11-Year-Old Angler Triumphs in Key West Fishing Tournament Kickoff

11-year-old Thomas Green with his 22-pound kingfish

Eleven-year-old Thomas Green bested several dozen adult anglers to earn top honors in multiple categories of the Key West Fishing Tournament’s Kickoff 2016 that ended April 10 in the Florida Keys.

The young angler, who lives in Bokeelia, Florida, scored the challenge’s heaviest kingfish at 22 pounds and the heaviest mackerel at 7.75 pounds. Both were his first-ever catches of the species, and the kingfish earned him the junior division’s heaviest catch award.

Fishing aboard Miss Ivory, skippered by Captain Jason Johnson of Key West, Green also released his first sailfish and followed it with a second.

“As of this last year, he and I decided we’re going to be a fishing team and fish tournaments together,” said Thomas’s father Glenn Green, who reported that his son was elated at his victory and his sailfish releases.

Thomas Green’s first sailfish release

The tournament also was a family affair for the team on Reel Easy, led by Captain John Jackson of Key West, with an impressive team total of 89 barracuda releases. Teammates included the captain’s daughter Courtney Jackson with 17 releases and the Fisher family of Key West — Jay Fisher with 29 releases and his wife Kathleen with 16, 14-year-old Samantha with 13 releases and 11-year-old Jaimie with 14.

The father-and-son team of David Stern and 16-year-old Logan Stern, both of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, topped other tarpon contenders with a team total of 13. David Stern released nine tarpon and Logan Stern contributed four while fishing on New Horizons with Key West’s Captain Bruce Cronin.

Teams in the kickoff competed for cash prizes for scoring the most releases in six target species, while individual anglers vied for cash awards for catching the heaviest fish in nine other species.

Award-winning individual anglers included Marty Hornacek of Pinconning, Michigan, who caught the tournament’s heaviest blackfin tuna at 22.75 pounds. His cousin Stan Hornacek of Cedar, Michigan, boated the tournament’s heaviest mangrove snapper at 5.25 pounds.

The duo fished on the Second Generation with Captain Rob Delph of Key West, who was named the kickoff’s outstanding captain.

Veteran angler Laurie Dasher of Los Gatos, California, earned the tournament’s bonus prize for her catch of a 3.64-pound yellowtail snapper. She fished with Key West’s Captain Tyson Veach on the Super Grouper III.

Fish caught during the kickoff also qualify for the 51st annual Key West Fishing Tournament, which runs through Nov. 30, 2016, and is open to the general public. Nearly 40 species of fish are targeted during the multimonth event, with divisions for men, women, junior anglers (ages 10 to 14) and Pee Wees (under 10 years old).

The kickoff tournament drew 55 anglers.