Jack Yee and the Montauk Surfcasters Association
Members of the Montauk Surfcasters Association
and Noreast.com
URGENT, please read:
I have been following your chat room correspondences over this past week. I can't tell you how upsetting and disappointing all the rhetoric and dissension is between the members.
I?ve been surfcasting at Montauk Point for more than 40 years before I retired to Florida. In 1977, I recognized that the State, and Local Governments along with the Commercial Fisherman were going to make it difficult to surfcast at Montauk Point.
For three years I lobbied for my co-anglers to find a way to protect our sport and access to Montauk Point State Park. Unfortunately my fellow fisherman felt that the time spent fighting the politics of fishing would actually lessen their time surfcasting. With that, I could find no supporters for the fight.
After three years, the only angler willing to join me in the fight was Jack Yee! Together, he and I solicited the funding needed to form and organize the Montauk Surfcasters Association.
In 1980, not 1985 as previously reported, I was elected the first president of the Montauk Surfcasters Association. Our mission was the preservation of sport fishing rights at Montauk Point and protection for the fish we all enjoy fishing for.
Jack Yee has been a friend and fellow fisherman for nearly 30 years. Although it could be said that from time to time Jack seems abrasive, it?s only because of his passion for the sport of surf fishing at Montauk Point. I consider Jack?s work as important as my own in forming the MSA.
Although Jack is no longer a member of the MSA, he?s still very active in keeping sport fishing alive and well at Montauk Point. The simple fact that there are a growing number of anglers fishing the point and plenty of fish to catch (for most seasons), demonstrates the success the Montauk Surfcasters Association, Sister Organizations, and private individuals like Jack Yee have brought to Montauk Point. It was never our intention to turn Montauk Point into an exclusive site open only to an elite group of surfcasters.
Jack Yee works very hard to keep fellow fisherman informed during the fishing season. He also works just as hard during the off-season to maintain our excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming year.
Anyone who contributes his or her time to making Surfcasting at Montauk Point both an exhilarating and enjoyable experience is to be commended by all who fish there. Additionally, if someone has the good fortune to make a living doing what he or she loves, then hooray for that person.
Respectfully,
Tony Luca
Former President and Founder
Montauk Surfcasters Association