Are your saltwater fishing skills savvy enough to net over $400,000 in prizes? Do you enjoy fishing for Cobia, Blackfin Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo and Kingfish? If so, you may want to pay close attention to this next bit of information:
Saltwater Fishing Tournament Details
The Mercury - SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Circuit is getting ready to kick off at the Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach, Florida. The series of saltwater fishing tournaments is open to weekend anglers young and old. The first tournament of the 2012 season is the Saltwater Shootout.
The Saltwater Shootout's festivities are slated to start on May 10 with an opening party at the Pompano Beach Civic Center on Northeast 6th Street. The opening party is being sponsored by the Blue Moon Fish Company of Fort Lauderdale and will run from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. The party will include free, children's fishing clinics but those interested in them will need to RSVP. A silent auction and raffle are also on tap. One of the prizes up for grabs is a sweet SeaVee.
The saltwater fishing tournament itself is expected to start on May 12, 2012. Anglers are asked to be at the Hillsboro Inlet Park that day by 6:30 a.m. A bimini start will follow at 7 a.m. Weigh-in is set to start at 4 p.m. A variety of family friendly, fishing related activities are also planned for the same location. One of the activities is a children's casting contest sponsored by Chaos Rods. The awards ceremony won't be held until May 13, 2012. It is anticipated to take place from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at the Pompano Beach Civic Center.
The cost of entering the Saltwater Shootout is $375 per boat. Anglers that wait to register until after May 3, 2012 may expect to fork over more than that. Registration may be completed online through the Blue Water Movements' website or in person at the bonefish bash on May 3, 2012. The bonefish bash is expected to take place from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Bonefish Mac's Sports Grille on East Sample Road in Lighthouse Point. Additional registration details are available online.
Hillsboro Inlet Fishing Forecast
As of May 1, 2012, surface water temperatures at Pompano Beach were reputedly in the 70s. On the day of the fishing tournament, low tide is expected to occur in Hillsboro Inlet around 8:21 a.m. and high tide is anticipated at 2:29 p.m. For anglers wishing to plot their strategy, a bathymetric map of the area is available for purchase through the Blue Marlin Chronicles' website.
In my opinion, anglers aiming for Cobia may want to consider targeting the areas around navigational markers and buoys as well as thermoclines. Blue runners, tomtate grunts and crabs make excellent live bait choices. Frozen and dead bait chum are also worth considering. I'd also recommend that those planning on adopting a sight fishing strategy bring along a pair of polarized sunglasses and a dark rimmed ball cap.
Other Saltwater Circuit Fishing Tournaments
The next fishing tournament on the saltwater circuit is the Saltwater Slam. It is scheduled to take place June 7 through June 10, 2012 at the Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach, Florida. It is anticipated to be the last fishing tournament before the Saltwater Showdown Championship slated to take place August 2 through August 5, 2012.
Killeen Gonzalez enjoys fishing with her family and has traveled extensively.
More from this contributor:
FLW Fishing Tournament Results Weekend Recap for April 29, 2012
IFA Redfish Tour Presented by Cabela's Heads to Ruskin, Florida
