Local anglers catch the ‘fish of a lifetime’ to win Manatee County fishing tournament

After traveling 260 miles to the southwest at the start of the 40th annual Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament, offshore Team Westbound and Down and captain Terry Calderon were happy to see calmer waters.

They ran for five hours straight, ending up closer to Cuba than Tampa Bay before lines hit the water.

“It was still a little choppy,” said Calderon, who fished with his son, captain Devin Calderon of Chase The Blue Charters, Nolan Marsh, Dylan Spooner and Tristan Nutten. “When we got down there it was nice to see birds and the water looking alive. We started trolling as I started to get some fuel from the bladder transferred over.”

Bringing 110 gallons of gas in barrels and 150 in a fuel bladder to go with 400 in the boat, Calderon said they used more than anticipated due to the rough conditions. Buoys were consistently 3 to 4 feet for the duration of the tournament, which started Friday around noon for offshore teams.

“We hooked a tuna pretty quick. Then we had a Nomad trolling off the back and it was eaten, that’s when I saw something like I’ve never seen before,” Calderon recalled.

“It was a big wahoo. It came out of the water twice and we had a pretty good idea of how big it was. I think it was in that area eating tuna. I had caught a 79-pounder before and that was bigger from what we saw. It was thrashing so much white water.”

Using fairly heavy tackle while trolling, the team was able to get the giant wahoo within their sights after 25 minutes.

“It looked like a freaking torpedo!” said Calderon. “The water was so clear and it was so big. You could tell the girth of it even looking down from the boat. We hit it with two gaffs to bring it in.”

Unsure of its size the crew guessed anywhere from 90 pounds to 120 pounds. They trolled up another wahoo and tuna to get them four quality fish in the box. Needing six for the tournament, they set up to bottom fish before sunset on the first night. They were able to land a nice-sized mutton snapper.

Over the next day, they looked to upgrade, adding a 74-pound amberjack to the box. But Calderon still didn’t think they would have enough to win.

“I thought we needed two swordfish as well. The amount of good fishermen in this tournament you never think you have enough to win. On the second night, we had a swordfish up to the side of the boat but lost it.”

On Sunday, they returned to familiar waters after using nearly all the 660 gallons of gas they brought. Spending more than 48 hours on the boat with little sleep, the crew pulled out their catch from the fish box of the 37-foot Cape Horn at the Bradenton Yacht Club.

The wahoo was brought up last to the increasing anticipation of the crowd as those who progressively saw it gasped. Needing to make room for its length, the weigh-in crew of Kyle Grimes and Chris Kennedy removed part of the floor below the scale. When it was stretched out it was a massive 110 pounds. Their six fish combined for a total of 471 points, boosted by the 145-point wahoo, would end up capturing first place in the unlimited offshore division.

“That was a fish of a lifetime. We were happy with that. Being able to fish with my son and his friends was something I’ll never forget.”

For their winnings, they would bring home $10,000. Coming in second place offshore was Team Liquid Buzz with 454 points who brought in a 76-pound black grouper. Third place was taken home by Team Reel Late who wowed the crowd with a pair of swordfish at the scale and a total of 434 points.

In the offshore limited division, Team Wake & Bait would take first place with 274 points, while second place would go to Snapper Tapper with 236 and Light Capital Living rounded out third place with 202.

The inshore division saw a new champion crowned, ending the streak of captain TJ Stewart/Joe Medred and Team Richardson Stinton Roofing who would bring home second place with 359 points. The victory would go to team Brothers America Moving with the Benghuzzi family, Holden Bently, Ali Aburmaieleh and Clayton Hoffman, who totaled 365 points. Their catch included a pair of 37-inch snook, a 34- and 32-inch redfish, 21-inch trout and tarpon live release worth 75 points.

The spearfishing division wowed the crowd with a variety of big fish. Winning Team Dauntless Outdoors brought in an African pompano that weighed a massive 55 pounds. The all-tackle world record is 50 pounds, while the spearfishing record is around 60 pounds. With a massive 600-points, they ran away with the division bettering second-place Team Pokin’ Holes’ 423.

With 238 points anglers, Brenson Shirah, Hunter Kitchens, Clayton Reagan and Judah Kitchens of JR Florida Fishing Team would bring home first place in the juniors division. Second place went to Team Quality Marine Construction and anglers Kai Drapala, Patrick Blenker, Dyland Engel and Brogan Sauls.

Eighteen teams competed in the offshore unlimited, 53 in the inshore division and 13 in the junior division.