8th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament Wrap Up:
The 8th Annual Point Pleasant Beach Elks Kayak Fluke Tournament was held on July 25th 2015. Both relieved and happy that we had great weather and a great turn out!
For me the tournament started back in February when the planning begun. I feel getting everything going early really helped make the tournament run better although the absence of Pat Whooley made it more of a challenge as Paddler still wanted to stay on board as the main sponsor. I would like to sincerely thank John and Wendy at Jersey Paddler for the time and the prizes they donated to support the winners of the tournament this year. Also would love to thank Crhis Mckee for the help on JP’s side and donating the really cool canopy this year. Also on display there was a Jackson Cuda LT, Jackson Kraken, and a Jackson Superfishal which was being raffled off at the awards dinner.
Arriving Friday morning and literally threading a needle backing the camper trailer to its home for the weekend my decision to go fishing since it was a day off work and also beautiful weather.
I went over to Glimmerglass as its an easier drop in with the Big Rig. It was already busy in the river and the inlet. After a few hours fishing and landing only one thirteen inch fluke dealing constant boat wakes was getting old. There were a few other kayak anglers out there and none of them had any fish.
Back at the Elks Lodge getting ready for the captains meeting which was to begin at 7:00 PM. There were a few late entry’s. Some guys showed up to camp. Gary ward and got everyone checked in and entered in the Calcutta’s.
There were some great prizes this year. Including a 65 qt Cooler from Orion Coolers! A nice paddle from Bending Branches some gear from Yak Attack, and a really nice S&S Bucktail prize pack containing 14 bucktails! The only thing I hoped for is that the fishing was to be better than my experience pre-fishing.
A total of 38 anglers were registered and ready for the 5 AM start the next day. Gary Ward Sean Gavin and myself decided to fish in the Manisquan River back by Treasure Island while most were fishing the Atlantic Ocean and Raritan Bay.
We covered alot of water only to catch short fish. They were mostly close to 18″ keeper fish but none were had in the River. We fished from 6am – 3:00 PM. There was a ton of boat traffic and we were rocked around pretty much all day. It was great to get out fishing although Gary and I did not fish in the tournament.
Around 3:30 the anglers started to arrive with the intent to submit their catch photos. It ran pretty smoothly besides forgetting a USB hub so i could use my keyboard mouse and the camera card reader simultaneously. In all the guys who fished at Sandy Hook and out in the ocean did well. Chris Baggott ended up cleaning up again as he did in 2013. He took all of the prizes and calcuttas besides the most unique combined species. See the tournament results and photos here.
The BBQ was great as always and the Elks even had some micro brews on the beer truck this year which was really cool!!
The new date has been set next year for July 23rd 2016! Hope to see everyone there!
A short drive down to the boat ramp we dropped our kayaks in. The river is slightly brackish and is tidal water. It was a really low tide and everywhere I went my paddle bumped the bottom. The Kraken paddles really well. Turning was improved significantly with the addition of the Tru Course Rudder system! The kayak is truly a big water fast and stable boat.
