Charity fishing tournaments in Tampa Bay required lots of skill — and a bit of luck
From inshore to offshore, October brings a variety of fishing tournaments to the Tampa Bay area.
The first full weekend of the month is highlighted by a wide range that involves a lot of skill and some luck as well. Most are for a great cause and look to raise funds for charities benefiting the community.
The Suncoast Ladies Classic took place Oct. 7 and featured a mixture of offshore categories paying out for the heaviest fish in each. The tournament benefited the Ready for Life charity, which is dedicated to helping former foster youth make a transition to adulthood. Each team is hosted by a captain with female anglers bringing in the biggest fish they can.
Captain Stephen Boyle and Team Boylen Point took the crown in the Bottom Master Division with 30.25 pounds. Their catch consisted of the biggest gag grouper at 27.61 pounds and a 2.64-pound scamp grouper.
The main division won $5,000, while the gag grouper won $1,000. The biggest mangrove snapper went to Captain Steve Papen at 5.04 pounds and the biggest scamp grouper went to Team Reel Ladies and Chad Hickman at 11.15 pounds.
Rounding out the bottom fishing categories, the largest red snapper went to Full Spread Fishing at 17.17 pounds and the biggest Hogfish went to Bubbles Up/Offshore Addict at 4.54 pounds.
The Pelagic division was won by Team Mrs. Emily Kae Belle and Captain Emily Kenyon. Their division-winning 32.35-pound wahoo and 28.99-pound kingfish combined to take a total of more than $14,000 in prize money.
The largest tuna would go to team Pelagic Princess and Captain Joe DePhillips at 25.19 pounds.
Back on the inshore flats, Captain Brett Norris took home the crown with his team of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits at the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation fishing tournament over the two-day tournament. Norris and the team beat a field of 60 guided boats during the tournament that raised $362,117 for charity.
His team had the largest redfish, snook and trout slam, with a 38.5-inch snook, 38.5-inch redfish and 20.5-inch trout.
Finally, for the most-fun tournament of the weekend, Sarasota Bay was the launching point for the one-day Sarasota Redfish Spot Tournament.
To win this you need to not only catch a redfish but get a little lucky and photograph the one with the most spots on one side. It’s not about the size, and that was proven by the winners.
Taking home first prize with a five-spot redfish that measured 13 inches, Team Coblentz would win $2,500. It is not their first victory in the tournament. Amazingly, they also won in 2018 with a 10-spot redfish proving luck is on their side.
Second place was a three-spot redfish caught by the Cress Boyz.
The snook calcutta was won by Team Bobber Bandits, measuring three snook that totaled 74 inches. The redfish calcutta was captured by Team Startron with a three-redfish combination of 102.5 inches.
Proceeds for the spot tournament — over $40,000 — benefited the Gator Wilderness Camp School. Thirty-one boats participated.