JCAA 27th Annual Fluke Tournament
Recap and Results

The 27th Annual JCAA Fluke Tournament took place on Saturday June 17th. Last year we finally had a pretty nice day after several years of bad weather on our tournament days. During this year’s tournament, the weather started out sunny and remained that way most of the day except for an isolated storm or two. A brisk NW wind that got stronger towards the end of the tournament made drifting difficult but there were still plenty of weigh-ins.

This year we ended up with a total of 122 boats. There were at least three ladies who caught prize winning fish, Dawn Itjen placed 4th in the Shark River Region (Fisherman’s Den) with a 3.67 lb. fluke, Darlene Knott placed 2nd in the Barnegat Bay Region (South Harbor Marina) with a 4.05 lb. fluke and Barbara Hillman placed 7th in Long Beach Island Region (Fisherman’s Headquarters) with a 3.3 lb. fluke. The Southern Region had a heavier 1st place and 7 place fish than both Long Beach Island Region and Barnegat Bay Region. Nice fish in all ports.

In 2022, for the first time since having the doormat fluke category for just $25, Ted Gaydos from Spotswood, NJ caught and weighed in a 12.45 lb. at Sandy Hook Region (Gateway Marina) which won him $50,000. Who said lightning doesn’t strike twice? Well, this year Edward W. Schaefer from Ridgefield, NJ came into the Jersey City Region (Liberty Landing Marina) on his boat Twilight with a fluke that weighed in at 12.415 lb. Edward will be taking home well over $50,000 because he too was in all the calcuttas. There will be a follow-up article with final totals in the Jersey Coast Anglers Newsletter.

The second largest fluke in the tournament weighed in at 9.40 lb. and was caught by Mike Drumm of Fairfield, NJ who won 1st place in the Sandy Hook Region. Other regional winners included Everett Morgan of Neptune, NJ who won the Shark River Region with his 8.71 lb. fluke, Manasquan River Region winner, Joseph Liotto of North Brunswick, NJ with a 7.44 lb. fluke, Barnegat Bay Region winner Paul Warshefski of Waretown, NJ with a 5.25 lb. fluke, Long Beach Island Region winner Ed Lippincott of Columbus, NJ with a 6.50 lb. fluke and Southern Region winner George Slobodjian of Aston, PA with a 6.14 lb. fluke.

In the sea bass category, we had the winner of 2022 Dean Paolella repeat by weighing in a beautiful 3.5 lb. which was slightly smaller than last year’s 4.37 lb. Dean will be taking home both sea bass calcuttas. All the winners from each region can be viewed at this link.

This annual tournament provides funds to help the Jersey Coast Anglers Association continue its fight for sound management of our fisheries and our marine environment while seeking to protect or enhance fishing opportunities for our recreational anglers. We are currently seeking more reasonable regulations for our recreational anglers.

The Resorts Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City is the host for the 27th Annual Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament Awards Ceremony. Resorts invites tournament entrants to come and enjoy their facilities both before and after the awards ceremony. Family and friends are also invited. All who attend are asked to sign up for a Resort card and will be given a choice of $10 in slot play or $25 in match play. Let’s have a nice turnout for our sponsors and host. You can meet JCAA Executive Board members and representatives from our sponsors.

By attending the awards ceremony this is your chance to win the drawing for the $31,000 Godfrey Pontoon Boat, 25 HP Yamaha outboard motor and Load Rite trailer Grand Prize which was donated by NJ Outboards and Yamaha. In fact, most of our Grand Prize winners did not weigh in a qualifying prize fish in the tournament. Someone from your boat must be present to win the Grand Prize and any of the forty or so 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 Resorts Hotel/Casino, NJ Outboards, Yamaha Motors, Load Rite Trailers, Pure Fishing, and Engel Coolers. The $1,200 First Place Region Prizes were sponsored by Fisherman’s Headquarters, in Memory of Dr. Edward Cherry (for LBI), South Harbor Marine (for Barnegat Bay), and Liberty Landing Marina (for Jersey City) and the remaining ports by the JCAA. Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament T-shirts will be on sale as long as supplies last.

The JCAA Fluke Tournament GRAND PRIZE Registration will be at the Resorts Hotel/Casino on Friday evening, June 23rd. Follow the signs to find the registration site. We will be in the Ballroom. Registration is between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. At least one person from your boat must attend at the time of the drawing in order to win a prize. We hope to have a large turnout so please come early. Please bring your identification and receipt from entering the tournament to save yourself time at the registration desk. A cash bar will be open throughout the event. 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. Additionally, we will be holding a huge 50-50 raffle. We really appreciate both your participation and patience and are sure everyone will have a great time. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your support.

JCAA is pleased to announce that we will be holding our Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament from August 3th through August 6th. Complete details and applications will be available at the Awards Ceremony. Those who register during the night of the ceremony can enter for just $100 per boat, a savings of $50 from our regular entry fee.

1. Jersey City

2. Sandy Hook

3. Shark River Inlet

4. Manasquan River

5. Barnegat Bay

6. Long Beach Island

7. Southern Region (Great Bay, Ocean City, Atlantic City, Cape May)

Seabass Category

Dean Paolella (# ##) - Springfield, NJ - #83 - 3.5 lbs, 19.5 in