We decided to put together a first of its kind catch and release weekend tournament for few reasons. First, we feel that catch and release is important part of what many of us do today, and yet it is almost an afterthought in the tournaments. Second, there are many of you who urged us to do this to increase the awareness about importance of catch and release, about increasing awareness of dwindling stocks of striped bass, about camaraderie during the tournament without guilt of having a hang a fish on the scale. And last but not least, all net proceeds will go to new SJ Junior Angler Program. More on that in the future
I am sure we are going to have a lot of discussions on this for next few weeks but the reason for putting this up today is simple. The first 150 who register online or at Saltwaters Tackle (combined) will be receiving a free t-shirt. We wanted to give you guys heads up before the info appears in the next issue on Monday. So that way if you want, you can register over the weekend and claim your t-shirt.
I am going to try to keep this short, we’ll have more time to go over the details
For all rules for tournament go here or click on SJ ALL ISLAND STRIPED BASS CUP link on the top of the blog
To register click here or follow links on info page
The rules are simple, catch a fish, take a picture of the fish by putting a SJ supplied measuring tape alongside of the fish. Have a witness who is in the tournament sign your slip. Bring your camera, I phone, droid, whatever to the Saltwaters tackle on that weekend.
Few notes because I know that it does not matter how much I try to explain things, some will be confused
You can register on our blog or at Saltwaters Tackle until 10/27. If you are one of the first 150 that register you will receive a shirt. The shirt will not be ready to pick up until the tournament weekend. No specific sizes, we will do our best to make them in variety of sizes, first come first serve.
This is a big one. You must come to Saltwaters Tackle after 12 PM on October 26th or any time after that to receive your SJ measuring tape and entry card. Sorry but if we gave the measuring tape ahead of the contest some would be tempted to take pictures with their camera before the contest. We are trying to make this as fair as we can.
You can fish anywhere on Long Island, but you can only enter the fish by coming to Saltwaters Tackle. Please let’s not hear “it’s too far, it’s too long”. I know many who drove dead slobs for a hundred miles to enter it into contest. It is what it is. No, you can’t email us the picture from your home. You have to bring it…just like you would have to weigh the fish in.
Phew, that was a lot of words.. 🙂
Ok, I sincerely hope that many of you guys will support us in trying to make a difference in the way the tournaments are held in the future. We would love to say that after it’s all said and done, the response was overwhelmingly in favor of doing this again or expanding it to other locations. We can only do so much. We hope to see many of you fishing that weekend, we hope many of you bring us the pictures and we know that one of you will walk away with SJ ALL ISLAND STRIPER CUP and a brand spanking new ZeeBaaS reel. Not only that but there is a St Croix Legend to be won, a crazy good bag from Commando Surfcasting ,twelve lures from Super Strike, $150 gift certificate from Saltwaters Tackle and Pliers and Sheath from Hansom Tackle.
REGISTER FOR SJ ALL ISLAND STRIPED BASS CUP HERE
Wow wow wow… You guys have been busy! Good luck to all who sign up and participate! Would love to see this eventually expand geographically.
↓Very cool ! I will be signing up
↓Awesome contest!
↓I like the rules, but don’t know if I have the time to make it happen.
Good luck to all, tight lines!!!
Good luck to all. Bummer I thought id be able to participate in it. Wish the rules weren’t the way they are. No way id be able to take a ferry over, drive to salt waters, drive back, take ferry back, catch slob, take off work to take ferry over drive to salt waters weigh in , win first place, drive back take ferry back.
Ill still pay the entry fee to show my support for SJ and the cause of the tournament. Again good luck to all!
↓I also recommend supporting the Junior Anglers regardles. Small price to support possibly changing a kids life and helping them enjoy catch and release. It could be the difference 20 years from now of having them grow up to at least be an advocate for the protection of the species instead of someone careless about the sport. Not to read into it, too much but you never know!
↓Realized I said weigh in in my previous post – meant bring slip in, not weigh in a dead fish for a C&R tourney :).
↓I’m excited to be a part of this, regardless of whether or not I place in the top 5 (although winning any of those prizes would be super sweet!). Hopefully local boat tourneys start to see the value of C&R and follow in SJ’s footsteps.
↓Here is another excuse to fish hard for another weekend of the fall run…
↓Great Idea! Will try to make the drive from South Jersey to fish, but will enter to support the cause. SJ Junior program need all the support to get up and running. Another well thought out action by a group of hard working surf fishing finantics.
↓sounds awesome but unfortunately i live in pa a do most of my stripe fishing in jersey. good luck to the guys with bigger pockets who can travel or live closer. i will most likely be on lbi that weekend smack in the middle of a sandeel blitz…good luck to those who enter
↓I’ll think you all while at the cap cod canal.
↓I appreciate the catch and release. I wish they all were. Need to change mentality before we lose the sport.
↓Just registered! Looking forward to it. I’ll be hiking over from jersey. It’s a chance of a lifetime and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
↓sounds like a great contest with great prizes! just curious as to why its restricted to long island and doesnt allow “swimming”? does this include wearing a wetsuit and swimming to rocks that are close to shore? or is this more to stop the skishermen? just wondering aloud here..
↓Paul..logistically it would be impractical to cover more than LI since you must come to Saltwaters Tackle that weekend to pick up your official SJ measuring tape
Swimming and fishing or skishing is not allowed for a simple reason and it has nothing to do with having an advantage. We would never make a tournament about the winners, it’s about the FISH. If you can tell us how are you going to swim, hook a fish, swim back with that fish to shore, put it on dry land, put a tape measure next to it, take a picture and then release the fish in a good condition, I would like to see this for myself. Just writing this is painful, kind of like dropping you on your head from atop of a 40 foot bridge? That is why bridge fishing is out too. It has nothing to do with individuals, it has all to do with the health of the fish.
↓Topic for another day, skishing has nothing to do with surf fishing. Zero. That does not mean I don’t admire those who do it, that does not mean I don’t swim, what I mean it has nothing to do with sport of surf fishing. You launch yourself from the surf..so do kayaks and tin boats, and surfers..none of them are surfcasters either
Hey Z, did you guys think about using a hand signal system similar to what wetzel does for his tourney he runs? Maybe you may be able to get more people to sign up and open the tournament up to a larger group instead of just people that live on LI and somewhat near salt waters. Just a thought. Not saying anything bad about how it is right now, I think it is absolutely awesome, just really wish I could participate thats all 🙂
↓thanks for replying. it makes perfect sense i was just wondering about the long island thing because I really liked the idea of striperathon last year and how it incorporated all of the east coast. the tournament sounds great though. best of luck to all who enter.
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