Tamika Peets dangled her fishing rod’s squid-baited hook off the docks at St. Thomas’ IGY American Yacht Harbor Marina Sunday. The 8-year-old could hear the screams of her fellow anglers competing in the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club’s Kid’s Fishing Tournament as they caught fish, yet the nibbles she received just weren’t turning into bites.
Half-way through the morning, tournament director Paul Meyer felt a tug on his shirt. Could he teach her how to fish, Peets asked? No problem! With only two minutes left until lines out and to the cheers of scores of her fellow anglers, Peets reeled in a puffer fish that she proudly brought to the scales manned by the V.I. Department of Planning & Natural Resources Fish & Wildlife.
“I’d like to go fishing again,” she said with a smile.
More than 200 anglers ages 12 years and younger took part in the annual event, according to a rel3ease issued Sunday night by the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club, which hosts the event. The tournament is designed to introduce kids to the love of sport fishing. No one who tried their luck was disappointed.
“I was reeling my line in so I could re-cast it and saw that I had already caught a fish,”
11-year-old Kamryn Redlin said after hooking the first of many puffer fish.
Omari Challenger, 10, caught two puffer fish one right after the other.
“My dad taught me how to wind the line in. It was pretty exciting,” he said.
Robbie Richards, age 7, scored a trio of puffers.
Fish weren’t the only marine life that made it to the scales.
“I caught a crab,” said 10-year-old Jnicia Rubaine. “It grabbed at my bait and I reeled it in. They showed me that it was a female and had eggs, so I threw it back in the water.”
Puffer fish, snapper, grunt, barracuda, blennies and a couple of crabs were among the day’s catch. Junior anglers practiced conservation by keeping their fish in a bucket of seawater until weighed, then released their catch back into the sea.
“The bay here in Red Hook is a mangrove lagoon which serves as a nursery for reef fish,” explained Roy Pemberton, Jr., director of the DPNR’s Division of Fish & Wildlife. “Most of what was caught were juvenile, but we had some adult fish too.”
There was no problem generating excitement for the tournament, said Jackie Brown, unit director of the St. Thomas Boys & Girls Club, who brought 30 young anglers. “I told the children to meet at 7 a.m. and everybody was there before me this morning.”
The overwhelming success of the tournament played out over the young faces as they ate pizza and drank cold drinks. Even though not all participants reeled in a fish or won a prize, everyone did catch a day full of fun.
“We had kids who had never touched a fishing rod before and those who regularly go fishing,” says Meyer. “It was a really great day!”
The first 200 kids to register received free entry, which included a T-shirt, back pack, rod and reel, and pizza for lunch. Prizes included tackle boxes, boogie boards, paddleball sets, gift certificates, cash and much more, awarded in two age groups: Up to 6 years old, and 7-to-12 years old. Sponsored by Island Time Pub, DPNR Fish & Wildlife, Neptune Fishing Supplies, Mixed Bag Sportfishing, Captain Alvin Fishing Charters, Coral World Ocean Park, Budget Marine, Sue Boland, IGY American Yacht Harbor, East End Flower Shop, Diamonds International and Tropic Tours.
More information is available by calling 1-340-775-9144 or sending email to [email protected].
RESULTS
Ages 6 and Younger
Biggest Fish – Top 4
1. D’Mauri Richardson, 508.5 grams
2. D’Mauri Richardson, 317.0 grams
3. D’Mauri Richardson, 316.0 grams
4. D’Mauri Richardson, 276.0 grams
Most Fish – Top 4
1. Trissy Callwood-Turbe, 17
2. D’Mauri Richardson, 12
3. Bobby Petersen, 9*
4. Kaitlin LaPlace, 9
Smallest Fish
Conner Richardson, 9 grams
Ages 7 to 12
Biggest Fish – Top 4
1. Ethan Fernandez, 734.5 grams
2. Victor Samuel, 274.0 grams
3. Victor Samuel, 260.5 grams
Most Fish – Top 4
1. Naya Callwood-Turbe, 11
2. Victor Samuel, 8
3. Kandre Herbert, 7*
4. Matthew Meyers, 7
Smallest Fish
Lucas Hamlin, 15.5 grams
*Tie broken by weight of fish.