The first Reelin’ for Research tournament was held in 2009 in memory of Tony Montana who passed away from cancer in 2005. Tony was blessed to live a long and full life, but remarked during his battle that children with cancer were too often deprived of that chance. Tony’s son Richard, along with a group of his friends, decided to honor Tony’s memory by doing something to try to change that. Tony was an avid fisherman and shared that love with his son throughout his life. So when that small group of friends asked themselves “what would Tony want”, a fishing tournament benefiting childhood cancer research was the clear answer. And thus was born Reeliin’ for Research.

Today roughly 60 boats compete making Reelin’ for Research one of the largest offshore fishing tournaments on the East Coast. Attracting over 600 attendees, the weekend consists of a welcome party Friday evening, followed by an action-packed weigh-in Saturday afternoon, and wraps up with an awards dinner and celebration Saturday evening. The festivities include live music, great food, raffles and a silent auction.

To date the tournament has raised almost two million dollars for childhood cancer research!