MBARA tournament set to go

The Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association will have its 14th Annual Kingfish Tournament on Aug. 28. All preparations are complete and the tournament is set to go. It is a one day tournament.

Ron Childs, Tournament Director, said “federal waters have now opened back up for our area, and we are very, very happy to have everything looking perfect.” We had 200 boats last year, and we hope to see that again.”

This tournament is open to the public and is famous for the Captains’ Party on Friday night with a cooking team that prepares over 400 pounds of Louisiana sausage for the captains. The new Miss Kingfish will be there as well to help entertain the captains.  The new Miss Kingfish is Katie Prince of Tallahassee who is completing her MBA at FSU to become a CPA. 

Childs added, “We passed the one million dollar mark this year in funds raised and spent on artificial reefs, and the tournament is our biggest fundraiser.  We have six thousand dollars in prizes for winners in the King Mackerel division, and we have a Spanish mackerel and Wahoo division with cash prizes as well.”

People can pre-register right now at Marquardt’s Marina in Mexico Beach and Half Hitch Tackle and Blue Water Outrigger in Port St. Joe.  

The cost of the entry is only $150 and you can fish as many people on the boat as you wish. More information can be found at the organization’s website at www.mbara.org by clicking  on Kingfish Tournament.