Even a bad day of fishing is a good day, as any angler will tell you.
And so it was June 13 when Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel staged its second annual shoreline fishing tournament on Siesta Key’s beachfront amid rough surf, high temperatures and somewhat uncooperative fish.
But the 26 entrants’ good spirits, positive attitudes and fishing skills prevailed, turning Tunaskin’s Coastline Cast Beach Fishing Tournament into a happy celebration for all. A teenage couple took first prize, while a father-son team won honors for catching the single biggest fish.
Beach shoreline fishing presents a special challenge because “you can’t chase down the fish; you have to get them right on the shore,” Tunaskin marketing director Ben Duval explained.
Live bait, flies and artificial lures were allowed. Cast-netting was prohibited, and all fish had to be caught by hook and line.
Getting fish right on the shore was exactly what Kadyn Mars, 18, and his girlfriend, Hailey MacNeil, 19, both of Cape Coral, did to capture the top prize.
Kadyn, who said he first began fishing “while I was still in diapers” in Missouri, made the winning catches, reeling in a trout and a snook that measured a combined 39 inches, the tournament’s best total.
Kadyn, who is studying to become an electrician, said he plans to invest his winnings, a $750 cash prize. It was the first tournament cash prize of his young life, not counting a trophy he won at age 10 for catching the first fish in a contest.
“It was really tough fishing today, but I got the snook on my second cast when the tide was coming in,” he said.
“I have a huge passion for fishing,” he added.
As for Hailey, she caught a small snapper.
Part of the winning strategy, Kadyn said, was finding a productive spot near the rocks by Beach Access 12. He used live bait to catch the trout and a D.O.A. CAL lure to land the snook.
The prize for the largest single fish, a $250 Tunaskin gift certificate, went to Richard Carey and his stepson, Alex Camillo, who live just over the bridge off Stickney Point Road.
They learned about the event in last month’s Siesta Sand and decided to enter their first tournament.
They employed a different strategy than Kadyn and Hailey, heading first to the north end of Turtle Beach. But the bites came slowly because of strong currents associated with an imminent full moon, Richard said.
As the contest neared its conclusion, they decided to move to the south end of the beach, where they have fished regularly on Sunday mornings for about three years.
Richard was concerned about making the move because only 20 minutes remained in the contest.
“But Alex said it only takes one fish — and we caught it,” he recalled.
Using live bait, they landed a 30-inch snook just before the deadline. It was enough to win the largest-fish prize, though not the biggest snook they have ever caught. That distinction belongs to a 46-inch snook.
The catch also earned them second place overall and a $500 cash prize.
They planned to head straight to the Tunaskin shop, just a short stroll from the awards ceremony at Beach Club.
“We’ll get something for everyone in the family,” Richard said.
Third place and a $250 prize went to the team of Brad Trego and Bill Wursluk of Roswell, Georgia.
The award for the biggest “fun” fish — a jack crevalle, considered by many anglers to be a “trash” fish — went to Jackson Perrin and Hunter Schaller, college roommates from Ocala.
Tunaskin, which also operates a more established tournament on Fort Myers Beach, plans to bring the competition back to Siesta Key next year, Duval said.
The company’s store is located at 5125 Ocean Blvd.
Tunaskin sponsors the tournament, Duval said, because “we like to practice what we preach — people wearing their apparel where it was meant to be worn.”
