June 22, 2000
This is the largest shark tournament in the world, and it was a tremendous
success, with just about every boat that entered hooking up. The predominant
fish was mako. While Mother Nature didn't fully cooperate with us she did
provide fishable sea conditions for sharking. Approximately 200 sharks were
tagged with 63 being brought to the scale. Approximately 2000 anglers participated
in 310 boats ranging from 21' to 70' plus battle wagon. As is tradition
with the Tournament, the Club provided limited dockage to some 80 boats.
I woke up excited in anticipation of this 28 year Long Island tradition.
Many a tale of sharks have originated from our shorelines. Some true, some
stretched a wee bit. The story of "Jaws" was written about Long
Island waters (even though it was filmed in New England).
Shark fishing is a patient fishing game and I knew ahead of time that this
tournament was going to be a tough one due to the water temps. Most of the
Captains had a game plan days ahead of time on where they were going to
make their stand. Some had caught fresh bluefish days before since this
is the prime bait during these tough times. Who was going to be at the right
place at the right time. A little luck goes a long way in these conditions.
I had the honor of fishing on one of the largest and finest boats in the
tournament, the Per Diem.
We had a great crew of guys and a game plan. The seas were a hard chop,
so it was nice to be on a large boat. The water temps never budged from
61 degrees and we did everything that we could to cover the most prime area,
but Mr. Sharky just wan't cooperating for us on this day. Mark Canter, the
owner of the Per Diem, was a great host and the guys on the boat were a
good bunch...but it just didn't happen for us. Some days the dog bites you
and some days you bite the dog...welcome to fishing.
Dave Wygoda really puts his heart into this event. He pulls it all together,
so that it runs like a fine tuned clock. Not an easy task by far, but he
had done it again and it is one of Long Island's gems and traditions.
As for some highlights - the Captains Meeting was attended by some 3,000
people consisting of Captains, crews and relatives. The barbecue dished
out 5000 hamburgers, 2500 hot dogs, 20 kegs of beer and 150 cases of soda,
all free. Following the Captain's instruction a free raffle was held for
products donated by some 235 companies. Total prizes consisted of $46,500.00
cash in addition to approximately $200,000.00 in products and certificates
from marine and tackle manufacturers to local bait and tackle shops and
restaurants, prizes ranged from fishing tackle, such as stand-up rods to
50 Internationals to electronics such as VHF's, fish finders and GPS's.
As to the results of the catch, over 3000 pounds of meat were donated to
three food banks and spectators.(Thanks to Capt. Don for emailing us these
three great photos which were taken on board the Devocean. The crew of the
Devocean caught four shark while fishing 44 miles SE on that snotty day.)
The results are as follows:
1st place: 326lbs. Mako
Captain Pete Brancalone of the Fish On
Angler: Billy Balnis
Grand Prize: $25,000.00 with prizes totalling $26,200.00
2nd place: 317 lbs. Blue
Ben Bocci of In Too Deep
Angler: Frank Bocci
Prize: $8,100.00 with prizes totalling $11,000.00
3rd place: 297 lbs. Mako
Captain Wynn Kieth of Wynns Woody
Angler: Brian Kieth
Prize: $4,335.00 with prizes totalling $7,000.00
4th place: 294 lbs. Mako
Captain Robert Ehrlich of Eleni
Angler: William Irwin
Prize: $2,000.00 with prizes totalling $4,425.00
5th place: 292 lbs. Mako
Captain Gene Steinbach of Sorry Charlie
Angler: Gene Steinbach
Prize: $1,000.00 with prizes totalling $2,800.00
6th place: 291 lbs. Thresher
Captain Paul Gentil of Ashley Lynn
Angler: Tom Davis
Prize: Prizes valued at $2,400.00
7th place: 231 lbs. Blue
Captain Tom McGarry of Great White
Angler: Sean Libby
Prize: Prizes valued at $2,135.00
8th place:230lbs. Mako
Captain Gerald Bayreuther of Direct Current
Angler: John Rosa
Prizes valued at $1,700.00
9th place:- 220 lbs. Blue
Captain Doug Symington of Fins to the Left
Angler: Doug Symington
Prize: Prizes valued at $1,600.00
10th place: 213 lbs. Blue
Captain Guy Vinci of Snuffy Joe
Anglers: David Senft
Prize: Prizes valued at $1,400.00
Tagging Tournament winners were: 1. James A. Rose - $2,015.00 2. Rick Rydberg
- $2,015.00 3. Larry Singer - $2,015.00 John Oppenheimer - So-Lo Magic Stick/So-Lo
Systems The Club would like to take this opportunity to thank the Town of
Hempstead, the Village of Freeport, all the local merchants and manufacturers,
and those around the country for their help and support in making this Tournament
the pride of the Freeport Hudson Anglers and Long Island.
Special thanks go out to all the anglers who participated in the Tournament
without whom this Tournament would be just another Tournament. A special
thanks to the anglers that donated their catch which was distributed by
the Freeport Hudson Anglers to three (3) food banks: Word of Life, Rev.
Jenkins Ministries and Mary Brenner Soup Kitchens; and the spectators. We
also thank the Department of Waterways and Conservation and the Jones Beach
Coast Guard. Special thanks to Roy Flood and his staff of Mako Marine in
Freeport for hauling providing us with a shuttle boat. The Executive Board
and Tournament Chairman would also like to thank the entire membership for
the hard work and effort they contributed.
Good angling and see you all next year at our 29th Annual Tournament. Freeport
Hudson Anglers 29th Annual Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 16,
2001.
