It was hailed as the largest surf anglers tournament held in the United States, 13,000 anglers would descend into Ocean County on November 24, 2024 for a chance to score a $20,000 bounty on the largest, legal, striped bass which would have to be between 28-31 inches.
It had lots of momentum being pimped out from the Halls of Congress in Washington, to local tackle shops, to even the largest digital and print fishing publications out there.
In the rules we were told it would be 14 days until the winner of $20,000 would be announced. That done after he or she passed a lie detector test and was vetted for a national media blitz tour.
To be a part of it anglers had to pay a $185 entrance fee plus a $50 fee to drive on the beach. If I was participated and the winner has still yet to be announced I would be disappointed, and if I scored a 31 inch fish, then I'd be pissed.
This morning I visited the NJ SAT FEST website to see if in fact I had missed the announcement of the winner with the check and trophy presentation. Again, we're talking big boy stuff here. Lots of people's hard earned money and time. Those could be fighting words.
What was different then what I found for the December 9 post, HERE, was that at least back then the website said "Photos and Videos of the 2024 NJ SAT FEST COMING SOON!"
It has now been nearly two months since the day of the tournament. I don't know the organizers but I do know lots of journalists, politicians, and business owners who talked this up and even encouraged people to participate. No follow up. No investigative journalism. Nothing.