The First Annual Kids Striper Classic in New Jersey
On Saturday, November 2, fishermen working the waters off Monmouth County, New Jersey, might have noticed that the crews chasing the striper blitzes skewed a little younger than usual. On that morning, the 70 participants of the first annual Kids Striper Classic, presented by Tak Waterman and Sandy Hook Bay Marina, set out in search of striped bass and found the true prize of our fisheries here in the Northeast: the community.
Captain Robbie Radlof, the organizer of the event, is a lifelong angler who began fishing the waters of Raritan Bay and northern New Jersey with his father, George, and now with his two sons, Charlie and Finn. The family’s generational love of fishing is proof that early and positive introductions to the sport can lead to a life’s worth of memories of time spent on the water with family and friends.
Through taking his son, Charlie, and his friends out on the boat, Radlof saw the joy and excitement that fishing brought to the young anglers, especially when they caught stripers. With that, an idea began to form, but didn’t fully take shape until Luke Bollerman of Sandy Hook Marina came to Radlof asking about his thoughts on running a striper tournament out of the marina. Radlof suggested making the event all about the kids, allowing them to compete against each other and, better yet, learn more about fishing and striped bass.
Radlof contacted his friends throughout the striper-fishing community to gauge interest in a kid’s fishing event focused more on good times and having fun than on competition. The response was overwhelming. National fishing companies donated gear for the registration packages, along with items from local shops and lure builders.
The final question was how many kids would sign up. Radlof initially considered capping the event at 50, but with the avalanche of interest, he expanded to 70. Every one of them would receive a registration package that consisted of lures from Tsunami, Hogy, No Live Bait Needed, and UVT Lures, along with a lucky fishing hat from local company YIIIKES and other goodies.
When the day arrived, kids bundled up against a brisk northwest wind and set out on boats and on the beaches. Schools of peanut bunker had brought some hungry stripers into range, so using some of the lures from their registration packages, the kids began to catch. Using the Reel Time app, they could watch leaderboard updates as the morning progressed, seeing friends’ names appear as fish were entered.
Later, at the awards ceremony held at One Willow restaurant, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles gathered to watch as the kids received their prizes. Thanks to the generosity of the tournament sponsors, every child won a raffle prize while enjoying pizza from Gozney and chicken fingers.
During the ceremony, Bollerman asked if anyone had caught their first-ever striper that day, and the hands of 15 newly minted striped bass anglers shot up. Radlof was overwhelmed, grateful for the response from the striper-fishing community and the opportunity to share the excitement of fishing with this new generation of anglers.
Learn more about the Kids Striper Classic and learn of upcoming events by following on Instagram: @kidsstriperclassic
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Source: https://onthewater.com/the-first-annual-kids-striper-classic-in-new-jersey
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