Surfcasters get their weekend next week. The Fred Golofaro Memorial South Shore Fishing Classic runs Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25 along the ocean beaches of Long Island's south shore, with the awards ceremony set for 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Captree State Park.

Entry is $20 per angler, and the tournament is sponsored by Long Island State Parks together with The Fisherman magazine, which runs the event in memory of its longtime editor.

Who the classic honors

Fred Golofaro was a longtime editor at The Fisherman, the Long Island based fishing magazine, where surf fishing was his beat. The memorial classic carries his name onto the beaches he covered, and it doubles as an annual gathering for the south shore's surfcasting regulars at the tail end of the season.

How the tournament works

This is a surf tournament, fished from the sand rather than from boats, over three days when the fall migration puts fish within casting range of the beach. Prizes come in cash and tackle across several categories, led by the three largest striped bass and the three largest bluefish weighed in over the weekend.

There is also a released striped bass category, which rewards anglers who document and release their fish rather than bringing them to the scale. That category reflects where striped bass fishing has gone in recent years, with tight slot limits in place and much of the catch going back into the water by rule.

The weekend wraps up Sunday at Captree State Park at the eastern end of Ocean Parkway in Babylon, where the 12:30 p.m. awards ceremony hands out the cash and gear. The park at the end of the barrier beach has been a hub of south shore fishing, boat and surf alike, for generations.

If you want in

Registration details, rules and boundaries are available from the organizers at 631-321-3510, and The Fisherman carries the tournament announcement. At $20 a head, the classic is priced as a community event rather than a high-stakes derby, and anglers fishing any of the ocean beaches along the south shore during the last full weekend of October can expect company at first light.

The Fred Golofaro Memorial South Shore Fishing Classic runs October 23 to 25, with awards Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Captree State Park.

Sources