Women From 'Other' Ocean City Aim to Steal Fishing Title

A women's fishing team from Ocean City, Maryland, is among the early out-of-state entries in the Ocean City (NJ) Fishing Club's three-day Centennial Surf Fishing Tournament October 17 to 19 — and the team co-captain says they’re coming to the Garden State to win.

"Our plan for this tournament is to fish hard, make a lot of new friends, and expand our fishing horizons," said Donna Gutridge, co-captain of the six-member Team Reel Women. "With us on the way to New Jersey, you boys better look out!"

The tournament, which will include a tackle show, is expected to attract as many as 100 teams competing for cash prizes of up to $20,000. It is one of a series of year-long events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Ocean City Fishing Club (OCFC), the oldest, continuously operating fishing club in the United States.

Gutridge and her co-captain, Anita Chandler, can cite an impressive list of team and individual awards garnered by the group since 1996, when they competed for the first time in a surf fishing tournament. Since then, they have fished tournaments in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina.

“Our proudest accomplishment is our second-place victory among 96 teams in last year’s Mid-Atlantic Surf Tournament,” Gutridge said. They have also placed first in the women’s division of the Mid-Atlantic tourney in 1997-1999, 2002, 2004-2007, and 2009, and they were the top female team in the Virginia Beach Anglers Club in 2006.

Last year, Gutridge won first place in the women’s division at the Delaware Seashore Fall Classic. Co-captain Chandler took first place in the Delaware Seashore Fall Classic in 2007. The other prize-winning Team Reel Women members are Wendy King, Kelsey Cycyk, Kayrell Wilkerson, and Meg Lesocky. Wilkerson, who happens to be Gutridge’s mother, won first place in the women’s division in Delaware in 2007 and 2010.

Mike Hayes, coordinator of OCFC’s tournament, said teams from Virginia Beach are also planning to compete in October.

“We are fielding a lot of inquiries from surf fishing teams outside of New Jersey, and we’re hoping for an exciting East Coast tournament,” he said.

The event will begin with registration and welcoming events on Thursday, October 17, followed by morning and afternoon fishing sessions on Friday, October 18. The tackle show, which will be open to the public, is scheduled for 7 to 9 pm on Friday. Two more fishing sessions will be held on Saturday, October 19, and the tournament will conclude that evening with a banquet and the awarding of prizes and trophies.

For more information about the OCFC’s Centennial Surf Fishing Tournament, go to the club’s website at www.oceancityfishingclub.com or contact the following OCFC members: Mike Hayes, 856-466-9546, mikehayes325@gmail.com; Augie Conte, 609-320-2849, aconte1@aol.com; or Dan Ladik, 856-261-4521, djladik@comcast.net.    

— Story by Patch contributor George Ingram