Junior Anglers Showed Up & Showed Out, Here’s The Run Down:
That’s a wrap on the 4th Annual Big Rock Kids Billfish Tournament presented by Kurtis Chevrolet! Despite inclement weather, 24 boats competed for their share of a $78,475 purse. Ninety junior anglers tallied 23 billfish releases throughout the week, including 8 blue marlin and 13 sailfish.
Due to rough seas, CARTERICAN turned the tournament into a one-day shootout. Captain Lee Smith took his youngest daughter, Baker Smith, and a crew of her four friends offshore. By noon, Baker, Anderson Shatterly, and Savannah Penny had all released sailfish!
At 12:32 PM, the girls hooked up a doubleheader. Georgie Landry released the first of the pair after a quick three-minute fight, and Anderson released the second of the pair, her second sailfish of the day, at 12:37 PM. The excitement continued when, by 12:50 PM, they hooked another doubleheader. Savannah and Anna Kate Salter battled the sails, releasing them both at 12:52 PM! CARTERICAN scored 1,050 points for their 7 sailfish, winning the tournament and $28,600.
REEL DEVELOPER released two blue marlin, with junior angler Tanner Parrish on the rod for one of them. The team claimed second place with 825 points, earning $13,825.
SENSATION shook up the leaderboard with just 7 minutes to spare before lines out, releasing a sailfish to slide into third place. In total, SENSATION released 1 blue marlin and 2 sailfish, winning $6,000 ($5,000 for Level I + $1,000 for the 1st release on Thursday).
CUERVOS competed on Saturday and Sunday, with their sole junior angler, Hamp Kennedy, racking up 4 sailfish releases worth 600 points and $10,755 (Saturday 1st Release: $1,000, Level II 3rd Place: $2,550, Level III Daily Saturday: $7,225).
For the first time in tournament history, one boat clinched the top two prizes in the Dolphin Division, while another boat secured both first and second places in the Wahoo Division.
The Watson sister duo aboard WIDESPREAD made waves in the Dolphin Division. Liza Watson weighed in a winning mahi mahi at 9.4 lbs, while Ella Watson followed closely with a 9.2 lb mahi. Their impressive catches earned their team a total of $9,350 ($5,610 for First Place + $3,740 for Second Place).
HAWGFIN REAPER dominated the Wahoo Division by bringing in the only wahoo of the tournament. Jaxon Litel’s 17.2 lb wahoo and Charlie Nagel’s 13.3 lb catch secured first and second places, earning the team $8,925 ($5,355 + $3,570).
