The Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association (GCKFA) annual Spring Fishing Tournament has grown into one of the largest fishing tournaments each year in the Florida Panhandle. It’s open to kayaks, canoes, and paddle craft only, no motors!
The tournament will begin with lines in the water at 6 a.m. Saturday May 7. The scales will be open from 3 to 5 p.m. at Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze. Boundaries are from Mid Bay Bridge in Destin to Fort Morgan, Alabama.
This year will be the sixth event for the GCKFA and it will likely be 3 times bigger than the first tournament that was held in 2006 where forty eight anglers competed.
Nice weather is being forecasted for Saturday, which will be a big change from last year when anglers battled 20 knots of wind and rough seas.
The angler meeting is Friday May 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Hooters on Pensacola Beach. Entry into the event is $50 and you can sign up at the meeting or prior at Hot Spots Bait & Tackle.
Anglers will compete in five different divisions; redfish, speckled trout, flounder, Spanish mackerel, and king mackerel. First, second, and third place prizes will be given for each species.
There will be a grand prize for both the inshore and offshore division. The angler who brings in the largest inshore slam (redfish, trout, flounder) will be awarded a 2010 Hobie Outback. A 2010 Hobie Revolution will go to the angler who catches the largest aggregate of a king and Spanish mackerel.
In addition to some great competition on the water there will be a couple other cool things you’ll surely want to get in on. There will be a reverse raffle for a Hobie Mirage Pro Angler at the weigh-in on Saturday. You do not need to be entered in the tournament to enter the raffle and only 300 tickets will be sold at $10 each.
Friday night at the captains meeting you will get the opportunity to enter the “Hot Spots Best Tackle Box” drawing where one angler will walk away with a large assortment of fishing lures. All you have to do is bring a lure to weigh-in to have your name entered into the drawing for a couple buckets full of lures.
More information on the Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association and the Spring Kayak Fishing Tournament can be found at gulfcoastkayakfishing.com.
