Posted on May 29, 2019 Enter Manhattan Cup now   Gary Caputi  provided the following press release: The Manhattan Cup Charity Fishing Tournament, presented by Yamaha Outboards, is scheduled for June 7, 2019 at Liberty Landing Marina and the Liberty House Restaurant in Jersey City, NJ. You can support wounded combat veterans by entering to fish in any of several categories, and if you can’t fish, you join us for the awards dinner with these American heroes, guest speakers, celebrities and enter the raffles and auctions. We bring a group of veterans out to fish the tournament in a special Warrior Division aboard boats donated by area charter captains. All are recently returning combat veterans dealing with wounds and PTSD, out for a special day of fishing and appreciation on the waters surrounding Manhattan and at shoreside events. There are several ways you can enjoy the event. You can enter and fish your own boat and team in the Sportsman Division. You can purchase a donated boat for your team to fish with a professional captain. You can enter as an individual and be assigned to a donated boat. You can make a donation toward the purchase of a charter boat for a group or an individual veteran. Or you can simply make a donation or purchase dinner tickets. Got to www.manhattancup.com and sign up, donate or purchase tickets. Not sure, call John DePersenaire at the RFA at 1-888-JOIN RFA; Gary Caputi at 732-740-9982 or Capt. Frank Crescitelli at 917-468-4817 This year the Manhattan Cup will honor Lt. Christopher J. Raguso, of Commack, NY, a true American Hero. Chris, an FDNY Lieutenant cited numerous times for bravery, died in a helicopter crash while deployed in Afghanistan in March of 2018 while piloting a US Air Force Rescue Helicopter tasked with evacuating wounded soldiers in the final battles against ISIS. Chris had deployed multiple times in war zones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.  He lived his life in the service of others and eventually gave his life for his country, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters. Joining us to honor Chris is his father, John Raguso, noted fishing captain and outdoor writer. In addition, the Manhattan Cup will honor Captain Al Ristori with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the dinner, something you certainly do not want to miss. Al has attended more Manhattan Cup tournaments as a member of the media and celebrity angler than anyone and he will be in attendance again this year. If you fish, you can compete in any of three categories; Fly Tackle, Artificial Lures or Bait Fishing. You’ll enjoy an amazing day surrounded by wonderful people, celebrity anglers and chefs, all pitching in to make the event an epic one. It starts with breakfast and a pre-tournament meeting at Liberty Landing Restaurant followed by a day of fishing for striped bass and bluefish.  After fishing, premium cocktails, hot and cold appetizers with arguably the best view of the financial district around.  Following cocktails, fish tales, and networking the Awards Dinner starts. Raffles and auctions commence featuring fishing trips, charters, tackle and much more. All proceeds are used for fisheries conservation efforts and to get combat veterans out fishing. Your entry includes a swag bag filled by our generous sponsors in addition to gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Top Chef Tom Colicchio is making up special box lunches at his Manhattan eatery, ‘WICHCRAFT. Capt Jeff Northrop will be supplying piles of his world-famous Hummock Island Oysters sustainably farm-raised in Connecticut for everyone to enjoy. This is your opportunity to experience an unforgettable day of fishing in the shadow of downtown New York City while helping support the heroes who gave so much to defend our freedoms. To purchase a professional captain and boat for the day or to enter your own boat and team go to www.manhattancup.com or call Capt. Frank Crescitelli at 917-468-4817, Gary Caputi at 732-740-9982 or the RFA Office at 609-294-3810. You can also purchase a boat for a team of combat vet anglers or sponsor a single vet for a donation of just $750. This is an all charity event and is fully tax deductible.  For this one day New York is not just the Financial Capital of the World but will also be the fishing capital of the world.  Please join us in making the Manhattan Cup bigger and better than ever,   I got a shock this morning when  I stepped into the local surf and jumped right back out as it felt like it had dropped 10 degrees overnight after yesterday’s strong south winds. The striped bass must have felt the same way as the only hit on sand fleas produced a 21-incher for Vinny D’Anton. Tommy Cox had been casting his popper before we arrived and also found no interest. Allen Riley found perfect conditions at Sandy Hook, but four hours of working lures only produced a short fluke on a teaser. He noted that the park is officially open, and anglers must arrive 5 and 7 a.m. to get a pass at the entrance for parking at no charge. Only four other anglers were fishing there this morning, The Jamaica from Brielle is fishing daily for sea bass and ling at 7:30 a.m. — and doing very well. Bluefishing is poor, so they have switched the Saturday night trip to ling from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported good bluefishing in the surf and bay on both lures and bait — and most are big. There was a lack of fluke reports from Raritan Bay, but the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands got a good surprise Tuesday when a school of stripers came up and fares with shad lures managed to catch a few. Friday’s forecast is for light northwest winds in the morning which switch to west in the afternoon with a chance of showers.