Members of Merchantville's Fishing Club will join the ranks of anglers targeting striped bass and bluefish from the shores of Long Beach Island as the 65th annual Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic kicks off October 5th. Registration is still open for the nine-week derby – which began in 1955 as the “Striped Bass Derby” and is one of the nation’s oldest and most storied surfcasting tournaments. This event runs through December 8th, and offers thousands of dollars in prizes. Proceeds from the tournament, organized by the LBI Surf Fishing Classic Committee in partnership with the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, go toward event prize distribution, with a portion benefiting local high school scholarships.