JCAA 18th Annual Fluke Tournament Wrap-Up & Port Prize Winners

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association July 2012 Newsletter)

The 18th Annual JCAA Tournament took place on June 9th, 2012. Everyone reported having a terrific time. The Tournament had 400 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 Jersey City. Ocean City had the smallest fish qualifying for a port prize weighing in at 2.63lb. 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 41 qualifying fish over 5 lbs. This year the smallest fish was again was 2.63 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 487.26, less than 5 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.

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, Berkley 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.

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/jcaa2012 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 9 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.

Jersey Coast Anglers Association 18th Annual 2012 Port Prize List

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

Door Prizes Donors for 2012 JCAA Fluke Tournament

West Marine
Great Bay Marina
Fishermen’ Den
Grizz’ Bait and Tackle
Betty & Nick’ Tackle
Effingers Sporting Goods
Ocean Explorer
Fin-Atics
Gulp
Miss Belmar
Penn
Spiderwire
Nor’east Saltwater
On The Water Magazine
Saltwater Sportsmen Seminar
Jim’s Bait and Tackle
Captain Cal
Brielle Bait and Tackle
Fishermen’s Supply Co.
Team American Tackle
Kevin Bogan’s Tackle
Blood Marine Services
Pure Fishing
Shakespeare
Fisherman’s Headquarters
Berkley
Minn Kota
Costa
Interlux
Golden Nugget