Players put down their clubs and grabbed fishing poles for the annual Bassters Fishing Derby presented by Spectrum Enterprise. The idea for this unique event came about when the tournament organizers saw a player fishing off the island green on the 15th hole. They thought it would be fun and since then the fishing derby has become a permanent fixture on the Island Resort Championship’s weekly schedule.
In its first year, the fishing derby only had 24 players, in teams of two, and this year according to tournament organizer Tony Mancilla, the 36 slots (18 teams) filled up within 15 minutes. He said he added two teams because he “couldn’t say no to the Spaniards, they really wanted to fish.”
There were two flights, the team with the highest total weight of their five best fish in each flight walked away with $500, with the runners-up receiving $250. For the players that hooked the biggest fish, they took home $100.
This year’s winners, Carlie Carr, a repeat winner in the Bassters Fishing Derby, and Stephanie Na were on the winning team in the first flight, and rookies Karolina Vlckova and Matilda Castren took home the prize for the second flight. Britney Yada and Christine Song reeled the biggest fish and $100.
While the golfers' skills and experience fishing varied, they all seemed to enjoy their day on the pond.
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