Outdoors Column | ‘Fill the Fin’ draws fishing teams wanting to help a good cause
After winning the 5th Annual “Fill the Fin” classic in 2019, angler Peter Smith with teammates Lucas and Stone Dennis of team Double Bounty weren’t going to miss the return of the event for 2020.
“Heath (Daughtry) does an amazing job putting this event together, we love supporting those guys,” Smith said. “I look forward to it every year, not just for the fishing but for the cause it supports.”
The tournament, which benefits Toys for Tots, is a toy drive based around fishing. By the end, a full Yellowfin boat was a sign of a successful event where anglers’ entry fee is a toy for the charity. For Double Bounty, they doubled up with another victory in successive years.
With the tournament taking place on Dec. 5, poor weather limited the teams’ pre-fishing efforts. They still put together a plan to target the variety of species and not go all out for monster fish. The format, which required a nine fish total — three each of snook, redfish and trout each — is more of a grind than single slam tournaments.
“Our goal was nine fish, and then we’d upgrade from there if we could,” Smith explained, saying they wanted to maximize fishing time and didn’t venture far from the Manatee River start. “We went straight to the fish we thought would be easy with redfish and trout. We got the trout done quick, with a 20, 19.5 and 18-inch fish. We also got three redfish by 9:15 a.m.There was a big one at 37.25-inches, one at 28.5 and another at 27. The big one was a random surprise that came at the right time!”
With the water temperatures hovering in the low to mid-60s the team felt that warming of the sun would help the snook bite as the day wore on.
“The first spot we went for snook we got a 37-incher on the first cast!” excitedly said Smith. “We felt pretty good. But then it went kind of dead. We didn’t catch another fish until a p.m. after that.”
With only two hours of fishing time left the team turned their efforts to smaller fish. They found a few on the flats using the sun to warm themselves. They landed two linesiders in the lower 20-inch range, putting them where they wanted to be with nine fish.
“It’s one thing to catch one slam, but to do it three times is tough. We just tried to stay consistent.”
With the pressure off they were able to then upgrade both snook, getting a pair of high 20-inch fish. They ended with a total 243.75 inches, taking first place and the biggest snook and redfish.
Holding the hot rod, Smith’s individual slam of 94.25-inches was also the best for the day. A successful end to a successful event for a great cause with 26 teams donating a boat load of toys for children in need this holiday season.