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KEY WEST, Fla. (July 20, 2005) – Two boys and two girls from Florida, South Carolina and Massachusetts, were the top divisional winners in the third annual Mercury/IGFA (International Game Fish Association) Junior Angler World Championship, an all release tournament held in the fishing waters surrounding the lower Florida Keys.
Among a field of 33 youngsters, Josh Shevlin, 10, Bay Harbor Island , Fla. , was the tournament's overall top scoring angler with 353 points fishing in the smallfry boys division. Other divisional winners included Daniel Grafton , 11, Wareham, Mass., who led the junior boys with 332 points; Kate Freeman , 16, Charleston, S.C. with162 points in the junior girls and Cailin Reckwerdt , 9, Islamorada, Fla. the smallfry girls winner with 66 points.
“They had a blast,” said a smiling Peter Gaube, the IGFA's Jr. Angler tournament director. “ Despite two days of tough weather conditions with winds and rough water from Hurricane Emily in the lower Caribbean , the fishing produced some amazing releases like African pompano, permit, cobia, little tunny and tarpon.”
Gaube said Shevlin was an impressive fisherman with nearly equal scores on each day which included limits of tarpon and other high point valued species.
“He worked well with the two captains he drew and had a game plan of what fish he wanted to go after.”
Tournament officials said a total of 867 fish from 23 species worth five to 25 points each were caught and released.
“Most of them were snappers, barracudas and sharks plus a variety of 320 miscellaneous fish like grunts and porgy worth two points each.
“Sixteen year old Tom Davis of Port Charlotte , Fla. , won the award for the most unusual species caught with a scorpionfish,” said Gaube.
A total of 22 awards were presented including the top three scoring captains. Other activities included a chocolate pie eating contest, casting contests and a pizza party.
As the top scoring anglers in the smallfry and junior divisions, both Shevlin and Grafton will be invited back to next year's championship to defend their titles.
The young anglers, ages five to 16, came from six states and three foreign countries after winning one of 30 IGFA qualifying fishing tournaments held in the U.S. and several countries. Anglers ages five -10 competed in the smallfry division; ages 11-16 in the junior division.
Gaube said the event, which is dedicated to young anglers, has been a resounding success since its inception in 2002.
“The goal of the Mercury/IGFA Junior Angler World Championship and the qualifying tournaments is to encourage youngsters 16 and under to become involved in fishing, and to keep them interested in the sport. Fishing also promotes closer family relationships, plus these young fishermen are the conservationists of tomorrow.”
The anglers were accompanied by a parent and fished in pairs with another junior or small fry angler and a local IGFA selected Florida Keys guide. Circle hooks were used with all live and dead bait.
The young anglers were awarded points depending on species and degree of difficulty. In the five-point category were easier to catch fish including jacks (crevalle), yellowtail snappers, red grouper, mackerel (cero and Spanish) and ladyfish. Ten-point fish included barracuda, dolphin fish, grouper (black and gag), king mackerel and mutton snapper.
Amberjack, cobia and any shark made up fish worth 15 points each. African pompano and little tunny were good for 20 points each and 25 points was awarded for a successful catch and release for each sailfish, permit, tarpon, tuna (yellowfin, blackfin) and wahoo.
There was no minimum length for eligible species, but a maximum of three fish of each species per day can be counted by each contestant. Any other fish are awarded two points each with a maximum of three per species and a minimum of 12 inches in length.
Besides title sponsor Mercury Marine, other sponsors include Boston Whaler, Chevrolet, Shimano, Plano , Double Tree Grand Key Resort, Oceanside Marina, Rapala, King Sailfish Mounts, Key West Bait and Tackle, Reel Life Art and Eagle Claw.
Tournament directors of junior tournaments or adult tournaments with junior divisions are encouraged to contact Gaube at 954-924-4247 for complete details on how to become a qualifying tournament in 2005 for the junior championship in 2006. Parents who fish in tournaments with junior divisions should notify tournament officials of this exciting new opportunity.
The junior championship is the latest addition to the IGFA junior angler program, which recognizes separate world records for boys and girls in over 200 species of salt and freshwater fish. IGFA has members of the Junior Angler Club in over 50 countries.
The junior tournament also mirrors two other world-class fishing championships. They include the six year old Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship in Los Cabos , Mexico , with winning teams from 110 qualifying tournaments from 35 countries around the world. Meanwhile, the five-year-old Rolex/IGFA Inshore Championship is held in Islamorada , Fla. , with competitors who have won one of more than 55 selected tournaments around the world.
Founded in 1939, the IGFA is a not for profit organization committed to the conservation of game fish and promotion of responsible, ethical angling practices through science, education, rule making and record keeping. IGFA members are located in over 125 countries and territories. The IGFA welcomes visitors to its 60,000-sq.ft .interactive Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum.
For further information, contact the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida 33004; phone 954-927-2628, fax: 954-924-4299, website: www.igfa.org . or go to WWW.REELTIMEANGLERS.COM for more information.
Final Results
Mercury/IGFA Junior Angler World Championship
Key West , Florida ; July 17 – 19, 2005
(Angler's name, age, hometown and scoring by divisions)
Angler Division Day 1 Day 2 Total
Josh Shevlin, 10, Bay Harbor Island , Fla. Smallfry Boy 175.00 178.00 353.00
Tyler Smith, 7, Port St. Lucie , Fla. Smallfry Boy 139.00 152.00 291.00
JP Vaughn, 6, Lake Wales , Fla. Smallfry Boy 104.00 131.00 235.00
Tyler Sage, 8, Weston , Fla. , Smallfry Boy 70.00 109.00 179.00
Christopher Kenessey, 8, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Smallfry Boy 93.00 56.00 149.00
Rhett Simpson III, 9, New Bern , N.C. Smallfry Boy 29.00 65.00 94.00
Jose Jaime Ramon, 10, San Juan , Puerto Rico Smallfry Boy 0.00 0.00 0.00
Cailin Reckwerdt, 9, Islamorada , Fla. Smallfry Girl 29.00 37.00 66.00
Christina Gray, 10, Naples , Fla. Smallfry Girl 34.00 19.00 53.00
Daniel Grafton, 11, Wareham , Mass. Junior Boy 152.00 180.00 332.00
Drew Wildish, 11, Kingston , Jamaica Junior Boy 137.00 173.00 310.00
Ryan McVey, 11, Naples , Fla. , Junior Boy 150.00 138.00 288.00
Kyle Wrenn, 14, Cape Coral , Fla. Junior Boy 105.00 167.00 272.00
Jorge A. Gil, 14, Ft. Lauderdale , Fla. Junior Boy 112.00 127.00 239.00
Christopher Sherman, 15, Ft. Lauderdale , Fla. Junior Boy 118.00 117.00 235.00
Robbie Clawges, 15, Pompano Beach , Fla. Junior Boy 106.00 115.00 221.00
Eli Weiss, 14, Sarasota , Fla. Junior Boy 125.00 93.00 218.00
Lance Tippins, 14, Edgewater , Fla. Junior Boy 66.00 130.00 196.00
Tommy Davis, 16, Port Charlotte , Fla. Junior Boy 86.00 109.00 195.00
Jacob Judd, 13, Naples , N.Y. Junior Boy 110.00 79.00 189.00
James Stratton, 14, Weston , Mass. Junior Boy 95.00 80.00 175.00
Nick Cardella, 16, Delray Beach , Fla. , Junior Boy 78.00 93.00 171.00
Kilo Walkin, 14, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Junior Boy 81.00 84.00 165.00
Michael Wortell, 13, Doylestown , Penn. Junior Boy 92.00 69.00 161.00
Jamie Jaxtimer, 13, Hyannis , Mass . Junior Boy 53.00 75.00 128.00
Luis Carnet, 13, Ft. Lauderdale , Fla. Junior Boy 68.00 54.00 122.00
J.L. Lefler, 16, Tequesta , Fla. Junior Boy 42.00 66.00 108.00
Steven Biles, 13, Coral Springs , Fla. Junior Boy 9.00 90.00 99.00
Charlie Lamar, 13, Clearwater , Fla. , Junior Boy 39.00 54.00 93.00
Brandon Fall, 15, Lighthouse Point , Fla. Junior Boy 33.00 37.00 70.00
Christopher Joyner, 15, Boston , Mass. , Junior Boy 6.00 45.00 51.00
Kate Freeman, 16, Charleston , S.C. Junior Girl 64.00 98.00 162.00
Katrina Tomczyk, 16, Boca Raton , Fla. Junior Girl 47.00 91.00 138.00
Lauren Santini, 15, Everett , Mass. Junior Girl 7.00 27.00 34.00
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