Striper fishing, as usual, has been a hit or miss affair for the past 2 weeks depending if you are in the right place at the right time OR if you get a call from a friend on the water and you speed down to them before the bite is done. Right now, the Fluke fishing is your best bet as there are sure to be some pretty nice fish out there once the damn weather clears up...........give me a break! Did you know that 17 days out of 21 in June have been raining? What a joke!
The Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Fluke Tournament, one that I participate in almost every year for the past 6, is going to be taking place July 11 & 12, 2009. As you can see, it's a 2 day event and an opportunity to cash in on that one big fish caught either Saturday or Sunday with a guarantee of $3000.00 for 1st place and 7 additional prizes down to 8th place and a $200.00 bonus for the largest fish caught on Saturday AND a special ladies prize of a rod and reel for the largest Fluke caught by an anglerette. Entry fee is $75.00 before 7/1/09 and $90.00 thereafter. These guys are very civic minded group and much of the money collected goes to taking kids out on there annual fishing trip aboard a local party boat. Sign up now and support a very good group of anglers or better yet, become a member.
Another tournament that I've already signed up for is the the Community Fire Company of Leonardo annual "Fluke Masters Tournament" which really separates the men from the boys. I happen to think this one is the best fluke tournaments of the summer as they use a format where if there is a small craft advisory called for Saturday, then tournament is then held on Sunday, which because of lightning last year, is exactly what happened. Another thing I really like about this contest is the fact that the winners (1st place through 4th place) are chosen by the total weight of 5 fish, thus eliminating a fisherman getting "lucky" with that one big fish. The 4 prizes are based upon the number of boats entered with an entry fee of $75.00 per 6 man boat. GREAT FORMAT!!!!!