The 8th Annual Battle on the Beach pitting student competitors from Lacey Township High School, Barnegat High School, Southern Regional High School and Mates Academy (Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science) of Manahawkin was held on the beach in Barnegat Light on June 1.
While the weather was sunny and warm, it wasn’t actually hot fishing as contest anglers battled through grass in the surf that was left tight to the shoreline at last Wednesday’s high tide.
Students worked hard for the nearly four-hour long event, with each team of 10 anglers getting a 45-minute segment of time at each of four stations between 9th and 12th Streets at the north end of Long Beach Island. When the final horn sounded, the tournament was declared a tie between Southern Regional and Lacey High School with each team getting 16 points.
“Not much action, but a few dogfish and spider crabs were landed late,” said Lacey Township High School team advisor Jeremy Muermann.
“The grass was thick on the lines after they were cast,” said Jason Hoch, the team advisor for the team from Southern Regional High School. “The kids stayed with it and fished right through these conditions.”
Teams compete in a game of inches, where each fish beached is taped out by tournament officials on the spot within each of the four fishing zones. While striped bass are always on the minds of these high school competitors, several different tactics were employed by each team to maximize opportunity, with some team members baiting with bunker chunks, others plugging and a few bucktailing for fluke. With 10 competing on the beach at one time, the 2015 reigning champs from Barnegat also had alternate anglers willing and able to go in at any time, while hanging back on the beach to cut bait and distribute to the starters.
“Even though we finished in second, I am so proud of my kids for doing an outstanding job in the competition as it was a total team effort,” said Barnegat High School advisor Brett Taylor whose squad registered 13 points in this year’s battle, narrowly missing their second consecutive win. “They fished straight for 4 hours, and ending up catching a decent number of fish,” Taylor added, noting that skates and dogfish made up the biggest number of landings though his squad’s Nick DeGennaro did put a fluke onto the sands.
“Congratulations to Lacey and Southern for the first place tie. We will be ready for next year,” he said.
Both Lacey and Southern will have their school names engraved on a perpetual trophy donated by the Village Harbor Fishing Club for the tie, while the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic also donates $500 annually to the winning school as a scholarship (which this year is expected to be split two ways).
Advisors from each of the four schools also praised local tackle shops for their ongoing support, including Creekside Bait and Tackle in Waretown Tony’s Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin, Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom and Surf City Bait and Tackle, in addition to clubs like Village Harbor and the Barnegat Light Heavers.
In addition to the competitive fishing activities, students participating in their respective high school fishing clubs also meet regularly to discuss tactics and conservation issues, go on organized trips aboard local party and charter boats, and host winter fishing clinics and flea markets to raise money for ongoing club activities.