The Montauk Grand Slam charity fishing tournament, put on by the Kiwanis Club of East Hampton and the Montauk Friends of Erin, will be held this weekend at Uihlein’s Marina in Montauk.
The popular two-day charity event, now in its 26th year, has commercial, recreational, and party fishing boats competing to reel in and weigh in the largest bluefish, porgy, sea bass, and fluke.
Topping it off on Sunday at 5 p.m., the tournament will also crown Capt. Tom Herlihy as the Fishing Legend of the Year. Herlihy was the longtime skipper of the charter boat Herl’s Girl, a stout 42-foot Bruno and Stillman boat that was berthed at the Star Island Marina. It’s a much-deserved recognition for the well-regarded and humble skipper.
“I’m so grateful that the committee selected Tom to be the legend of the year,” said Henry Uihlein, the owner of Uihlein’s Marina and the longtime host of the tournament. “Tom has been in Montauk for almost his entire life and is so well respected. He’s been a fixture here on the water and deserves this accolade.”
Uihlein, who often helps people on land as well as water, received the Montauk Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year award in 1999. He’s known Herlihy for decades.
“The award is certainly very nice, but I’ve always been someone who never sought any publicity or recognition,” Herlihy said modestly. “I never advertised or called in fishing reports. So, I was very surprised to hear from Henry when he called me with the news.”
Herlihy said that he considered turning down the award, but after talking to some fellow captains like Rob Aaronson and Richard Etzel, both of whom were honored previously, he changed his mind.
“I’m truly honored by it, but Rob, Rick, and some others convinced me to accept it,” he said.
To illustrate his modesty, when asked if he had a photograph he could share for this story, he was stumped. “I really don’t have much, if any, lying around to be honest,” he laughed. “Like I said, I always kept a pretty low profile.”
Joining him at Sunday’s ceremony will be his wife, Shawn, his brother, Gerald, and his son, Brett, who is a detective with the East Hampton Police Department, along with two grandchildren.
“Tom is a true gentleman and very deserving of this honor,” said Capt. Richard Etzel, who is also the head of the Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association.
Etzel, who served as the best man at Herlihy’s wedding, added that “he’s one of the finest fishermen in Montauk and is also the best striped bass fisherman, bar none. He was very helpful to me when I started out and to this very day. I’m really very happy for him.”
Raised in Whitestone, Queens, a stone’s throw away from the Whitestone Bridge, Herlihy’s father loved to fish as time allowed. The family became acquainted with Montauk by spending weekends and a number of summers going fishing. The family ultimately decided to move full time to Montauk in 1969 when Herlihy was 11.
“My dad had a 21-foot Chris-Craft boat, and we used to go everywhere in it, including going over to Block Island for snowshoe flounders and just about everything else,” he recalled. “It was very special to grow up out here.”
Herlihy worked as a dock hand in his youth at various docks and marinas, including the Montauk Marine Basin, and on a number of boats. He honed his craft working for a dozen years as a mate for his uncle, Capt. Dave McMahon, on the charter boat, Marie II, which he ultimately bought in 1984.
“He was everybody’s uncle,” he said, referring to the larger-than-life McMahon, who stood 6 foot 4 and weighed 250 pounds. “It was back when everyone in Montauk knew each other.”
Herlihy did try college for a year, but the lure of Montauk and fishing called him back.
“I guess I realized that I wasn’t cut out for college,” he said. “I just loved to fish and be on the water. It was home to me.”
A year after buying the Marie II in 1984, Herlihy bought the Bruno and named her Herl’s Girl. With his brother, Gerald, who served as his mate for the first 12 years, he put his loyal clientele on the fish until he sold the boat in 2018 and went into semi-retirement.
“I ended up selling it to a guy up in Maine, who took the top off and turned her into a sea scallop day boat,” he said. “I was sad to learn that. It was a shame. She was made for fishing.”
Today, besides playing golf with some of his fellow captains and watching the New York Knicks, Mets, Jets, and Islanders, Herlihy enjoys spending time on his 31-foot RP Downeast-Maine-built boat, also named Herl’s Girl, pinhooking striped bass and other species.
“My son, Brett, actually found it up in New Hampshire and I really love it,” he said of the boat he ties up at Cove Marina in Montauk. “It’s very stable and has a very wide beam. Brett has landed quite a few large bluefin tuna on her too.”
As with previous award winners, the plaque Herlihy will receive on Sunday will be inscribed with the following: “In dedication for their knowledge of the sea, their love of the sport of fishing, and making Montauk the fishing capital of the world.”
“I’m looking forward to Sunday,” he added. “It’ll be nice.”
Going back to the Grand Slam tournament itself, in addition to prizes for adults, 10 kids under the age of 13 will once again have a chance to win a new rod and reel and tackle box as part of the Wayne Clinch Memorial Kids Catch program. It’s wonderful that Carolyn, Clinch’s wife, has kept his memory alive so that kids get hooked on fishing.
Additional details on the tournament can be found at mtkgrandslam.org.
—
Fishing tips, observations, and photographs can be sent to [email protected].