The Montauk Classic, sponsored by The Fisherman Magazine and Long Island State Parks, was held this past weekend from September 21 to 23. The tournament featured good fishing along the north side and up front on Friday and into the first part of Saturday night, after which things got kind of picky.
Despite the numbers of fish early on in the contest, two of the striped bass slots were left unfilled, while in the bluefish category, four of the winning fish were in the 8-pound class. Lots of casters complained of having released 10-plus pound blues and I watched many of them do it, along with some high teen bass that would have filled out the bass category, but they neglected to weigh the fish in, figuring there were bigger fish being entered.
%pullstart%Allan Vollmer, a familiar name in Classic circles, beached a 43.8-pound cow, and Billy Fisher of Billfisher Lures put away a 36.10-pounder. Both were caught on Friday night.%pullend%But there were a couple of quality fish taken to settle the striper division. Allan Vollmer, a familiar name in Classic circles, beached a 43.8-pound cow on Friday night, and Billy Fisher of Billfisher Lures put away a 36.10-pounder, also on Friday night. Both fish were caught next to each other at the tip of Shagwong on bunker chunks. Joe Bono came in Sunday morning to claim third place with an 18.30 pounder.
In the bluefish division, Rich Ventiera’s 12.80 pound chopper took the top spot. Dimitrious Kostaf took second with an 8.90-pounder, Mike Byrnes finished third with an 8.60 pounder, Sean Kearney took the fourth spot with an 8.50 pound blue and Larry Carlucci finished the scoring with an 8,40 pounder. Watch for a complete wrap-up on the contest in the feature section of an upcoming issue.
With the Montauk Classic behind us, don’t forget the South Shore Classic which runs from October 19 to 21. Saltwaters Tackle in West Islip will remain open 24/7 for the South Shore Classic, and we were just informed that Captree Bait & Tackle will also remain open throughout the event. Both shops will process entries through Friday night until the 9 a.m. Saturday deadline. For those to the west, Jones Beach Bait Shop will also serve as an entry and weigh station, but will not be open overnight.