The 19th Big Bend Saltwater Classic (BBSC) was held this weekend June 15 - 17 and fishermen from Alligator Point to the Aucilla River participated. There were 954 participants, an increase of over 25 percent from last year’s 710. Over $50,000 was divided among the winners. The proceeds from BBSC benefit the organization for Artificial Reefs (OAR). Last years revenue helped to deploy the Big Bend Saltwater Classic reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Construction of two new reefs, one off Wakulla County and one off Bay County is planned with the proceeds from this year’s event and a third reef, will be refurbished off the coast of Franklin County.
    Shaun Harris of Mexico Beach won big on Sunday. He was the Grand Prize Winner for the Recreational Division by tiebreaker, walking away with a fishing vacation for two to TropicStar, Panama. Harris and Buddy Boyette, both members of Team Marquardt, fishing out of Mexico Beach, each scored 180 points in the competition (Ties are broken by a formula based on the weight of the scored fish in comparison to the average weight of all fish placing in the applicable category.). Harris also won the Big A$$ Fish Award of $1,000, sponsored by Skybox Sports Bar and Grill for his 90 pound amberjack and was the Jackpot winner in the amberjack category for $1,872.50.
    Boyette may have been a little consoled by taking top place in the Recreational Division for speckled trout. Boyette also won the Jackpot for speckled trout.
    Dan Bickerstaff of Panacea set a tournament record for snapper with a 17.4 pound red. Bickerstaff also took first place in the new recreational division for red or black snapper.
    Robin Bailey of Apalachicola took first place for sheepshead in the recreational division, won the Jackpot for flounder and was the Masters Calcutta Winner.
    Team Marquardt from Mexico Beach won first place in the Recreation Team Challenge (RTC) with 710 points, which represented 4 first-place fish, two secondplace fish and two-third place fish. Fishing on the team were Shaun Harris, Tom Marquardt, Ron Martin and Buddy Boyette. Tom Marquardt received an $1,848.00 payout as the Recreational Team Calcutta Winner.
    Team Marquardt triumphed in the face of considerable adversity. Their boat took a direct lightening hit last week and they were forced to scramble for a replacement. “BJ Heard let us use his boat,” said Shaun Harris. “We didn’t have a single fish on the board by the end of the day on Friday and we lost a 35 pound dolphin and a wahoo that was probably 50 pounds.”
    George’s Boys of Apalachicola took first place in the Masters Division with 455 points representing 3 first prizes one second and one third. Clay Bailey was the captain with Otice Amison, Cayle Zingarelli, Buddy Wood and Brandon Martina fishing. “The tournament was a family affair this year,” said Bailey’s sister Robin, also a prizewinner. “My brother and my cousin were both fishing with George’s Boys. We wanted to go out there and honor my dad, George Woods. He died a few moths ago. He taught us all to fish and he built the best rods and reels. We wanted to win for him.”
   
19th Annual Big Bend Saltwater Classic
    Recreation Division
    Leaders
Amberjack
Shaun Harris 90.9 lbs Cam Kirbo 64.4 lbs James Trafton 45.6 lbs Chad Hancock 43.15 lbs Emily Oliver 41.8 lbs
Cobia
Michael Lample 47.1 lbs Rick Corberg 43.9 lbs Ray Edmondson 32.8 lbs John Vatter 26.1 lbs Clark Davis 23.5 lbs
Dolphin
Bert Saunders 29.6 lbs Shaun Harris 26.2 lbs Chris King 24.8 lbs Cam Kirba 24.4 lbs Josh Herrington 23.3 lbs
Flounder
Shaun Chamberlin 5.5 lbs Adam Burns 4.4 lbs Will Rey 4.2 lbs Lamar Monroe 4.1 lbs Matthew Mayo 3.7 lbs
Gafftopsail
Bob Hoelzle 7.6 lbs Buddy Boyette 7.2 lbs Marilyn Lawhon 6.9 lbs Shaun Chamberlin 6.8 lbs Robin Bailey 6.7 lbs
Grouper
Bruce Schaffer 43.6 lbs Glen Paramore 35.4 lbs Donnie Causey 27.9 lbs Van Phillips 24.9 lbs Ricky Adkins 23.4 lbs
Kingfish
Greg Morgan 44.5 lbs William McKendree 31.1 lbs Thomas Starling 31.1 lbs Marc Trousdell 31.1 lbs John Black 29.9 lbs
Sheepshead
Robin Bailey 4.6 lbs George Kelley 3.5 lbs James Moore 2.6 lbs Cameron Reed 2.5 lbs
Snapper
Dan Bickerstaff 17.4 lbs Ron Martin 14.3 lbs Chaz Oliver 14.1 lbs John Aspinwall 14.0 lbs Brian Zettle 13.7 lbs
Spanish Mackerel
Dustin Lord 6.55 lbs Norm Gempel 6.2 lbs Alex Cortinas 5.8 lbs Katie Strickland 5.5 lbs Randy Trousdell 5.4 lbs
Speckled Trout
Buddy Boyette 5.4 lbs Mitch Drake 5.0 lbs Deborah Louklear 4.8 lbs Eric Keyser 4.5 lbs Brandon Fewox 4.4 lbs
Wahoo
Russell Miller 47.7 lbs Dave Moss 42.0 lbs Dan Bickerstaff 38.8 lbs Chad Gainey 38.5 lbs Emily Oliver 37.1 lbs
   
Recreation Grand Prize Winner
Shaun Harris 180 Points Buddy Boyette 180 Points Dan Bickerstaff 175 Points Robin Bailey 163 Points Cam Kirbo 143 Points Emily Oliver 102 Points

Jackpot Winners
Amberjack
Shaun Harris $1,872.50
Cobia
Michael Lample $1,750.00
Dolphin
Bert Saunders $2,295.00
Flounder
Shaun Chamberlin $752.00
Gafftopsail
Bob Hoelzle $945.00
Grouper
Glen Paramore $2,117.50
Kingfish
Zach Ferrell $5,215.00
Sheepshead
Robin Bailey $262.50
Snapper
Ron Martin $1,610.00
Spanish Mackerel
Norm Gempel $1,855.00
Speckled Trout
Buddy Boyette $1,540.00
Wahoo
Dave Moss $1,365.00
    Skybox Big A$$ Fish
    Winner
Shaun Harris $1,000.00
   

Recreation Team Challenge
Amberjack
Team Marquardts 90.9 lbs
Cobia
Barnicle Bills 43.9 lbs
Dolphin
McFish 29.6 lbs Team Marquardts 26.2 lbs Cook Brothers 5.6 lbs
Flounder
Cook Brothers 2.75 lbs Team Marquardts 2.4 lbs Paul’s Plumbing 1.75 lbs Wefings 1.2 lbs
Gafftopsail
Team Marquardt 7.2 lbs Paul’s Plumbing 6.9 lbs Stege 5.5 lbs Wefings 5.1 lbs Blind Eye Outfitters 5.0 lbs
Grouper
Carrabelle Marina 43.6 lbs Blindeye Outfitters 17.9 lbs Ron Martin 14.8 lbs Wefings 14.2 lbs Cook Brothers 12.9 lbs
King Mackerel
Paul’s Plumbing 20.9 lbs Blindeye Outfitters 18.1 lbs Wefings 17.7 lbs William Dean Homes 17.1 lbs Eyecatcher Signs 16.4 lbs
Spanish Mackerel
Barnacle Bills 5.3 lbs Team Skybox Too 4.6 lbs Carrabelle Palms 4.3 lbs Paul’s Plumbing 4.3 lbs Eyecatcher Signs 3.6 lbs
Speckled Trout
Team Marquardt 5.4 lbs

Masters Division Fish
    Category
Amberjack
George’s Boys 47.0 lbs Koldtogo.com 45.2 lbs Century 39.4 lbs Auburn Boys 37.8 lbs
Dolphin
Century 26.9 lbs Lee Lanau 14.3 lbs
Grouper
George’s Boys 25.1 lbs Kari Lynd 17.4 lbs Just One More $17.3 lbs Koldtogo.com 17.1 lbs Lee Lanau 13.7 lbs
Kingfish
Just One More 48.5 lbs George’s Boys 29.9 lbs Big Fish 23.9 lbs Kari Lynd 20.0 lbs Flooring America 16.5 lbs
Red Snapper
Lee Lanau 15.5 lbs Kari Lynd 12.8 lbs George’s Boys 11.4 lbs Koldtogo.com 9.2 lbs Big Fish 8.8 lbs
Wahoo
George’s Boys 36.5 lbs Lee Lanau 13.8 lbs Pressure Drop 13.0 lbs

Masters Division Rank by Points

George’s Boys 455 Points $5,000.00 Lee Lanau 311 Points $1,487.50 Kari Lynd 223 Points $1,190.00 Koldtogo.com 206 Points $892.50 Just One More 175 Points Century 175 Points Big Fish 126 Points Pressure Drop 75 Points Auburn Boys 63 Points Flooring America 51 Points
   



Junior Division
Black Seabass
Gavin Hoard 1.9 lbs Ty Murray 1.7 lbs Michael Garrison 1.4 lbs Ben Reams 1.3 lbs James Story 1.2 lbs
Flounder
Taylor Munroe 3.35 Ty Murray 2.9 lbs Luke Solomon 2.3 lbs Dillon Maxwell 1.5 lbs Ben Reams 1,4 lbs
Gafftopsail
Luke Solomon 6.3 lbs Karli Woolington 5.6 lbs Cutter Hammond 5.4 lbs Chandler Hammond 5.3 lbs
Grouper
Storm Miller 13.9 lbs Justin Lopeman 10.8 lbs Logan Ketchum 10.3 lbs Gavin Hoard 9.0 lbs Joshua Odom 8.9 lbs
Grunt
Lexie Maile 2.1 lbs Storm Miller 2.0 lbs Michael Garrison 1.8 lbs Ian Eyler 1.8 lbs Matt Hulse 1.6 lbs
Kingfish
Reynold Jones III 21.4 lbs Alex Kadel 21.1 lbs Brad Scarboro 20.5 lbs Joshua Odom 19.2 lbs Eric Snover 16.8 lbs
Spanish Mackerel
Jes Stege 4.4 lbs Michael Garrison 4.2 lbs Trenton Fewox 4.0 lbs Matt Hulse 3.6 lbs Teal Thurman 3.4 lbs
Speckled Trout
Ethan Derwick 4.2 lbs Ezekiel Bryan 3.6 lbs Luke Solomon 3.5 lbs Andrew Johnson 3.1 lbs James Davin 2.6 lbs
Triggerfish
Nic Kadel 2.5 lbs Ben Reams 2.4 lbs Gavin Hoard 2.0 lbs Ty Murray 2.0 lbs Shanna Rodgers 1.9 lbs Reynold Jones III 1.9 lbs
Whiting
William Sundberg Jr. 1.4 lbs Luke Solomon 1.2 lbs Trenton Fewox .7 lbs Tayler Williams .7 lbs Randall Mainer .6 lbs