This past weekend 46 teams from My Fishing Cape Cod fished the Cape's beaches in our 4th annual surfcasting tournament!
The tournament began at 6pm on Friday September 27th and continued until 6am on Sunday September 29th. With over $4,400 worth of prizes up for grabs the competition was intense and I knew everyone would be fishing hard.
Weather conditions during this year's tournament were much more pleasant than in previous years, but as the name of the tournament suggests, I think the fishing was a true grind for most teams.
Josh Ezickson with one of the better bass caught during this past weekend's 36hr Grind Surfcasting Tournament.
Based on the intel I gathered, Cape Cod Bay, Outer Cape beaches and southside inlets were slow with only a few small bass caught.
Calvin Toran-Sandlin with a quality bass taken during the tournament.
On the other hand, a few small pockets of 30-38 inch fish were caught in Pleasant Bay and from the boulder fields of Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound.
Joshua Smith and his partner Nick Beltramini experienced one of their best ever striper bites during the tournament with bites on almost every other cast.
One of the better stories from the tournament came from Tony Vuong.
While making a cast Tony's rod snapped in half. He went home to get a new rod, returned to fishing, and on his very next cast caught his personal best striper of 38 inches!
One of the better stories from the tournament came from Tony Vuong. While making a cast Tony's rod snapped in half. He went home to get a new rod, returned to fishing, and on his very next cast caught his personal best striper of 38 inches!
Many of the 46 teams fished all night long Friday and Saturday night. By the time the tournament ended at 6am on Sunday morning they were exhausted.
Nevertheless we had a solid showing at Sandy Neck for the award's meetup!
We had complimentary coffee from the Snowy Owl and we gave away some nice prizes just for showing up. The winning teams also received a grand total of over $4,400 worth of prizes including...
Of course we also announced the winners which were...
1) 110 inches - Marshall Roy and Calvin Toran Sandlin
Marshall Roy and Calvin Toran-Sandlin won this year's tournament with 3 bass totaling 110 inches in length.
2) 105 inches - Piotr Szymanski and Tony Vuong
Piotr Szymanski and Tony Vuong finished in second place with 3 bass totaling 105 inches in length.
3) 101.5 inches - Noah and Josh Ezickson
Noah and Josh Ezickson finished in third place with 3 bass totaling 101.5 inches in length.
Here's the list of the top 10 teams in this year's competition:
- 1110 inches - Calvin Toran-Sandlin and Marshall Roy
- 2105 inches - Piotr Szymanski and Tony Vuong
- 3101.5 inches - Noah and Josh Ezickson
- 493.5 inches - Nick Beltramini and Joshua Smith
- 592 inches - Kyle Lotti and Chase Clarke
- 687.25 inches - Tom Bacis and David Cook
- 786 inches - Greg Flynn and Adam Kostecki
- 885.25 inches - John Zalis and Kyle Rowean
- 984 inches - TIE! Carle Hildreth/Clinton Spaulding and Marc Fadding/Vince Herndon
- 1080 inches - Tom Simpson and Dex Chadsey
We also collected a bunch of used lures and gear that will be given away for free at future MFCC events to anglers under the age of 18.
Along those same lines, MFCC member Carl Johansenn provided packets of "old school" fishing pamphlets and hand tied rigs and homemade lures to a few of the younger anglers in the crowd.
A nice bonus of Sunday's award's meetup was that good fishing was experienced right in front of where we held the event.
About 15 minutes after the event ended, longtime MFCC member Cooper Mark hooked a bonito from the beach!
MFCC member Cooper Mark with a nice bonito he caught right after the award's meetup on Sunday morning!
All my life growing up in this area I have never heard of anyone catching bonito from Sandy Neck until the past couple of years. Things sure do seem to be changing.
Then later on in the morning, Denmark native and MFCC member Mads Christiansen and his friends caught some quality stripers and more bonito in the surf!
Denmark native and MFCC member Mads Christiansen with a nice bass he caught after the award's meetup!
The crew from Denmark came to the meetup hoping to glean a few tips. Catching bass at the event was a nice bonus!
Perhaps catching bonito from shore in Cape Cod Bay will become more of a routine experience in the years to come.
All in all it was an excellent weekend and I'm already looking forward to making the tournament bigger and better in 2025.
In fact, I'm happy to officially announce that in 2025 we'll be hosting a spring edition of The 36 Hour Grind! I will post the date of the tournament as soon as I can so everyone can plan ahead.
Thank you all and tight lines! 
Ryan
Wow! Looks like it was fantastic! I’m bummed I couldnt be there! Congrats to the winners and all who participated! There were some incredible fish caught! Incredible prizes too!
Thank you Ryan! It has been so cool seeing how the tournament has grown from year to year. It has become a tradition that Nick and I look forward to every year. Excited for the next one!
Thanks for setting this up as always Ryan! Fishing was great, had a blast.
Looks like a great tournament. Too bad I had to be off cape that weekend. Looking forward to the spring tournament.
Thanks Ryan for coordinating these tournaments! Made for a great weekend spent chasing bass and making some good memories.
Great event and looking forward to next years it should be even better. Unfortunately I was unable to participate in the tournament, but I was non the less impressed with all of those who did . Peace and Prayers