Fire Island Striper Fishing- Islip Fire Department Annual Striped Bass Contest

We fished the Islip Fire Department Annual Striped Bass contest this past weekend (10/8/11). I had the usual crew aboard and we had some BEAUTIFUL weather for the entire day. The striper fishing was far from hot but there were enough fish around to settle the top 10 spots. One of which I was fortunate enough to grab with a small 16.60 lb striper. That fish was good enough for 10th place. They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while right ??

My 16.60lb MONSTER at the Scale

We took advantage of the large amount of bunker that has invaded the Fire Island Inlet and Great South Bay by loading up the livewell with plenty of live baits. As it turned out, that was to be the easy part as we fished them over plenty of my favorite pieces but were only able to find two fish the entire day. My buddy Dennis had a fish right on the line but figuring it would not place the fish was released. It would not have made the board so good move by Dennis on that one.

This About Sums Up How Good the Fishing Was

Speaking with some of my fellow anglers at the awards dinner I found that we had a lot better luck than a lot of folks. Turns out there were only 14 fish that met the qualifying size limit weighed in out of 50+ boats. It was some slow striper fishing despite the massive amounts of bait present the whole day. The bluefish on the other hand made their presence felt at many of the locations we fished. They beat up the baits pretty good.

The winning fish was a sweet 37lb bass followed by a 2nd place 29lb’er. My fishing buddy Bob Highland managed at 22lb fish that took 6th place. His fish also ate a live bunker.

Bob's 22lb Fire Island Striped Bass

The Islip Fire Department does a wonderful job with this contest every year. From the weigh-in to the Dinner/Awards ceremony back at the firehouse, everything is top notch. Plenty of door prizes donated by local tackle shops only adds to the fun. All the proceeds go to a family in need that is selected each year and it always brings you back to earth to hear the reality of life that these families stories bring.

If any of my fellow South Shore fisherman have not tried this contest I’d strongly suggest you add it to your calendar for Columbus Day 2012. You WILL have a great time.

Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook