Tracy Lynn takes First Place for the second week in a row in GIKC

Blaze takes second, again

Tracy Lynn won the annual Gasparilla Island Kids Classic Tarpon Tournament last Saturday, June 7, put on by the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce.

There were 33 fish released. Second place went to Blaze and third place went to Jill Marie. The first release for boys was Paul Wagenseil Jr, and first release for girls was Ava Spurgeon. 

After the fishing was over, anglers, captains, family and friends gathered at the Pink Pony courtyard for awards and ice cream. Every angler that caught a tarpon got a medal. Winners and first fish got prizes, including Turtlebox speakers, reels and Apple headphones.

Amelia Besant, who was on Blaze, sang the national anthem over the radio before the tournament began. She sang the anthem for the tournament last year, but this was her first year fishing in it. 

“It was a really fun experience overall,” she said. “We had some little misfires and I almost fell in. The fish was so strong! The person that was helping me pull it back was like, looking at something else, and I was just like ‘Keep your eyes on the road!’”

Besant’s especially strong tarpon was around 140 pounds, helping Blaze clinch second place. 

Paul Wagenseil, Jr., is the eight-year-old son of Capt. Paul Wagenseil, and he has been fishing since he was only one year old, he said. 

“Normally, I just give out my medals to other people,” Paul Jr, said. “I gave out all my medals to one of my friends because he was supposed to win every single tournament, but I did, and he caught more fish than me. I actually kind of had to.”

This is his fifth year fishing the Kids Classic, he said Saturday evening between trips to the ice cream cart manned by Pink Pony owner Nikki Heimann.

“I’ve already had 29,” he said. “I want to have ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”