The second of the two surf fishing classic events is now in the books for 2023. Once again, for those of you who didn’t know, the official name of the three-day tournament is the Fred Golofaro Memorial South Shore Classic, which was done after the passing of our senior editor Fred Golofaro in 2021. The event itself was always a personal love of Fred’s, and there was no better honor than to rename it in his honor.
Just like the Montauk event at the end of September, the same new rule format applied to this contest as well. Due to the new slot limit on stripers that changed earlier this year, where the upper end of the slot was cut down from 35 to 31 inches, it was determined that it would not be ideal to host a tournament where the casters were fishing on that small 3-inch slot. We also concluded that it would be more conservation-minded to make the entire striped bass category catch and release in a catch-photo-release format. The bluefish division remained the same as years prior.
Just like I suspected, the bluefish category did not fill in due to the absence of them on the South Shore of the island at the time of the event (the North Shore is loaded with them). Stripers, on the other hand, came through with a decent showing, and the three slots were filled in completely. From my understanding and reports, all the usual spots along the sand were productive in the Moses area, with the typical consistent fishing after dark taking place at Demo and Cedar as well. The leaderboard saw some familiar names that have shown up in the past. Carlos DaCosta took first place with his 41-incher. He was awarded a $1,000 check from State Parks along with a catch-and-release conservation plaque from the Golofaro family, who were also present for the event. Ruben Fournier took second with a 40-1/2-inch striper, which landed him a St. Croix Avid Surf Rod, and Frank Mercurio finished in third with his 39-1/2-incher. He was awarded a Daiwa Saltist Spinning Reel for his catch. The awards were followed by raffles, which were donated by Captree Bait and Tackle, Tsunami, NLBN, BKK, and St. Croix.
I personally wanted to give a big thanks to State Parks and Parks and Recreation for helping to set up and coordinate the event. James Gillmore III was a big help with making sure this one went smoothly. Another big shout-out is definitely in order for Brendan from Captree Bait and Tackle for his overnight availability during the event and for once again being the official event location this year. And, of course, another big thanks goes to all of those who participated in the tournament this year. I don’t have the final number yet, but there were over 200 signups, and after speaking with many of the participants, I know that most put in a lot of effort to come up with that winning fish.
I’m looking forward to doing this one again next year. Also, I would like to field some suggestions and feedback for fine-tuning this new format for the future. If you have any comments, please email me at [email protected].
