Striped Bass Derby 2003
A Great Event!
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The docking facilities at the Striped Bass Restaurant could not have been better. Plenty of room for many boats to come in and weigh their fish. |
Bob Gabrialson Jr. pulls in to weigh his catch. |
| HRFA Director Nils Eckhart measures a nice striped bass. Bruce Halstater records the fish as Carl Hartmann looks on. |
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A great turnout!
198 anglers put up with some pretty challenging weather conditions over the two day event. Rain in the morning of Saturday the 12th. Then it cleared up in to a beautiful day. Some anglers stayed out there overnight with lines in the water. Sunday was supposed to be warm and it turned out to be cold and windy. Whitecaps on the Hudson kept about 50 boats hunkered down on the south side of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Photos below.
Official Results!
Final Standings!
| Place | Name |
Weight Lbs | Length | Day/Time | Released? |
| 1 | Linton, Mark | 25.08 | 38.75 | 4/13-0935 | released |
| 2 | Chudkosky, Walter | 23.94 | 37.50 | 4/12-1209 | released |
| 3 | O'Shea, Jerry | 21.72 | 37.00 | 4/12-1658 | |
| 4 | Rickli, Thomas J. | 18.09 | 34.50 | 4/13-1518 | |
| 5 | Coxon, Michael | 18.04 | 35.00 | 4/13-1626 | |
| 6 | Goyette, Robert | 17.83 | 35.50 | 4/12-1300 | |
| 7 | Martin, Alex | 17.41 | 35.50 | 4/13-1428 | |
| 8 | Pearson, Randy | 16.02 | 35.50 | 4/13-1626 | |
| 9 | Morioka, Akihiro | 15.33 | 33.25 | 4/12-1455 | released |
| 10 | Sokolohorsky, Boris | 14.49 | 32.00 | 4/12-1427 | |
| 11 | McGuire, Jayne | 14.23 | 31.25 | 4/12-1548 | |
| 12 | Malm, Bill | 13.82 | 31.00 | 4/13-1524 | |
| 13 | Drayton, Collette | 13.5 | 32.00 | 4/13-1615 | |
| 14 | Fujitani, Kazunari | 13.3 | 32.00 | 4/12-1455 | released |
| 15 | Gabrielson Jr, Robert | 13.24 | 32.50 | 4/12-1635 | released |
| 16 | Grippo, Don | 12.15 | 31.00 | 4/12-1451 | |
| 17 | Banahan, Mike | 12.05 | 31.00 | 4/12-1541 | |
| 18 | Martin, Chris | 12.04 | 30.25 | 4/13-1054 | |
| 19 | Povella, Joseph | 11.71 | 31.75 | 4/13-1626 | |
| 20 | Frank, Mike | 11.13 | 31.50 | 4/12-1459 | |
| 21 | Yamaguchi, Tsuyoshi | 10.75 | 31.50 | 4/12-1455 | |
| 22 | LaForge, John | 10.24 | 28.25 | 4/13-1658 | released |
| 23 | Nakatsuji, Mitsuru | 9.22 | 28.50 | 4/12-1454 | released |
| 24 | Weglinski, Steve | 9.18 | 28.00 | 4/13-1617 | |
| 25 | Lewis, Noah | 7.83 | 28.75 | 4/12-1516 | released |
| 26 | Rhein, Alecia | 5.37 | 24.00 | 4/13-1700 | released |
| 27 | LaForge, John | 5.01 | 24.00 | 4/12-1700 | released |
| 28 | Knox, Glen | 4.63 | 22.50 | 4/13-1647 | |
| 29 | Knox, Roger | 3.41 | 26.50 | 4/13-1645 | |
| 30 | Boniface, David | 3.36 | 20.00 | 4/13-1658 | released |
| 31 | Weglinski, Walter | 3.23 | 20.50 | 4/13-1616 |
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The Team that made this Derby happen John Vargo "Boating on the Hudson" Janet Irizarry and Steve Cross of the "Striped Bass" restaurant Chas Stamm "Hudson River Fishermen's Association, NJ" |
We wanted to put together a tournament that stressed "Catch and Release" The challenge was how to make it happen. The Hudson River Fishermen's Association put together a team of experienced anglers who specialized in "Catch and Release" fishing techniques. Their ideas and careful handling of the fish made this event a success. The time of the year and the cold water, helped with the fact that every fish brought in to be released, survived. Many fish were released by anglers before bringing them in as the leading fish were announced over marine radios on channel 68 and 88a. This prevented the need to bring a fish in if it were not going to be a contender. |
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HRFA member Fred Rung brought his 26 foot Osprey in from Blairstown NJ to work the event. Fred rigged up a special holding tank for the fish to be released. The tank was fitted with a hose for spraying fresh, aerated Hudson River water over the gills of the fish. This was used to revive them while traveling out to the release area. The system worked perfect! Fred, with the help of HRFA Director Glenn Blank had a 100% survival rate for the two day event. |
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The system was simple. A washdown pump to a hose in a cooler. Next year we hope to have more boats rigged up this way. In the years to come we hope all our anglers will do the same to bring their fish in. |
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The simple live well worked well! |
Click on the Photos ! |
Bye Bye! |
Note the extra "V" Glenn cut in the tail to identify her. |
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That's a $1,000.00 Fish! |
HRFA Director Glenn Blank releases the winning 25 pound Striper! |
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Our goals were to begin a successful "Catch and Release" tournament for striped bass here on the Hudson. We proved it can be done. This was our first year. We learned a lot. Next year will be better. Here are some more photos of the event. |
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| Just click on any photo for a larger image | ||
Photos are available from the HRFA
Some of The Anglers!
Click on the photos for a closer look!
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 Colette! |
 Good Looking Fish! |
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 Is that Bob Jr.? |
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Walt & Grandson |
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John Vargo taking a well deserved break Sunday morning. |
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A nice one comes in to the dock. |
They're Lining up! | ||||||||||||||
More Photos Hi Resolution! |
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The Winners!
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1st Place $1,000.00 Mark Linton HRFA Director Chas Stamm Presents Derby Winner Mark Linton with a check for $1,000.00 for his first place finish in the First Annual Striped Bass Derby Mark's Fish 25.08 Lbs 38 3/4 in. |
2nd Place $500.00 Walter Chudkosky HRFA director Chas Stamm Presents a check for $500.00 to Walter Chudkosky for his second place finish. Walt's Fish 23.94 Lbs 37 1/2 in. |
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3rd Place $250.00 Jerry O'Shea Jerry was not present at the awards ceremony. He has been mailed his 3rd place winning check for $250.00 Jerry's fish 21.72 Lbs 37.00 in. |
The Golden Rod
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Winner of Golden Fishing Rod For Releasing the Largest Fish of the Derby, HRFA Director Chas Stamm presents the custom made "Golden Fishing Rod" to Mark Linton. Mark's Fish 25.08 Lbs 38 3/4 in. Released! to fight again |
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| The Release Team Glenn Blank and Fred Rung |
Record Keeping Chas, Patrice, & Mary Ellen |
The Weigh-in Team Carl Hartman And Nils Eckhart |
The Awards Presentation Chas Stamm |
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We will see you next year! |
Chas <'////><