JCAA 18th Annual Fluke Tournament Port Prize Winners

Come to the Awards Ceremony at Golden Nugget
Friday evening, June 15th, 2012
Come early to register (1 PM to 7:45 PM)
Drawing starts promptly at 8:00 PM

The 18th Annual JCAA Tournament took place on June 9th, 2012. Everyone reported having a terrific time. The Tournament had 397 boats competing in 10 ports. This was the lowest number of entries which means the participating boats had the best chance ever to win a port prize. We were competing against the greatest early striped bass season ever. The 10 port prizes are listed below.

The largest fish weighed in was 9lbs 8oz and was caught by Tony Botti from Aberdeen and weigh-in at Shark River. Fortescue had the smallest fish qualifying for a port prize weighing in at 2.12lb. Cape May had only eight legal fish weighed in this year. This means if you enter the tournament at that port and caught a legal fish you could have taken the last two places. You can find a comparison of total fish weighed in 2011 vs 2012 and the port prize winners and in the charts at the end of this press release. Shark River also had the largest Striped Bass weighing 42lb 8oz caught by Billy Mayfield from Point Pleasant.

In 2012 we had 40 qualifying fish over 5 lbs. This year the smallest fish was again was 2.12 lbs. Three ports did not have a fish over 5lbs. As you can see, the total weight of summer flounder that qualified for 10 port prizes for 2011 was 484.08 pounds. In 2012 the total weight was 485.76, less than 1 pound difference. It will be interesting to see the JCAA survey returns, to discover what the throwback ratio was and how many keepers were actually caught. Anglers will have an opportunity to give JCAA feedback about how the tournament is organized and also to suggest any changes that might enhance their experience. Surveys will be mailed to current and past participants, so anglers can tell us how to improve this tournament.

This annual tournament provides funds to help the Jersey Coast Anglers Association continue its fight to protect the marine resource, fund summer flounder research and fight for the rights of recreational anglers. JCAA deals with many issues. Currently we continue the fight to get the pots off the reef, Hook on Fishing Drugs Bill and to guarantee public access.

Golden Nugget is the host for the 18th Annual Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament Gala Awards Ceremony. The Golden Nugget invites tournament entrants to come and enjoy their facilities both before and after the award ceremony. You can meet JCAA Executive Board members and representatives from our sponsors. We will be working with the Golden Nugget to provide an even greater evening at next year’s awards ceremony.

This is your chance to win the $5,000 Grand Prize. In fact, 14 of the last 17 Grand Prize winners did not weigh in a qualifying port prize fish in the tournament. Someone from your boat must be present to win the Grand Prize and any of the dozens of great door prizes.

We want to thank all tournament participants and especially our sponsors for making the tournament a success. Our nationally known sponsors include West Marine, Penn Reels, Spiderwire Braided Line, Berkeley Gulp Bait, Interlux Yacht Paint, Costa Sunglasses, Minn-Kota Trolling Motors, Nor’East Saltwater Magazine and Golden Nugget AC. One of the $1,200 First Place Port Prizes were sponsored by Fisherman’s Headquarters (for Long Beach Island) and the remaining ports by the JCAA. Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament T-shirts and hats will be on sale as long as supplies last.

The JCAA Fluke Tournament GRAND PRIZE Registration will be at the Golden Nugget. Follow the signs to find the registration site. We will be in the Grand Ballroom. Registration is between 1 PM and 7:45 PM. If you have Golden Nugget Card you will receive a $5 Dinner coupon. If you don’t you can get one that night and get the $5 coupon. At least one person from your boat must be in attendance at the time of the drawing in order to win a prize. We expect a wonderful turnout. Please come early. Please bring your registration affidavit to save yourself time at the registration desk. There will be a cash bar in the room. All winning numbers will be announced in the ballroom. We will also be distributing the port prizes for those in attendance. The registration desk will issue one ticket which is good for both the Grand Prize and for the door prizes. We really appreciate both your participation and patience and are sure everyone will have a great time.

For the past eight years the JCAA has conducted a survey of angling success vs. effort during our annual fluke tournament. The data gathered has provided valuable insight into the success of anglers in ports from Jersey City to Fortescue. This year we will again conduct the survey but will offer anglers the opportunity to complete the survey on line. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/KJ57R27 or go to the JCAA webpage (http://jcaa.org/) for the link. You will need your boat registration number and can only complete the survey once. When you are finished fishing on June 15 simply go to the site and enter your actual data. All those who fill out the report on line by Thursday, June 14th will be entered into a drawing for a free entry into next year’s tournament. Only surveys done on line will qualify for this additional prize.

Port Prize List
(Subject to final adjustment)

2011 & 2012 Weight Comparisons
(Weight for First 10 spots at each port)

Here are the Winners for 2012
email webmaster@jcaa.org for corrections

1. Jersey City

2. Sandy Hook

3. Shark River Inlet

4. Manasquan River

5. Barnegat Bay

6. Long Beach Island

7. Great Bay

8. Ocean City

9. Cape May

10. Fortescue