Anyone that was signed up for the RI Tog Classic this year spent the week prior to the event doing the same, mundane thing over and over again—checking the marine forecast. With hard west-southwest winds and seas as high as 9 feet predicted for the day of the Classic, much of the fishing was confined to the east-facing shorelines of Narragansett Bay. Some would-be boat anglers even switched to the shore division after seeing the forecast and weighing the pain of steaming from their home marinas to more sheltered waters along the Rhode Island coast.
The impact of the RI Tog Classic was visible all over the bay as boats lined the rocky shores of Jamestown, Narragansett and Aquidneck Island. I spoke to hardcore kayak angler Tom Houde who took third in the Kayak Division and he said, “I had to find somewhere I could tuck out of the wind, luckily I was able to find a few fish in that area.” Other hardcore anglers said the bite was difficult on the day of the classic, with picky fish and rough conditions.
This tournament has incredible reach which probably stems from the fact that it is run in support of such a great cause. The Three Angels Fund is an organization that puts all of the money donated toward helping families deal with the financial and emotional hardships brought on by a cancer diagnosis, meaning you can even feel great about not making the leaderboard because your entry fee is supporting such a worthy and important cause. The fact that the raffle prizes fill an entire banquet room doesn’t hurt either. The 2023 event attracted 598 paid participants, totaling nearly $60,000 in entry fees alone, and those anglers hailed from a staggering 11 states including Hawaii! The event is put on by Crafty One Custom Rods in Portsmouth, RI. Owner Ralph Craft said, “Sadly, cancer touches everyone, I lost both my parents to cancer, it’s an easy cause for just about anyone to get behind.” Between the cause, the camaraderie and the level of competition, paying an entry fee to the RI Tog Classic is a no-brainer.
The big winner was Richard Rajpaul with his 12.14-pounder that narrowly eked out the win over local sharpie Robert Taylor whose second place fish weighed 12.10 pounds. And as if that weren’t enough of a photo finish, third place angler Steven Mattino’s tautog weighed in at 12.08 pounds, meaning the top three fish were separated by just 6 hundredths of a pound…talk about splitting hairs!
In the kayak division Brandon Grills took top honors with a 7-pounder, last year’s Kayak Division winner and Fisherman Magazine contributing writer Justin Oser took second with a 6.02-pounder and Tom Houde took third with a 6-pounder. Local angler Matt Murray won the shore division for the second straight year with a 6.1-pounder, second place went to Heather Low with a 4.04-pounder and Scott Travers secured the third place win with his 2.14-pounder.
The youth division was led by Rhys and Noah Funt, with tog weighing 6.02 and 6 pounds respectively, Nick Boaiani, last year’s second place youth angler, took third this year with a 4.04-pounder. The Team division win went to ‘No Sleep’ boasting a six fish combined weight of 66.46 pounds; led by Capt. Robbie Taylor with anglers, Tommy Lee, Mike Sadowski, Bruce Stout, James Milano and Steve Mattino. The biggest winner of all was, of course, the Three Angels Fund, the final donation tally had not yet been tallied at the time of this writing, but it will be significant and that all comes with a huge thanks to all who participated and made donations through raffles, entry fees and other avenues.
The party alone might have been worth the $100 entry fee which included a full meal including dessert prepared by the onsite staff. When you add to that the camaraderie of great competition, raising money for an amazing cause and fishing, it feels like a home run. Ralph Craft, owner of Crafty One Custom Rods and mastermind behind the event along with his crew are top notch people who put on one the best-run tournaments you’re ever going to find. We’re already counting the days until next year!
