2009
The 6th annual Berkeley Striper Club Spring Tournament concluded on 6/14/09. The 113 anglers who participated in the ten day tournament weighed in 35 stripers, 17 bluefish and 3 weakfish.
The tournament standings were posted daily on the web-site www.berkeleystriperclub.org so that fish that might otherwise be released, were not kept unnecessarily just for the tournament. The tournament was for fishing from the shore in Ocean and MonmouthCounties and no boats were allowed. Despite that, some very impressive striped bass were weighed in. Phil LaGrossa caught the largest striper in the tournament which weighed in at 46 lbs. 10 oz. Phil caught it on a bunker he snagged on the beach. Phil won over $2000. in cash and prizes for his outstanding catch. Second place went to veteran surfcaster, Dominick Talerico who caught a 43 lb. 11 oz. striper on a live bunker he snagged while fishing on the Casino Fishing Pier in SeasidePark. In fact, Dom, who had never caught a bass over 40 lbs. caught one larger than that on a Big Bass King plug that he made himself. Two days later he caught three more bass over 40 lbs. from the pier on bunker he snagged. His good friend Rodney Erdo also caught his first bass over 40 lbs. that day from the pier as well. Rodney finished in fourth place with a 41 lb. 4 oz. bass he caught on a snagged bunker. Paul Hofmann finished in third place by using the same technique from the beach to catch a 43 lb. bass.
Prizes were awarded for 1st to 14th place with all the prize winning bass being over 30 lbs.
The big blues did not make a showing as they did during the tournament the last few years. However, that did not stop Bob Misak from winning first prize in that division. He caught his 15 lb. 7 oz. jumbo on a bunker head fished from the surf on Long BeachIsland. Scott Pullen placed second with a 12 lb. 10 oz. blue while Rick Raub finished third with a 12 lb. 4 oz. fish. The 4th through 14th place blues ranged from two to eight lbs. Todd Callan and his father Dennis caught the two biggest weakfish in the tournament but still won some nice prizes despite the fact that both fish were under two lbs. Both anglers also won prizes in the bluefish division.
The club donated $2000. to Stripers Forever with the money raised through the tournament. Stripers Forever is the internet group seeking to make striped bass a no-sale or game fish along the entire east coast. They already have that status in New Jersey and a few other states. However, because they are allowed to be sold in certain states, they are being depleted by both legal and illegal commercial fishermen. Striped bass are far more valuable as a recreational fish as the fishermen who seek them contribute greatly to the economy.
The complete standings are as follows:
Paul Haertel
BSC Tournament Director
(973) 943-8201
2009 BSC Spring Tournament Final Standings
Striped Bass
1st - Phil LaGrossa 46 lbs. 10 oz. Paid $565 plus a custom made rod from Grumpys
2nd - Dom Talerico 43 lbs. 11 oz. Paid $302. plus a Lamiglas Super Surf Rod valued at $570.
3rd - Paul Hofmann 43 lbs. Paid $226. plus a custom made rod from Betty and Nick’s
4th - Rodney Erdo 41lbs. 4 oz. Paid $151 plus a Minn-Kota battery charger valued at $370.
5th - Dante Soriente 38 lbs. 10 oz. Paid $151. plus merchandise
6th - Sal Padavano 37 lbs. 10 oz. Paid $95. plus merchandise
7th - Chris LaGrossa 37 lbs. Paid $76. plus merchandise
8th - Zack Paone 35 lbs. 2 oz. Merchandise awarded to 8th to 14th place finishers
9th - Sean Seraphin 34 lbs. 12 oz.
10th - Drew Ciok 32 lbs. Weighed in first
11th – Robert Gammer 32 lbs. Weighed in second
12th - Steve Perna 31 lbs. 10 oz.
13th - John Gillis 30 lbs. 13 oz.
14th - Bob McGinley 30 lbs. 8 oz.
Bluefish
1st - Bob Misak 15 lbs. 7 oz. 1st to 14th place all won merchandise prizes
2nd - Scott Pullen 12 lbs. 10 oz
3rd - Rick Raub 12 lbs. 4 oz.
4th - Jim Heeney 7 lbs. 10 oz.
5th - Dennis Callan 5 lbs. 12 oz.
6th - Todd Callan 5 lbs. 9 oz.
7th - Paul Haertel 4 lbs. 2 oz.
8th - Mike Hulse 3 lbs. 4 oz.
9th - Tim Burden 2 lbs. 12 oz.
10th - Sean Seraphin 2 lbs. 9 oz.
11th - Chris LaGrossa 2 lbs. 8 oz.
12th - Phil LaGrossa 2 lbs. 6 oz.
13th - Zoltan Egyed 2 lbs. 5 oz.
14th - Zach Paone 2 lbs.
Weakfish
1st - Todd Callan 1 lb. 12 oz. 1st to 3rd place all won merchandise prizes
2nd - Dennis Callan 1 lb. 11 oz.
3rd - Ryan Guerrette 1 lb. 6 oz.
Pool/Calcutta Winners
Big Guns Striped Bass
Phil LaGrossa 46 lbs. 11 oz. Paid $675.
Striped Bass
Phil LaGrossa 46 lbs. 11 oz. Paid $525.
Bluefish
Bob Misak 15 lbs. 7 oz. Paid $420.
Weakfish
Todd Callan 1 lb. 12 oz. Paid $255.