Berkeley Striper Club 11th Annual Spring Tournament

[clamchucker]

It begins today. It is a catch and release tournament. I am hoping some folks out there will take notice and it will catch on particularly with the charter captains and private boats. Good luck to all.



http://www.stripersonline.com/content/type/61/id/1750058/flags/LL (http://www.stripersonline.com/content/type/61/id/1750058/)


For those familiar with the tournament, new this year the tournament will be run on a catch and release format.

New this year also will be a boat/kayak division. Of course, we will still have our surf/shore division and anglers may enter both divisions.

Unchanged from years past will be the great selection of prizes. We will have prizes for 1st through 10th for surf/shore and 1st through 10th for the boat division. We have prizes from CTS (RH Custom Rods), Van Staal, Pelican Products, Stormr, Tica, Fin Nor, Tony Maja, Century, Seeker, Grumpy?s B&T, Minn Kota, Lamiglas and many, many more.

We will also be having a grand prize drawing of a CTS Vapor trail 11? rod and Van Staal 250. Anyone who enters the tournament is eligible to win this prize. You do not even have to submit a fish.

As always, there will be tons of great door prizes at the awards ceremony.

Funds raised from this tournament go to our fisheries defense fund. From this fund we have been able to assist organizations fighting for the future of our fisheries.

As of now, we have the rules and application posted here and the Berkeley Striper Club website (www.berkeleystriperclub.org/SpringTourney.shtml (http://www.berkeleystriperclub.org/SpringTourney.shtml)). As the date gets closer, we?ll post more information, including a ?Frequently Asked Questions? section, ?how to? guide for photographing your entry, and sample pictures of how to enter a fish.

?Like? the Berkeley Striper Club Catch & Release Tournament Page to be notified of updates

[clamchucker]

http://www.stripersonline.com/content/type/61/id/1750059/flags/LL (http://www.stripersonline.com/content/type/61/id/1750059/)

HOW TO ENTER: Entry to this is simple. Entry is on a per person basis (not per boat). Print and fill out the form below and send it along with a check to BSC, PO Box 9, Seaside Park, NJ 08752. Early entry fees are $20 per category (Surf/shore or boat/kayak). After May 7th, they go up to $25 per category. Mailed in entries must be postmarked by May 7th for the discount.

We have a grand prize of a Van Staal 250 and a CTS 11 ft Vapor Trail rod from RH Custom Rods, valued at $1200. You do not need to catch a fish to win this prize, but you do have to be in the tournament. We also have great prizes for 1st through 10th place in each division, totaling over $7500. We also have door prizes for the awards ceremony on the Sunday following the tournament. On previous years, everyone went home with a door prize.

Please make sure you read the waiver and rules (available on the FB page) thoroughly before signing the application.

You can keep up to date with the tournament or ask any questions at our Facebook page (Search "Berkeley Striper Club Catch & Release Tournament" on Facebook)

[fishinmission78]

Final results posted. Congrat's to the winners


Final Standings.

Surf/Shore Division:
1 - Ryan Sherwood - 48.5 inches
2 - Steve George - 47 Inches
3 - Sal Padavano - 43 inches
4 - Kevin Matysik - 42 inches
5 - Bruce Caporale - 41.5 inches
6 - Chris Butcha - 41 inches
7 - Phil Juhring - 40 inches
8 - Greg O'Connell - 38 inches
9 - Jason Matysik - 37.5 inches
10 - Rich Schultz - 35.5 inches (Submitted First)


Boat/Kayak Division:
1 - Phil Lagrossa - 47 inches
2 - Paul Haertel - 46.5 inches
3 - Linda Haertel - 44.5 inches (Submitted First)
4 - Ryan Brown - 44.5 inches (Submitted Second)
5 - Ray Kerico - 42 inches
6 - Bob Hryzko - 40 Inches
7 - James Budish - 38 inches (Submitted first)
8 - John Budish Jr - 38 inches (Submitted Second)
9 - Open
10 - Open

[DarkSkies]

IMO this was a great start, as has been mentioned. The clubs are some of the most visible ambassadors of surf and land fishermen out there. There has been movement by other clubs to host tourneys like this as well. It's tough to change old ways of doing things. I have a lot of friends in different clubs. The larger the organization, the more difficult it is to put forth and vote on new ideas.

Like others, I'm hoping that the rest of the clubs will discuss and try to follow the example Berkeley has set.
Please bear in mind that even for Berkeley this was difficult. As with any club, there was internal dissention. and there was a lot of back and forth before this could come to be.......

So let's try to keep a positive outlook for the future. :thumbsup: As mentioned, this was a step in the right direction, and hopefully is the wave of the future. It will take time, though, so please let's be patient as clubs and organizations start to realize the positive benefits. :clapping:

[DarkSkies]

1. Berkeley Tourney and the Lack of Abundance of fish along the 2014 NJ Shorline:
On a side note, I know a lot of the anglers who ended in the top spots.
Now that it's over, I can report that half the large fish entered, came from one particular area in New Jersey.

For those who say
"Stripers are not in danger, they are as abundant as ever"
"Stripers are still being caught, you just have to work for them"

I would say the above statements are inaccurate and misleading.

http://www.city-data.com/states/New-Jersey-Location-size-and-extent.html
"New Jersey's total boundary length is 480 mi (773 km), including a general coastline of 130 mi (209 km); the tidal shoreline is 1,792 mi (2,884 km). "

With 130 miles of coastline in NJ, and 1700 miles of tidal water, it is sobering to think that the majority of these fish came from one small area of our coastline.
There are bass available in other areas.....but larger fish are few and far between.
**My point is that in the first 2 weeks of June, prime time for bass fishing in NJ, there are so few opportunities to catch bigger striped bass from land, (and not including bridges) that to, me, it is sad, and is another indicator of a deficit in the striped bass biomass.......

I only need to go back 8-10 years, when I remember a few dozen places this time of year where you could catch larger striped bass from land.....this is evident as well, to any seasoned fishermen who have been fishing for more than a decade and know how and where to target larger bass at night.....they are just not there......in the numbers they and places they used to be found in....









2. Another Example- Monmouth Beach Cartoppers Contest - June 2014

From Al Ristori's column at www.nj.com (http://www.nj.com)
"Joe Melillo is proud of this weekend's win by the small-membership Spring Lake Live Liners over bigger clubs in the Monmouth Beach Cartoppers contest. He said the Asbury Park club was second.Melillo nailed a13 9/16-pound striper on a swimming plug in the Point Pleasant surf, and Mike Commune of Brick plugged a 13-pounder there. Gerald CeCe of Point Pleasant plugged his 17-pound bass at Bay Head, where Terry Martuscelli of Brick fished a chunk to beach a 17-pound bass. Mickey Sweeney of Howell fished clams in Bay Head for linesiders of 11 and 13 pounds."


Results of the Monmouth Beach Car Toppers Tournament.

Spring Lake Live Liners 83 Points
Asbury Park Fishing Club 36 Points
There were no other weigh-ins.

Congratulations to Bob Matthews, for the Largest Bass, 20 pounds.
Congratulations also to Gerald Cece
Terry Martuscelli
Joe Melillo Sr.
Mike Comune


To put this in perspective, each pound was worth one point....the total points for the contest were 119.....meaning out of all the clubs involved, fishing all the holes, cuts, points, inlets, and back bay sloughs they know very well, and have caught countless fish from before....
The best of the best, the old salts from these clubs....some with over 60 years of fishing experience....could only manage to find and catch,

119 lbs of fish.....for the whole weekend....

To me....that says a lot....about the reality of how poor our striped bass fishing (from land) is, right now.....:learn:



Thanks for reading....:HappyWave:

[finchaser]

2 other clubs went fishless in that 5 day tournament ^^^^ and all the Spring Lake fish but one were caught on the same day in the same place all on plugs blind casting no bunker I was there (our club was not in that torn) went back next morning nada

[buckethead]

2 other clubs went fishless in that 5 day tournament ^^^^ and all the Spring Lake fish but one were caught on the same day in the same place all on plugs blind casting


The state of fishing for surf caught striped bass has become as probable as winning the lottery. Is anyone listening?

[jigfreak]

:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: for Berkeley