A thank you from the Captain and few highlights from the tournament:

I would like to thank the 337 registered participants, all the volunteers from Casting For Recovery, the staff from Captain Kayak and last but not least the 90 sponsors who's support made the Eight Annual Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Tournament a tremendous success. Jamaica Bay is always a challenging fishery. The bad weather made it more demanding but this year's 3 days of competition helped over come that challenge. Sunday's afternoon awards dinner and raffle had over 255 present. The highlight of Sunday's awards dinner and raffle was when one of our junior participants James Maloney won the raffle for the Hobie Revolution Kayak. The excitement of James winning continued when the selflessness of a prize winner became contagious. He put his prize up for auction and just made the excitement multiply. Then the generosity of others followed. It was with out a doubt infectious. Again I would like to thank all our sponsor because with out them this tournament would not be possible. Please give those who support this tournament your support when making your purchases.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Jerry

OUR SPONSORS

Guides Choice, Ocean Kayaks, Bill Manning, Legacy Paddlesports, PercisionPak, FireStik, Darby, Lamiglas, Ram Mounts, Montauk Tackle Co, GSI Outdoors, Riverside Cartop Carriers, Tektite, Owner, Yakima, Thundermist Lures, Yak Attack, Malone Auto Rack, Navionics, Scotty Marine, Kayak Kevin, Klip and Go, Heliconia Press, AquaPac, On the Water Magazine, Kayak Fishing Supplies, Skwoosh, New England Kayak Fishing, Abel Reels, G & S Pork Store, National Park Services, Talic, Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corp, Atwell Brothers Tents, Wolfpack, Jac’s Signs & Lettering, Keen Footwear, ESKA, Mashu-Mashu Catering, Aquatexo, Thule, Exofficio, Chilly Willy & Cool Carl, Kayak Fishing Gear, Saltwater Edge, Salty Flyrodders, Yak Gear, Cannon, Kayak Fishing Association of NY, Temple Fork Rods, Backwater Paddles, GoPro Cameras, Aquateko, Finnor Reels, Cascade Creek, Paco's Custom Rods, George Cerruto, Bob Porta Boats, Mike Whalen, Mike McLoughlin, Stohlquist

 

OPEN DIVISION WINNERS

Congratulations to Robert Stueber of Sayville, NY 1st place winner in the Open Division with a Bass of 42 1/2".

Hi Jerry,

I have been fishing the JayBay tourny for the past 6 years, I feel this is a great experience for the fishing, meeting other kayak fisherman, and helping a good cause. Prior to this year my best fish was a 34 inch weakfish taken during the year of monster weaks.  This year’s fish was taken on a red kayak carl tube tipped with a sandworm trolled near Ruffle Bar.  Thanks again for all you work before during and after the event. It is the premier Kayak Fishing event of the year in my opinion.
Bob Stueber
 

Congratulations to Chris Voorhies of Rockaway Park, NY 2nd place winner in the Open Division with a Bass of 40".

Hi Jerry,

I'm a member of Gateway Striper club and have been fishing the Jamaica Bay kayak tournament since it’s inception. The Bay is my home waters so I've been at an advantage over the years.  I've been lucky enough to have placed in the top three for the open division, 6 out of the 8 years (one year we were blown out).  : )
The fish was caught on a 9inch pearl rubber shad and was the only fish landed for me that day.  It was caught in very close proximity to the launch site in a little over 15 feet of water on the incoming tide. Saturday was a more productive day for me, landing 5 fish between 30 to 34 inches.  4 out of the five fish fell to the rubber shad again and one other to a bucktail. The tournament has been a great addition to our area and to the sport.  I appreciate the dedication you and the others involved put forth to pulling off such a fantastic event.
Thanks again,
Chris Voorhies

Congratulations to Adrian Gonzalaz of Andover, NY 3rd place winner in the Open Division with a Bass of 38".

Hi Jerry,

This was my fourth JBay tournament and the event keeps getting better each year.  I'm proud to be a part of this kayak fishing community and raising money for Casting for Recovery.  This year I was able to get into a bunch of good fish on Saturday including a 38 inch bass that was good enough for third place.  I spent most of my time on the North end of the bay with my biggest fish coming on T&W.
Adrian Gonzalez

Congratulations to Marty McMahon of Merrick, NY 3rd place winner in the Open Division with a Bass of 38".

Hi Jerry,

I have had the pleasure of fishing the Casting For Recovery Kayak tournament for the past six years and have enjoyed every one of them.  This amazing tournament is a reflection of the kayak fishing sport - getting bigger and better every year. I saw that the weather looked decent for both Friday and Saturday so I had my mind set on heading towards JFK, snagging some bunker and live-lining.  I found what looked like to be a nice spot on Friday afternoon, set up and found the bunker right away.  I met, fished with and got to hang out with a few exceptional anglers (and great guys) - Mark, Elias and Mike.  The fish were biting on Friday but tough to hook up.  Unfortunately the bunker were scattered on Saturday but when you snagged one and set it out, the bass were inhaling them.  I ended up landing 3 nice bass - 34" to 38" and I was lucky enough to place 3rd with the largest. The awards ceremony was top notch and it was a pleasure to be a part of raising money for such a worthy cause.  I'm already looking forward to next year and trying to recruit a few more friends to make the event even bigger. Thanks again for hosting and making all of this possible!!!
Marty McMahon

FLY DIVISION WINNERS

Congratulations to Kurt Schwarz of Brooklyn, NY 1st place winner in the Fly Division with a Bass of 30 1/4".

Hi Jerry,

What an amazing tournament this year! I was lucky enough to be able to fish on the first day when the fishing seemed a little easier. After a late launch, do to fish finder problems I headed straight to the south side of the Ruffle Bar.  When I got to the bar there were already boats fishing. T was hard finding bait so most of them left before the fishing started. I was fly fishing with a large green and white Clouser and had managed a few short fish early on. The larger fish started to show up with the bait at  4 o'clock. I hooked 6 fish in about an hour with the last one being the winning fish. With the weigh in getting closer I left them biting and headed back.
I couldn't get anything going on day two but did manage a couple of fish. It was good to fish with some of the guys I have met at the past tournaments. I also wanted to thank you and all the other volunteers for making this tournament so great. I look forward to it every year and I am never disappointed.
Thanks so much,
Kurt Schwarz

Congratulations to Rob Jagde Floral Park, NY 2nd place winner in the Fly Division with a Bass of 25".

Hi Jerry,

This is my third time in the tournament (never caught a striper during the tournament before); I've been kayak fishing since 2007.
I took the striper on a green & pink deceiver / epoxy combo pattern trolling in 2'-3' of water right off one of the first island east of the launch. I used 9wt Orivs Trident rod with fluorocarbon leader.

Thanks for all you do organizing & supporting the tournament. It's a tremendous amount of work. You and everyone else did a fantastic job.
 
Rob

Congratulations to Chuck Mills Greenwich, CT 3rd place winner in the Fly Division with a Bass of 21 1/2".

Hi Jerry,

As always, I had a great time.  You did a great job organizing and arranging this event. I fish out of a Hobie Adventure and caught my fish Saturday morning on the outgoing tide in the channel just east/southeast of Ruffle bar.  The fly was a small (size 4) brown and white clouser minnow. We were marking a lot of fish between about 10' and 20' feet and I had to give the sinking line some time to get down. Despite marking a good number of fish, they weren't particularly cooperative. In total, I caught three fish over two days, including a small blue just off of Ruffle bar, the 21 1/2" striper above and a slightly smaller striper on Saturday evening near the Pumpkin Patch.  Each time I fish the tournament, I discover a new location, and this year was no exception.  Although I did not catch a fish at my "new" spot, I have it marked for next year.  The Jamaica Bay Tournament is a fantastic event - a beautiful location, a great cause, and a great group of people.  I am looking forward to next year.
 
Thanks again for your hard work.  
Chuck

ELECTRIC DIVISION WINNERS

Congratulations to our Electric Division winners:

Bob Simone of Morganville, NY was our 1st place winner of the Electric Division with a Bass of 30" while fishing in a Ocean Big Game w/Bassyak Motor.

Chris Parsons of Cape May, NJ was our 2nd place winner of the Electric Division with a Bass of 28" while fishing in a Ocean Torque.

Mark Zimmerman of Red Hill, Pa was our 3rd place winner of the Electric Division with a Bass of 22" while fishing in a Wilderness Tarpon 120.

JUNIOR DIVISION WINNERS

Congratulations to Dylan Sobina of Huntington Station, NY 1st place winner in the Juniors Division with a Bluefish of 17 1/2".

Hi Jerry,

I spoke to Dylan on what he thought and in his words "it was the most amazing day."  For the last few months, there wasn't a day that would go by that Dylan wouldn't mention the tournament!  He enjoyed not only the fishing, but the camping and comraderie that this event provided. We fished Friday, with no luck.  On Saturday early afternoon, Dylan hooked up with a decent Bass (estimate 35" +-5") north of Ruffle Bar which he fought for about 10-15 min and the line eventually broke!  It was a dreary day after that!  We broke for lunch and decided to take a crack at it for a few hours.  We headed toward Mill Basin Drawbridge and drifted an eel.  He got wacked by something and was left with a cigar
butt!  We turned around and made another pass with a new eel in tow. Then came the bite, Dylan had the patience to wait for the crucial second bite and hooked him good.  After a good fight the chomper was [carefully] landed onto the yak.  It was caught on Live eel with #9 Gamakatsu, mono leader

Thank You,
Kurt W. Sobina

Congratulations to Jake Mieczkowski of Holbrook, NY 2nd place winner in the Junior Division with a Bluefish of 14 1/2".

 

 

 

 

 

 

What some of our other Juniors had to say about the JBay Tournament:

Hi Jerry,

My daughter and I participate in the JBAY tourny and had a great time.  She asked me to send the following to you:
"Hello CaptinKayak! My dad brought me to the Jamaica Bay kayak fishing tournament this year, I entered as one of the juniors. The fishing wasn't the greatest, but I still had a lot of fun! I wanted to thank you for giving the lures you won to the juniors, I will definitely use them! Some of the things I'll be using for hybrid bass as well as saltwater, I'm pretty excited! It was a pleasant surprise when they announced that you were giving the lures to the juniors!

Thank you for your generosity,
Hannah Blevins, LG, WSI, EMTB"

Thank you,
Ed Blevins

Hi Jerry,

Here is a blurb James wrote about the tournament:

"The Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Tournament was epic.  The experience of being on the water is my favorite experience in the world and fishing, even without catching anything, is my second most favorite experience in the world."

Thanks for a great experience.
Happy fishing,

Peter Maloney