Scott Boehm, the unofficial winner of the WICC 600 Spector Eye Care “Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth” said he hasn’t fished in over 10 years.

Last weekend he chartered a fishing boat to go out with his two sons. One of his sons is moving out of state in a couple of weeks, and he wanted to “spend quality time with them,” said Scott Boehm. Boehm was shocked when Tournament Director Jill Dotlo contacted him for a pre-interview conversation prior to the 5pm deadline on Sunday, telling him he was the top contender at that point. Boehm told Dotlo, “I’m a CPA, not someone who is in the limelight!” He continued, “There were a lot of boats out there fishing where we were, with guys wearing bluefish t-shirts, so I figured one of the professional fishermen would win.”

Boehm originally wanted to charter a boat in Port Washington, but the captain of that boat said there were no blues running in that area, and he couldn’t in good conscience take Boehm as a customer. Instead Captain Ron suggested he take them out around Orient Point. Boehm scheduled his charter with Captain Ron over a week ago, and fished Saturday morning (8/29) from 6am to 11am. Boehm spontaneously made the decision to fish the tournament because “It seemed like a fun activity to do with his sons,” he remarked.

However, Boehm wasn’t the only winner in the family. The top fish at 15.99 pounds takes $25,000, but all three family members placed in the tournament. Boehm’s son Sam Siegel placed 11th garnering him $150, and his son Anthony Lopes won the port prize for $100 at Cow Harbor in Northport, NY, where Boehm lives.

Boehm’s son Sam Siegel said “We went out not thinking we were going to win–I don’t get to see my dad and brother a lot and it was just for fun. Dad is someone who likes to do things to make memories with people. He doesn’t like expensive dinners or vacations, but he saw the potential to have a day off where we could all get together and thought it was a good idea and it was awesome. It just goes to show that anyone can enter, and anyone can win!”

Anthony Lopes said, “Dad was so excited about the trip that he wanted to leave Huntington at 3:15am in the morning to get to the boat for a 6am departure. We got there an hour early!” He continued, “We were at the edge of the driveway about to leave, when my brother arrived. We almost left without him!”

Pending a successful polygraph test, Boehm will be $25,000 richer. When asked how he plans on spending the money, Boehm said he has an old minivan with over 160,000 miles and he thought he would replace it.”

Boehm’s sons told him they want to fish the tournament every year now. Their new family tradition!

Results from the tournament can be found at www.bluefishtournament.com