The annual Cape May County Fishing Contest is considered one of the longest continuously running contests of its kind in the U.S.
Entering its 75th year, the county contest was started in 1935 by the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Marketing and promoting the great recreational fishing in Cape May County was one of the major marketing tools used to lure vacationers to the area in the early years.
Freeholder Leonard Desiderio is the official tournament director and oversees the annual event; however, the daily work of the fishing contest is managed at the Department of Tourism.
Cape May County will recognize the 75th Anniversary of the Fishing Tournament with a special certificate that will be sent to all anglers registering a fish in the 2010 contest.
“Over the years residents and visitors have spent countless hours enjoying recreational fishing in Cape May County,” Desiderio said. Thousands of fish have been caught and entered in the contest and each year the top three winners in each category are awarded a tackle prize.”
Fishing is a great family activity and many of our resort communities started as small fishing villages that grew in popularity as more and more people came to the area to fish. Sea Isle City recently designated an area on Park Road as ‘Fish Alley’, this has historically been known by residents and visitors as an area of commercial fishing, seafood restaurants, markets and recreational boating businesses.
The Cape May County Fishing Tournament is a year-long contest held annually that is open to anyone catching one of 30 recognized species of fish in Cape May County waters which include the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay off Cape May County, inland waterways and the bays around the county.
The county contest complies with all state fishing rules and regulations and encourages the release of fish.
Entering the contest is as easy as catching a fish and having it weighed at one of 40 weighmasters located at marinas and tackle shops around the county.
There is no fee and no pre-registration. Entry forms are available at each weigh station location and once the postcard form has been filled out, signed by the fisherman and the weighmaster and mailed within seven days of the catch, the fish is officially entered in the contest.
The contest has a ‘Youth Category’ and recognized anglers 16 years and younger for their catch. Salt and fresh water fish caught from boats, jetties, piers, lakes and surf are all eligible to be recognized in the county contest.
Rules and Regulations as well as other information about the annual contest such as prior year winners can be found on the Tourism Department website at www.thejerseycape.com
Lower Township – Who are these people that are obvious experts on trash cans and leaf pick-up? Maybe they don't have any trash to put out or leaves in their yard!!
