After an offshore angler buys $50 worth of bait, takes on hundreds dollars worth of fuel and leaves the dock, a simple but vexing conundrum must be confronted. What course should the boat’s owner or captain take across a vast, lonely and seemingly empty ocean? In other words, where are the darn fish, the big ones worth bragging about? Providing answers, complete with a color map, is how Mitch Roffer has made a living since 1987, when he founded Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service Inc., or ROFFS™. After earning a doctorate in oceanography from the University of Miami, he set up shop in South Florida and then moved to Central Florida eight years ago. “We deal with people from the average, everyday fisherman to the big, tournament fisherman, as well as commercial fisherman,” said Roffer, 65. “The key for anyone is that when you leave the dock, you have to decide which way to go and at the east coast of Florida, you can go left, right or straight and sooner or later one will find the Gulf Stream.” ROFFS™ uses satellite images to watch that big, warm current, which surges north along Florida and the East Coast to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The path of the Gulf Stream wiggles like a snake and its edges are a chaos of offshoots, loops and eddies. Please click HERE to read more on this topic now on our website… Mitch Roffer, founder of Roffers Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service Inc. in West Melbourne, examines sea and weather conditions off Florida’s east coast in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo Above.) Brawl Erupts at Posh Montauk Yacht Club A brawl broke out among fishermen at the posh Montauk Yacht Club after seafarers competing in the annual Montauk Canyon Challenge were disqualified. After pulling in a winning 343-pound swordfish, members of Fish On — led by Pete Brancaleone of TV’s “Shark Hunters” — were disqualified when he and a member of his crew failed a polygraph and lost out on a chunk of the $200,000 prize. Tournament organizer David O’Halloran was tackled and knocked down by a family member of one of Brancaleone’s crew, and cops were called when it turned into a full-on brawl. Please click HERE to read more about the Montauk Yacht Club brawl on our website…

ROFFS™ clients Mike Fogarty and Dr. Mark Saporita with a huge white marlin  aboard Dr. Mark Saporita’s “Reelaxation” with Capt. John Raguso of MarCeeJay Sport Fishing at the helm. (See Photo Above.)

Be sure to visit the section titled “Catch Reports” located under the “Insights” tab on our ROFFS™ website that will feature current catch reports from areas such as the Northeastern U.S., North Carolina/Hatteras, South Carolina/Georgia, Florida, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and the Gulf of Mexico.   We continue to post weekly updates in this category so please check back often.

Please click HERE to view last week’s catch reports…

ROFFS™ Recent Tournament Results – Congratulations to our recent tournament winners!

Mid Atlantic 500 (NJ/MD): 1^st Place Most Points Overall & 1^st Place Most Points White Marlin Captain Mike King & Rusty Carter (Stream Weaver); 1^st Place Heaviest White Marlin David Anderson & Captain Keith Greenberg (Krazy Salts); 1^st Place Heaviest Blue Marlin & 1^st Place Most Points Blue Marlin Captain Wade Lober (Why Knot); 2^nd Place Heaviest White Marlin & 3^rd Place Heaviest White Marlin Jon Duffie & Jeremy Duffie (Billfisher); 2^nd Place Most Points White Marlin Sid Gold & Captain Aaron Greenberg (Can Do Too); 2^nd Place Heaviest Tuna & 3^rd Place Most Points Tuna Michael Yocco (MJ’s); 3^rd Place Most Points Blue Marlin Jim Jensen & Captain Jimmy Werling (Plane Simple); 3^rd Place Most Points White Marlin Jamie Diller (Canyon Lady).

Congratulations to ROFFS™ clients David Anderson & Captain Keith Greenberg fishing on the “Krazy Salts” with their 1^st Place Heaviest White Marlin in last week’s Mid-Atlantic $500,000 Tournament (See Photo Above.)

Congratulations to the crew on the “Why Not” for their tournament record blue marlin weighing in at 847 lbs. in last week’s Mid-Atlantic $500,000. (See Photo Above.)

Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament: 2^nd Place Top Team  Captain Mike King & Rusty Carter (Stream Weaver); 3^rd Place Top Team Kevin Pankoke (Evelyn Kennedy).

Pirate’s Cove Big Game Tournament (NC): 2^nd Place Dolphin Captain Brian Komer, Pat Healey & Hank Sibley (Viking 62); 3 Place Wahoo Jamin Simmons, Rob Orr & Pam Simmons (Salvation).

Texas Legends Billfish Tournament: 1^st Place Overall Bert Steindorf & Captain Kevin Scott (Bandit): 2^nd Place Overall & 1^st Place Largest Fish Weighed John Ramming & Captain Tommy Gueldner (Reeebecca); 1^st Place Largest Blue Marlin Released George Gartner & Captain Kevin Deerman).

Triple Crown Billfish Series (FL): 1^st Place Overall Series Scott Rickert, Glenn Cameron, Jim Vaughn, Mark Wodlinger & Matt Alligood (Reel Screamer / Floridian).

Congratulations Scott Rickert, Capt. Glenn Cameron, Jim Vaughn and team for the Florida west coast Triple Crown Billfish Series. (See Photo Above.)

Old Salt Loop Billfish Tournament (FL): 1^st Place Billfish Release & 2^nd Place Dolphin Captain Randy Keys & Ryan Farner (Team Under Armor / Caliente); 2^nd Place Billfish Release Division, 1^st Place Tuna, 2^nd Place Wahoo & 3^rd Place Dolphin Scott Rickert, Glenn Cameron, Jim Vaughn, Mark Wodlinger & Matt Alligood (Reel Screamer / Floridian); 1^st Place Dolphin Ken Cummins (Team Hooker); 1^st Place Wahoo Brain Turner & Jay Turner (Haulin Grass); 2^nd Place Tuna & 3^rd Place Wahoo Captain Matt Taylor (The Ripper).

Texas Women Anglers Tournament: 1^st Place Sailfish Dan Hughes, Captain Jay Homer & Peggy Hughes (Wildcatter); 1^st Place White Marlin Robb Love & Amy Baker (Load N Go); 2^nd Place Blue Marlin Leandro Quiroz & Tammy Vaness (Pinche Quick Pay) 2^nd Place Dolphin & 2^nd Place Tuna Wayne Timmermann & Nikki Timmermann (Honesty).

White Marlin Shootout (AL): 2^nd Place White Marlin & 3^rd Place White Marlin Johnny Johnson & Myles Colley (Reel Worthless); 1^st Place Swordfish Daniel Haeuser & Captain Jimmy Crochet (Conundrum); 1^st Place Top Lady Angler Rocky Jones, Captain Louis Porto & Laurie McVay (Reel Addiction).

Please click HERE to view the newly updated 2014 winners list on our website…

Interesting Photo of the Week

“I caught this red grouper in 300 ft of water. I was offshore of Spanish cay in the Bahamas. After taking off one side I saw something strange in the grouper’s stomach. I cut it open and found a whole diet coke can. The can was torn open, which is what some people do to make the can sink. This was a very disturbing site for me and I hope this message will passed on.” (Photo Above.)

Don Combs | C&H Lures

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