Montauk Surfmasters held their annual banquet at 360 East in Montauk Downs State Park on Saturday, December 3rd. Winners of the Fall Classic were presented with cash and tackle prizes, and the night also featured a mega raffle drawing that sent many of the attendees home with quality tackle items and valuable gift certificates. The raffle included custom rods and rod racks from Rac A Rod as well as a Van Staal Reel. Rich Loetterle was the lucky winner of the Van Staal. Van Staal Field Sales Manager Craig Cantelmo also presented a pair of Van Staal Pliers to Mike Larson for the best striped bass release photo taken during the tournament.
The tournament provided a $2,500 scholarship to a local Montauk youngster and a $1,000 donation to Send A Kid Fishing that was generously matched by Surfmasters committee member Mike Coppola’s company, Path Interactive.
Sponsors of the event included: Van Staal, Rac A Rod, North Bar Lures, Super Strike, Eastern Rodworks, Westlake Marina, Al Goldberg Custom Rods, Law Offices of Michael Larson, P.C., Tactical Anglers, Snug Harbor Motel and Marina, Sabin Metal Corp., Janney, Hamptons RMR and Men At Work Construction Company.
Big stripers were tough to come by on the East End this fall, as they were in many other areas. There was an abundance of schoolies from 24 to 30 inches through much of the fall and then swarms of micro bass ranging anywhere from 10 to 18 inches by late November, but the big fish never did show with a couple of rare exceptions highlighted by Ben “The Kid” McCarron’s 55.14-pound cow caught on October 5th under the light. Even the wetsuit crowd slinging live eels and plugs from distant boulders failed to produce any quality fish, John Bruno’s 37 pounder being one of very few exceptions. Outsize bluefish did keep rods bent through a good part of the fall, but were not eligible in the tournament.
For more information on Montauk Surfmasters and how you can participate in 2017, go to www.montauksurfmasters.com.
Wetsuit Division:
First: John Bruno – 37 pounds – 10/6/16
Wader Division:
First: Ben McCarron – 55.14 pounds – 10/5/16
Second: Larry Welcome – 23 pounds – 9/25/16
Third: Wilan Pilco – 22.30 pounds – 9/29/16
Heaviest Fish September: Larry Welcome – 23 pounds
Heaviest Fish October: Ben McCarron – 55.14 pounds
Womens Division:
First: Mary Ellen Kane – 19.75 pounds – 9/23/16
Second: Mary Ellen Kane – 16.74 pounds – 10/31/16
Third: Christine Schnell – 8.88 pounds – 10/15/16