Kingfish anglers will converge on Jacksonville the week of July 17 for the 37th edition of the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament.
Steve Thompson, Captain of the Sea Snake, will once again serve as tournament chairman. With more than 30 years of experience on the SKA circuit, he brings unique insight to the Jacksonville tournament.
The traditional two-day, Thursday/Friday format returns this year. Each angling boat will be allowed to weigh one fish Thursday and up to two fish Friday. Boats that made a wrong turn on day one still have a fighting chance on day two.
Also returning is the single-engine class, where payouts go to the top 10 largest fish only. This year’s event, unlike last year, will not pay big fish or aggregate.
The wildly popular ladies division will be expanded for 2017 and payouts will go out to the top 10 largest fish caught by ladies. Last year there were more ladies than ever arriving at the weigh scales, and with expanded payouts more are expected this year.
As usual, there will be fun for all the kiddos. Junior anglers will have their own offshore day on the boats on Tuesday, and there will be a juniors dock tournament.
As bonus prizes, there will be treasure chest drawings. Every boat that weighs a fish on Friday will receive a treasure chest key. Lucky keys open one of 10 treasure chests valued at more than $700 each! With donated fish, organizers will also be handing out tickets for $100 drawings.
Again this year, an awesome gas-powered, customized golf cart will be raffled off. This isn’t your grandad’s golf cart; this one has 14-inch offroad tires, a Yamaha gas engine, Bluetooth sound system and lights all around. It is worth more than $9,000, and raffle tickets can be purchased with a $10 donation.
New this year is a traveling angler prize, where one lucky angler from outside of 75 miles of Jacksonville will win cash. This is for the heaviest king outside the perimeter. It’s just another way Jacksonville Marine Charities and the GJKT says thanks for fishing with us.
And let’s not forget the grand prize. Once again, the GJKT is proud to award, for the heaviest kingfish of the tournament, a Contender 22 Sport boat, powered by a 250 hp Yamaha 4 stroke outboard. Sitting on a brand new Trailer, with a custom T-top by Pelagic Fabrications and a custom boat cover made by Mousa’s Auto & Marine trim shop, this prize is valued at more than $86,000 dollars. No one offers a prize value like this, especially for an entry fee of only $345.
On top of all that, there is the seafood festival. Don’t forget to visit Ship2Shore, the tournament’s seafood vendor, and enjoy some fresh cooked seafood.
Make plans now to attend this year’s event. The weather is predictable in July, and big fish are always plentiful. Over the years, several tournament winners have come from within 5 miles of the inlet.