A brawl broke out among fishermen at the posh Montauk Yacht Club after seafarers competing in the annual Montauk Canyon Challenge were disqualified.
After pulling in a winning 343-pound swordfish, members of Fish On — led by Pete Brancaleone of TV’s “Shark Hunters” — were disqualified when he and a member of his crew failed a polygraph and lost out on a chunk of the $200,000 prize.
Tournament organizer David O’Halloran was tackled and knocked down by a family member of one of Brancaleone’s crew, and cops were called when it turned into a full-on brawl.
O’Halloran told us of the late July incident, “There was a lot of pushing and shoving. It was like a schoolyard scene with everybody flailing.”
He explained, “People had too much to drink and when we announced the winners some felt they were wronged. One man knocked me down and the police threatened to use a Taser. Two men were arrested.”
O’Halloran added, “I didn’t realize fishing competitions were this dangerous — normally, we worry about hooks and lines.”