Hundreds Turn Out for the 6th Annual Wakulla Children's Fishing Tournament

Outdoors

Written by Publisher, Wakulla.com Thursday, 09 June 2005 20:39

Hundreds Turn Out for the 6th Annual
Wakulla Children's Fishing Tournament

In spite of bad weather, approximately 400 kids came out for the 6th annual Wakulla Children's Fishing Tournament. According to organizer Captain Larry Massa of the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office, "The day was a huge success. Between the kids and their parents, there must have been about a thousand people who were in attendance throughout the day. We were very well pleased at how the day turned out."

Participants were allowed to fish up until 12:00 noon, either on their own or on one of the boats provided by the Fishing Tournament committee. Kids could fish in either fresh or salt water. Weigh-in begin at 12:00 noon at Wooley Park in Pancea, Florida, and continued until 2:30 p.m.

Trying to catch the big one!


A great catch!		Baiting the hook.

Weighing in the catch.		A job well done!


Casey Skyler and Captain Larry Massa		Could this be a winner?

There were many activities to entertain the participants throughout the day, including a bouncer and a slip-and-slide, and all participants received a free hot-dog lunch. "We served over 600 hot dogs!" said Captain Massa. There were also informational booths set up for the kids and their parents to visit throughout the afternoon, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the Epilepsy Association of the Big Bend, who gave out free bike helmets to registered participants. Local teen band "RadioActiveMaterial" (RAM) kept the crowds entertained all afternoon with their unique mix of music, playing everything from the Beatles to the Cars.


Having fun in the bouncer!		Waiting in line for the slip-in-slide!


Giving away free bike helmets.		The hot-dog booth was very popular!

RadioActiveMaterial (RAM) entertaining the crowds!

Door prizes were given out throughout the festivities, and the winners took home such items as rods and reels, tackle boxes, and many other items donated by local area merchants. Nicole Pandolfi, the grand prize winner, received a Family 4-Pack to Wild Adventures Fun Park in Valdosta, Georgia. This included 4 year-round passports, a parking pass, and $100.00 to be spent towards refreshments in the park!

Trophies were presented to the top 3 finishers in each category. The winners in each category were:

Flounder	White Trout	Catfish
1st - Cole Baggett	1st - Richard Reason	1st - Hunter Hutto
2nd - Kevin Gaby	2nd - Chaz Waltman	2nd - Olivia Hutto
3rd - David Register	3rd - Erica Reason	3rd - Brett Metcalf
4th - Tyler Schmidt	4th - Aidan Fox	4th - Daniel Stuart

Spanish Mackeral	Red Fish	Bass
1st - Spencer Sapp	1st - Sarina Gilford	1st - Shay Barwick
2nd - Tanner Plouffel	2nd - Joseph Bill	2nd - Zachary Clark
3rd - Kendall Thomas	3rd - Naomi Gonzales	3rd - Sloan Barwick
4th - Brandon Walker	4th - Brandon Shuman	4th - Brett Clark

Speckled Trout	Panfish
1st - Walker Polanovich	1st - Zachary Robison
2nd - Cole Gowdy	2nd - Dakota Baggett Shelton Griffin
3rd - Nicole Pandolfi Becky Horst	3rd - Taylor Clark
4th - Richard Horst

Congratulations to them all!

"Once again, the day was a complete success, even with the rain," said Captain Massa. "The volunteers did a great job, and we are already looking forward to next year!"

The Wakulla Children's Fishing Tournament would like to thank their many sponsors for helping to make this year's event possible:

Wakulla Bank
Coastal Optimist Club
Wakulla County Parks and Recreation Department
Wakulla County Sheriff's Office
Angelo's Restaurant
Ben Withers, Inc.
Bernie and Carol Sloan
Charles Purvis, A.I.A. Architect
Circle J's Bait and Tackle
Citizen's Bank of Wakulla
CJIS Group, Inc.
Coastal Restaurant
Crawford Lodge 294 F. & A. M.
Crum and Colvin Construction
Crum's Bait and Tackle
David and Pamela Hart
Dentistry by the Sea, Quill Turk D.V.S.
Dr. Gene and Cathy Charbonneau
Easy Mail
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Fish Barn
Flag Credit Union
Freedom Boat Club
Gulf Coast Lumber
Gulf State Bank
Harrison Bail Bonds
Hello Gorgeous Lips
Holiday Campground
www.lisaslisting.com
Mike's Marine Supply
Mineral Springs Seafood and Bait
Movie Gallery
North State Title Services, Inc.
Ochlockonee Bay Realty
Panacea Coastal Construction, Inc.
Panacea Harbor Marina
Posey's Steamroom
Rascal's Auto Sales
RMS Marine Supply, Inc.
In Memory of Ronnie Kilgore
Sea Tow
Sherida Crum, Supervisor of Elections
Shops by the Bay
St. Marks Refuge Association
Tadpole Enterprises
The Landing Restaurant and Motel
Wakulla Fisherman's Association
Wakulla Moose Lodge #2510
Wakulla Rotary Club
Wakulla Shrine Club
Wison Ice Company
Rod Bender's Charters

Special thanks to Steve and Tracie Churchard for contributing photos of the kids fishing for this article! (Specifically photo #'s 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8.)

Written by :

mkwestmark

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Hundreds Turn Out for the 6th Annual Wakulla Children's Fishing Tournament

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