Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I admit we did not have fish to weigh in.....though, we might have had a shot at it. The issue I need to bring out is the fact that a Single fish was allowed to weigh in for the tourney with no 2nd fish and WIN 2nd place. Props to the angler for catching the 10 lb fluke...it's always an accomplishment to land a fish that large.
The Club, their President and Tourney Committee though screwed up big time. All over the entry forms without ambiguity it clearly states...."Total weight of two fish..." Im not sure how this was allowed to slide. At the captains meeting the president seemed to muddle his words and the written rules of the tourney with verbalizing some word salad... something about a single fish. The written marketing and rules are to be taken as that...Rules to be followed and adhered to.
This is on the RABC Club and other anglers and participants should take note of this actions by them.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but if the tournament rules did not specify a minimum of two fish must be weighed in (which some do) and since the angler/boat is at a competitive disadvantage in weighing in just one fish, I'm not sure there's an issue.
Absent the tournament specifying a "minimum" of two fish must compose the stringer, had they not allowed the one large fish to be weighed in, I think that boat/angler would have had a reason to contest the results.
JMHO

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Line # 9 of the rules. The winner will be determined by the total weight of 2 fish. In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by the earliest weigh in.

I don't think thats gray...just black and white printed on the rule sheet that they wrote.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Agreed!

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Agreed! If it doesn't say it, it's not a rule.

I won Bahr's Shark tourney in 1989. Only fish (166lb Mako) over 125lb. It was 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. $10k, $5k, and $2.5K. I got all $17.5. The Calcutta was a gigantic raffle of about $50k.

People were pissed with that too.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

There should be a clause or wording in the rules that states you the right to PROTEST the winning decision...usually there is a fee -- and pending the outcome you would receive that fee back. The PROTEST is done in writing and needs to be signed / dated.

The tournaments I helped with we always have a Captain's Meeting the night before. One person from the boat crew MUST attend this meeting. All of the rules are announced and covered (verbally and in writing). All questions are answered before the tournament start time. Also we include a form that must be signed and submitted prior to leaving the Captain's Meeting which ensures everyone read the rules and liability release statements.

Joe T.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I’m the president of the Raritan Bay angles club, I like to give my side to why one fish was allowed to be weighed. At the captains meeting, which is mandatory for all captains to attend. When I had the floor and everyone’s attention, there was a question asked . Question was if somebody only gets one keeper all day can that one fish be weighed in? I repeated the question that was asked for everyone to hear. My answer was “it doesn’t really benefit anyone by weighing one fish, be in your best interest to try to weigh 2 , but if that’s all you have to weigh in, I don’t see a problem with it. Yes, you can weigh one fish”. then I asked if anybody had any comments or questions and nobody opposed . so I moved on with the meeting. If one person was opposed, and didn’t think it was fair then the question would’ve been squashed, but nobody spoke up. So the discussion was not held behind closed doors. It was out in the open at the captains meeting. Just asked another captain that was there.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Seems to me there was nothing in the rules that said you must weigh in 2 fish to qualify so if the 1 fish weighed more than someone others 2 fish, the 1 fish wins...

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I think with this proves to us all is how little the fluke are in the ocean now and how lousy the fishery is lol. 🤣

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

The year of the short fluke

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Don...your 'Word Salad' didn't help things. Two fish is two fish. Advertised as such all over the place. Everywhere it says...two fish tournament. How in the heck do you go against all of that...off the cuff? I don't get that. If the 10 lbs single fish wasn't there, I would have tried weighing in my two biggest to compete...

"Determined by total weight of 2 fish (**)"....hmmm

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Did you read what the President posted? Also, most on this board disagree with your interpretation of the rules even if the President had not posted what actually transpired.

Seems like you got something personal going on here.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Anyone have a pic of the 10 lb fluke ?

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Fishing for money. Ruins everything.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Some missing pcs to the puzzle here:
You Posted results below:

My apologies for not getting results up here. We posted across IG and Facebook .

July 13, 2025


Results of the Sandy Hook Bay Anglers 43rd Annual Fluke Tournament:

We had a total of 68 boats for the 2 day tournament. We would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support of our tournament which allows our club to take veterans fishing and support local and state conservation efforts.

1st $3000. Mike Ramirez Matawan, NJ 11lbs. 29 ½”

2nd $1000. Kevin Cole Newton, NJ 10.5 lbs. 31”

3rd $600. Tom Licknack Hightstown, NJ 6.9 lbs. 25 ¼”

4th $350. Beth Golden Middletown, NJ 6.6 lbs. 25 ½”

5th $250. Daryl Peregrin Bushkill, PA 6.4 lbs. 26”

6th free entry Ryan Belusko Coplay, PA 5.6 lbs. 24 ¼”



Beth Golden also won the ladies prize and Kevin Cole won the Saturday largest fish.

Seems like every place was one fish with weight and length? Is that the issue? Did anyone weigh 2 fish and why is 2nd place the issue?

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

It's actually fun! I would rather fish for money than go to AC...lol. At the least you know who the money goes to and the causes championed by clubs are worthy of the effort anglers put into the event.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Bullshit. Money turns everything dirty. I’m all for clubs making the money and making the fishery better but big $$$ and tourneys does nothing to help the sport or the fishery

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

First off: Nothing personal at all against Don. I don't like how he, as president, changed the rules of the tournament amongst the din of the loud crowd at the Moose Lodge. Was it open for discussion? I beg to differ on that description of the situation Thursday night.

If Im the only one voicing their opinion on this subject currently...so be it. It's written in black and white...2 fish weigh in.... It didn't seem to me that that was open to discussion going into the tourney previous to the Captains meeting.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Seen it time and time again.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to speak it. Sorry, I just don’t agree with it from what I have seen posted here. Further trying to make your point either seems like it’s personal or whiny.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Easy solution going forward. Make the tournament rules combined weight determines winners with a maximum of two fish allowed to be weighed in by any one boat. You don't penalize anyone with two nice fish or someone who caught one trophy fish. Problem solved.

At the end of the day, rules should be clear and nothing left to interpretation. Sounds like that wasn't the case so learn from it and move on. And yes, money tournaments bring out the worst in some people, there's been countless examples and *******s will always be *******s.

Hard to believe someone caught a 10 lb. plus and couldn't catch another keeper to pair it with. Yikes!

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Community Fire in Leonardo has the Flukemasters coming up...I think Im gonna get my crew to fish that. They have their tourney well managed....always have.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Look at any bass tournament. Anglers can weigh up to 5 fish, some on the last day may only have one or 2 keepers. They are still eligible to win, and I have seen them win with only one keeper weighted in. No advantage to just weigh in 1 fish, or under the amount allowed.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

No opinion on the rules but I've always thought 2 fish tournaments were far superior to 1 fish tournaments bc 1 big fish can (and usually is) a crapshoot. A pair of 6s/7s/8s is a more likely indication that the captain/crew knows what they're doing, vs a rando DD.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

Reason I agree with 2, 3 or 5 fish tournaments when the regulations allowed. But to not be able to catch another 18" fish, whether it's by angler or boat, is pretty sad where this fishery is at.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I agree with WyldBill. Rules states two fish minimum for weigh in. Tournament should abide by their own rules. Not change rules on the fly. Personally I would protest the decision.

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

I read most of the pb reports and I don't think I've seen a fluke over 5 pounds yet. Here is a tournament getting 10 and 11 pound fluke, how cool is that !

Re: Pissed at Rartan Bay Anglers Tourney
 

It's very cool. I didn't see the fish weighed in at our tourney but I wish I had. 11lbs down to 6 and change...thats quite a few nice fish hauled in. Quite a number of the fish we have been getting are in the 3lb class with a few 4lbers thrown in.