The race for that last fish released was a tricky one, as there were two other teams fighting tarpon as well as Searene when Capt. Sandy called the tournament at 4:50 p.m., right as a severe storm was closing in off the Gulf and another was threatening from the harbor side. Team Reel Shark released their tarpon at 5:01 p.m., but Searene was still out there fighting. It took a lot of going over observer clipboards to determine who that “last fish” winner was, but that’s why observers are so important.
There were 29 boats in the field for this year’s Kids Classic, with 38 anglers under the age of 10 and 70 kids older than 10. Out of the 108 total, 70 were boys and 39 were girls.

There comes a time in many kids’ lives when they have to realize they have to pony up and take on the big fish … to stare that giant silver king in the eye and tell him he’s been bested. We’re hoping a lot of that takes place on Saturday, June 11 during the Gasparilla Island Kids’ Classic, a tournament that has become a well-loved island tradition since 2014.