Snapper and Crab Derby takes over Captree State Park

Rosaria Luppy can’t wait to bring her twins, Giovanna and Arianna, 15, and her 13-year-old son Nicholas back to the Snapper and Crab Derby at Captree State Park in Bay Shore on Aug. 19.

“It’s great family fun. We look forward to it every year," says Luppy, 50, a yoga instructor from Deer Park who has attended the derby for the past eight years. “We usually meet up with other families there.”

The two-day event will take place 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 19-20, with same-day registration for  kids and teens up to 16 years old. The derby has been run by Captree Fuel, Bait and Tackle, a fishing store near the park, for the past 30 years. 

“It’s a competition, so it’s fun,” says Giovanna Luppy. “I love fishing. I’ve been fishing since I was little.”

This has been a great year for snapper, notes Brenden Rutigliano who took over the Captree bait shop 11 years ago. He continued the derby tradition and added crabs to the competition. “This is actually one of the best years we’ve had so far.”

The general weight range for a classified snapper is between half a pound and 2 pounds. Prizes will be given out for the first, second and third heaviest snappers — also known as baby bluefish — and the heaviest crabs, generally up to 1 pound, in three age categories: 7 and younger, 8 to 12 and 13 to 16.  Award ceremonies take place each day at 2:30 p.m.  

“It’s just a fun day to get kids into fishing,” says Rutigliano, adding that prizes for the derby are fishing rods, hats and T-shirts and winners of the blue claw crab competition will be awarded crab traps in varying sizes..

Last year, about 150 people showed up to compete and before the pandemic, typically about 350 kids competed, Rutigliano says. He hopes this year’s turnout will rebound back to pre-COVID.

Parents, Rutigliano advises, can help their children a little bit, but are encouraged to let the kids do the fishing themselves.

“The shop will help kids, but we’re not going to sit and fish for them,” says Rutigliano, adding, “You can either buy, rent or bring bait, tackle and fishing rods.”

The shop encourages kids to catch and release the fish. “So this way, they can bring it up, weigh it quick and throw it back,” he says.

One week after the snapper and crab competition, Rutigliano will host a Blowfish and Snapper Derby at Jones Beach for kids through his other shop, Jones Beach Bait and Tackle.