Quickly, the Sound kicked up, creating unpleasant conditions that forced many anglers to hail, "lines out!" Day one's score: Connecticut with 14 of the top 20 spots, New York with six, including first and second.Įarly Sunday morning (and final day) saw little change in the standings. All the while, anglers were dodging debris from the storm, often being cut off and losing gear. The sun was heading toward the horizon and bigger blues began bending rods. Finally, a 15.16-pounder surfaced, followed by a 14.98, making the race even tighter. Once again, the leader board changed as the tide began to flood. Slack approached near day's end when another shift of anglers targeted the next flood tide. Fourth through 15th weighed in the 13-pound range and the last five slots were in the 12s. That gradually shifted as a series of 14-pound fish latched onto the top three spots. Most action at this point was in western Long Island Sound. Hope now was to break the trend of catching those 13-plus-pound throwbacks in exchange for the big one. At noon, it was mostly 12- and 13-pounders, the lone 14.32 still sitting on top.įlood tide transitioned to ebb as anglers, once again, headed for the rips. By 11 a.m., the 20-spot leader board logged weights from 14.32 down to 9.14 pounds. Contestants who ventured out early in the tournament hooked into seven- and nine-pound blues, the early leader stretching to 14. As anglers scurried to locate prime bait, plans had to refigure and tactics adjusted. If that was not enough, Atlantic menhaden/bunker seemed to vanish from the scene, all the way from Massachusetts to south Jersey. Occasionally, periods of intermittent calm were interrupted by gusty evening winds topping 20 knots. This created complications for trollers.Īfter a pink sky sunrise, seas gradually increased during prevalent east winds. Much of Long Island Sound became a debris field and, while surfers flocked to Block Island to take advantage of the mounting surf caused by Hurricane Katia, that same surf prevented debris from leaving our Big Pond. Overshadowed by the destruction caused by Tropical Storm Irene and the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, the rescheduled 2011 Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth struggled to get underway. Mitch Staschke of Guilford is no newcomer to winning WICC's Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth.
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