Pompano Beach, Fla. (May 13, 2019) –The competition was tight and the bite was hot for the 21st Annual Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout on May 11th. 113 boats and over 700 anglers turned out for the record setting tournament. The kickoff party was a blast with a live performance from Mr. Stix & the Spurience and DJ Select hosted the party inside while anglers won great prizes from tournament sponsors on the Spin-to-Win wheel, Blue Moon Fish Company delivered a decadent food experience and Hooter’s kept the free drinks flowing from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Bacardi, Hillbilly Bourbon, Landshark Lager & Seven Daughter’s Wine. The IGFA continued their mission to teach 100,000 kids to fish in 2019 with a classroom full of kids and hands on instruction that included a free fishing rod courtesy of Fish Florida Tag Agency plus a gift certificate for a fishing trip aboard Fish City Pride drift boat in Pompano Beach.
Pre-fishing reports in advance of the Shootout had teams prepared for a hot day of fishing in the first leg of the PBSC summer series. Bryce Statham and his Blue Moon fishing team posted a great catch with 221.4 pounds of fish on board their Mercury powered 34’ SeaVee. They popped the champagne on stage in celebration of the first place win and their $25,336 payday! Pierce Statham was also the top male angler with 127.6 points. Team Digger Rich was the only other team to break the two hundred pound threshold with four kings and four tuna that weighed in at 214.1 pounds to secure the second place spot overall and a check for $10,840. Big fish have a reputation for big payouts in the PBSC tournaments and the 2019 Shootout was no exception. Angela Davis landed a 44.6 pound cobia with her teammates on team Reel Synergy. The cobia turned out to be the heaviest fish of the tournament and the second largest payout with a check for $20,598 to the team.
As the fish continued to hit the scales on the Bass Pro Shops weigh stage, records were bound to be broken. That is exactly what happened when pee wee angler, Daniel Accardi of team Sir’ Reel, weighed his catch that included two huge African Pompano plus three bonito for a total of 115.3 pounds and a new pee wee record in the Shootout! The top junior angler title went to Benjamin Dixion of team Fish Scales with 62.2 pounds. In association with tournament charity, Perry J. Cohen Foundation, and Bass Pro Shops, Benjamin also won the safety first award and received a complete safety kit including an epirb, handheld GPS and other life-saving boating equipment. Melanie Chojnacki, team High Gear, was the top female angler with 128.3 pounds.
The top 5 in the Shootout were rounded out with Slob City in 3rd with 192.4 pounds, Young Guns in 4th with 190.7 pounds and High Gear in 5th with 187.2 pounds. Young Guns was the top SKA team with a 40 pound king and a bonus $1,890. The big king also won them the Angler Armory pound for pound contest and an additional $4,000. The 2019 Shootout touted some impressive stats that included a 100 pound average for the fleet, over 150 pounds weighed in by each of the top 15 teams and over 9,000 pounds of fish in total to hit the scales!
A $200,000 purse made for a great turnout at the awards ceremony hosted by Bonefish Mac’s at the Pompano Beach Civic Center. In honor of Mother’s Day, Bonefish Mac’s presented each mom with a rose and champagne mimosas and they also had the opportunity to win some great prizes in a Mother’s Day raffle. Both the KDW Jackpot and Pick 3 calcuttas did not have a winner at the Shootout, which means they will roll over into the Saltwater Slam on June 8th where the KDW is expected to exceed $30,000 and the Pick 3 will eclipse $50,000!
For a complete list of Saltwater Shootout results, visit: https://www.bluewatermovements.com/tournaments/summer-series/shootout/results/
Next up in the Pompano Beach Saltwater Circuit is the Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Slam. Early registration remains open for the Saltwater Slam until May 23rd at midnight. To register online visit: https://fish.bluewatermovements.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHTMLClient%2f
