Once again, the Greatest Bluefish Tournament is back with tournament dates set for the 26th and 27th of August. Again, the grand prize for the biggest bluefish this year is $25,000. This long time event is the perfect way to round up the summer fishing for the year and no better place than the Long Island Sound with Long Island and Connecticut anglers going up against each other for the biggest gator they can find.
Don’t sweat not coming in first place either because right behind first are several different cash prize positions from second to fifteenth. Second place will get a healthy $7,500 check, followed by third at $2,500, $500 for fourth and fifth and then $200 each for sixth through tenth. Eleventh through fifteenth will receive $150 each – a really nice seafood dinner at least in my eyes.
Also keep in mind the heaviest blue hung on the scale at each weigh station will also nab a $100 port prize, there are 16 port prizes and no contestant may take home more than one prize. Weigh in your fish at one our participating advertisers on Long Island (Blue Water Ventures in Peconic, WeGo Bait & Tackle in Southold, Miller Place Bait & Tackle in Miller Place, Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport, Duffy’s Bait & Tackle in Glenwood Landing, East Coast Fishing Supplies in Little Neck and Jack’s Bait & Tackle in City Island) and your catch may be featured in our reports section. You can also send any tournament pictures to my email [email protected] for potential featuring somewhere in the magazine.
The tournament begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday August 26th and runs through 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 27th. The tournament is confined to the waters of Long Island Sound with the westernmost boundary being the Whitestone Bridge and the easternmost edge being the Colregs Demarcation Line (a line running from Orient Point, New York across Great, Little & Gull Islands, to Race Point on Fishers Island and from the East Point on Fishers Island to Watch Hill Point, Rhode Island which includes Fishers Island Sound). Remember to follow the rules and be honest because if you do place in one of the top three spots, you are subject to a polygraph test before you can get your grand prize check.
Now for the fishing itself, it looks like it’s shaping up to be an excellent event this year. We were swarmed by huge bluefish for the majority of the spring and summer and those blues are still sticking around in the Long Island Sound right now with recent reports of choppers over 16 pounds finding their way into The Fisherman Magazine’s report section weekly. My personal strategy would be to start early and fish the various rips and drop-offs within the Sound with jigs. You might come across a bunker pod and it would be wise to snag a few off the pod and liveline them, trying to entice a hungry blue to take the straggler. Bigger topwater pencil poppers fished around pods might get a take from a big fish as well. And if you really want to get down and dirty, some fresh chunks fished on a 10/0 hook with a wire leader could score you a placing or winning blue.
If you still haven’t signed up you still have time. The cost at this point is $36 for each angler and remember that each individual in your boat has to be entered separately to qualify. You can register online at www.bluefishtournament.com, by calling 203-866-BLUE or in person by visiting any of the participating tackle shops.
