ANTIGUA & BARBUDA SPORTS FISHING ASSOCIATION

Family favourite Frankie Nunes Jr. Memorial Fishing Tournament and Seafood Festival  drew a huge crowd yesterday to enjoy the excellent food and drink on offer as well as to check out who weighed in with the biggest catch.

Twenty-five boats fought for the day's catch and delivered a total of 62 fish weighing 1,698 3/4 pounds in total and the fresh fish stall continued to do excellent business late into the night.

Champion Boat overall was a close battle. Blue Rapid caught a total of 265 lbs and Vitamin B 244 1/4 pounds, but it was Not Chief Yet, skippered by JD Hall which topped the scales at 278 1/2 lbs and came in as the overall winner. The captain and crew won a trophy and will also have their names engraved on the perpetual trophy. They also won a gift bag from Anjo Insurances.

Champion Boat in the smaller boat section, 25 ft and under, went to El Gringo and Captain David Fuller with a total catch of 151 1/4 lbs.

In the individual categories Kit Hall on Not Chief Yet brought in a 55 lb wahoo which ensured he won largest fish by a male and largest wahoo.  Largest fish by a female was won by Frances Fuller on Blue Rapid with a 55 lb wahoo.

Not Chief Yet also bought in the largest kingfish, with angler Shamel Delabanque catching a 14 3/4 lb fish.  The largest and, in fact, only tuna was bought in by Davide De Munare on Puravida.

It was however largest fish caught by a youth, and largest dolphin who gave us the cutest moment, as 4 year old Logan Langlois was victorious. With a bemused expression and more interest in his friends than the prize, Hunter finally posed for the camera.

The party ran late into the evening with excellent seafood, cocktails, the EC$5 bar and of course plenty of toys and face painting for the children.

Now in its fifth year the event was created out of a desire to celebrate the importance of Francis Nunes Jr's  contribution to sport fishing in Antigua and Barbuda and the how the event brings family and friends together. The tag line of Enjoy the Fishing, Enjoy the Lime was certainly delivered for the hundreds of people who came to Nelson's Dockyard to enjoy the event.

Check out the full gallery here. http://www.antiguabarbudasportfishing.com/gallery.php?gallery=95#content and the full results here http://www.antiguanice.com/v2/client.php?id=571&news=4740.

Photo by Kevin Johnson www.kevinjohnsonphotography.com.