big-eye tunas, which weighed 161 pounds. He also caught the yellowfin, which weighed 88.8. On Monday, he caught a big-eye tuna.
“It was great,” said Coblentz, of Baltimore. “First time ever catching a yellowfin.”
Skip Ward caught the other big-eye, which weighed 142.5 pounds. Anglers and boats have the option to donate one or more of the fish they catch to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. SUSHI donated one of its tunas. Other anglers on the boat included owner and captain Charley Pereira, Josh Lowery and Marcus Burnett.
Coblentz and his team also competed in the 2023 tournament.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “The atmosphere is great. Everything is so convenient. Everyone works really hard. They are very accommodating with everything that goes on.”
‘A perfect home’
Johnson is a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who captured back-to-back Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993. He also guided the Miami Dolphins for four seasons and led the University of Miami to the national championship in 1987.
Johnson and partners Greg Mark, Bruce Eberst and Tod Roy started the event. Mark and Eberst played football under Johnson at Miami. Roy had owned a restaurant near campus at the time, which is how he was introduced to the trio. The four are still close friends.
Since 2012, Johnson has also hosted a version of this tournament each March in Hollywood, Florida.
“Honestly, Atlantic City has been tremendous to us,” Roy said. “It’s a destination for entertainment for families and for people to come. The ability to bring a world-class event, our fishing tournament, with a person of a stature like coach Jimmy Johnson, we are very, very happy here.
“The city treats us great. We could not have picked a better destination for us. There really is no one else around who does it. There are tournaments that are north. There are tournaments that are south. But there is none right here, and I think we found the perfect home to be here for a long time.”
Roy sees the event growing every year.
“There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “The notoriety and respect it’s getting is tremendous. We are now officially on the map for tournaments in the Northeast. Some of the biggest tournaments in the world are here in the Northeast, and now we are in that class. We are really proud of it.”
Roy said he and the other organizers already are working on next year’s tournament. Some tournaments in the Northeast are 30-plus years old, such as the MidAtlantic, based in Cape May and, like Quest for the Ring, in Ocean City, Maryland. “It takes a lot of work,” he said. “I want it here long after I am gone. It’s very much a friends and family run. … We want friends and family to even take it over so it can be generational.”
‘Gets the blood pumping’
Gallop and his team competed Monday but did not go out Tuesday. Each boat got to pick any three of the five days to compete, and some decided to not use Tuesday due to the wind. But Milling Around weighed in a 46.5-pound yellowfin tuna Monday.
Gallop, along with Danny Edmonds, Stavola, Aaron “Jersey Pirate” Ciccia, Chase Mundhenke, Eric “Big Jake” Jacobson and Len Pal, planned to go out fishing again Thursday and Friday.
Gallop is the neighbor of Ken Hager, who owns Taylor Jean, which also is competing.
“A big tournament and a lot of fun,” said Blaine Birch, captain of Taylor Jean and a resident of Brielle, Monmouth County.
Taylor Jean won the big-eye tuna division in 2022. It also will compete in the 33rd MidAtlantic, which is set for Aug. 18-23 at the Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland, and the Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May.
“We come back every year to this, and it’s the start of the big tournaments,” Birch said. “You have this, then (the MidAtlantic). This is kind of like practice and getting ready for (the MidAtlantic), but you are still competing against everybody, and there’s a lot of money at stake. It gets the blood pumping.”
Mike Croke, captain of Business, and anglers Eddie Huffman and Marco Oderda caught a 57-pound white marlin Monday.
“So far so good,” Croke said Tuesday.
This is his first time competing in Johnson’s Atlantic City tournament. “The location is great,” he said.
Huffman has competed in it previously.
“It’s a good tournament, and I know a lot of people here,” he said. “It’s a good time.”
Entertainment aspect
Roy, one of the tournament partners, said he wants it to be the best in every aspect.
Helping to make the tournament unique are the entertainment options that come with it. After boats come in for the day, the crews can check out the city’s nightlife.
“Nobody has the entertainment,” Roy said. “All these other places are sleepy little fishing towns. At 9 o’clock, they are closed down. These casinos here, they are always open. The entertainment in this town beats everyone. Having Jimmy Johnson on top is a great look, too.”
Birch and his brother, Jarrett Birch, agree.
“We like to gamble,” Blaine said. “Everyone around is a big gambler. That’s why they like it so much. And it’s close to home. We are only an hour and a half away by boat and 45 minutes away by car. It’s an easy thing for us to go back home.”
Said Gallop: “There is always something to do. The food is excellent. The music. You are just not sitting around being bored and wondering what’s next. It’s the entire atmosphere. They have it so well-organized. We have an inventory. Everything is written for you and what you have to do and where you have to be and where everything is.”
Each angler in the winning boat at the end of the week earns a Super Bowl-style ring.
“The guys out there want to fish and fish for money,” Roy said, “But at the end of the day, and Jimmy will tell you because he’s coached Hall of Famers and guys who have been in the league one year, they all want that ring.”
By: Patrick Mulranen for the Press of Atlantic City