 gather with the event’s anglers. .jpg)
 gather with the event’s anglers. .jpg)
RiverLife Ministries hosted its third annual youth fishing tournament at Palm Valley Outdoors on Sept. 30.
Twelve boats and 20 teen anglers (ages 15-17) took to the Intracoastal in search of primarily redfish. Trout, flounder, sheepshead and black drum, however, could also put them on the scoreboard. Some teams chose to fish the early morning low tide while other teams focused on the afternoon flood tide, and some fished both tides.
There were five winning categories: bait, artificial, fly rod, overall and largest fish. The total number of legal-sized fish caught were 22 redfish, 11 trout and four flounder.
The team led by Capt. Matt Chipperfield (Chips Coastal Charters) had an exceptional day with six reds and eight trout. Angler Eric Tomaszewski landed a 25-inch trout and his personal best red (27 inches) on topwater. Beginner angler Alex De Almeida also had a great day catching five of their total 14 fish. De Almeida caught his first Red and his first trout. Needless to say, Chipperfield’s team won the overall category and the artificial category bagging three full lure boxes from Strike-Zone Fishing and $100 toward Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
The team led by Capt. James Dumas (Drum Man Charters) also had a great day winning the bait category and just narrowly winning the largest fish category. Anglers Campbell Parker and Andrew Worman caught a total of six red and four flounder, the largest being a 29-inch red caught by Worman. Their winnings included two Penn reels and hats from Strike-Zone and $50 at Ruth’s Chris. Worman won a pair of Costa sunglasses from Oyster Creek Outfitters for the largest fish.
The Fly Division was easily won by Wes Davis guiding angler Chris Hofacker. They scored with an amazing four reds on fly. (They actually caught six but only four were legal size and counted.) Hofacker had been flyfishing for a couple years but had not caught a red on fly prior to tournament day. He was all smiles. They each won a personalized signed redfish print from artist Vaughn Cochran of Blackfly Outfitters, hats from Oyster Creek and $50 at Ruth’s Chris.
In addition to the winning categories, other notable catches were angler Topher Wolf nabbing his first red on fly rod, guided by Gabe Lefebvre. The event saw its first all-girls teams with dad Perry Bechtle guiding his daughter Elizabeth and Isabella Frase. Also, young Jack Heuschkel and his fishing bud Brett Houston, who won big last year, fished in their own boat and although not on the leaderboard this year, caught two reds and one trout.
Much gratitude was extended to the 12 captains who set aside their day, and at their own expense, took the teens fishing: Capt. Matt Chipperfield, Capt. James Dumas, Wes Davis (Wes Davis Photography), Ryan Curley, Capt. Austin Bacon (Loomis Rods), Nick Way (Blackfly Outfitters), Gabe Lefebvre (Blackfly Outfitters), John Mauriello, Gavin Glover (Oyster Creek Outfitters), Luke Blaser (Oyster Creek Outfitters), and Perry Bechtle.
RiverLife Ministries created this tournament to help teens improve their angling skills and to provide positive role modeling in the Ponte Vedra community in a fun and challenging setting. To keep tabs on future events, check out RiverLife Youth Fishing Tournament on Facebook.
Tight lines!
