Written for Gulf Coast Connections by Russell Weir 11/4/04
Good stewardship is a phrase that I have been hearing more and more in all of the different circles of my life. We are good stewards of a resource when we think about the long-term repercussions of the use of that resource, and change our behavior. A couple of months ago, several avid fishermen of the Padre Island National Seashore decided to apply the principle of good stewardship to the shark world by developing and promoting a catch and release shark tournament on the shores of our favorite beach. None of us had ever promoted an event before, and we really didn’t know what to expect, but we knew that this was a good cause and decided to go for it.
In two short months, this tournament went from a casual discussion held at the beach between friends to a full-fledged tournament. Curtis Mai, Ron Ward, Trevor Lovett and I sprung into action, casting all doubt aside. One of our friends described Curtis as a grassfire….quickly spreading and difficult to contain. I loved it, and could picture him in that light as he was working feverishly, setting up sponsors, designing banners and setting up a website from scratch. The process was not without obstacles, but somehow through divine intervention, everything came together.
The tournament had several divisions, including largest shark released, most combined feet of sharks, largest redfish, and most unusual picture/fish. We also promoted the event as a “leave no trace” event and encouraged all participants to remove as much trash as possible during the event. I was impressed with the cleanup efforts at the base camp, and saw people from all over the beach hauling their trash out. We realized early in the planning stages, that we needed to encourage this type of behavior. You would think that this would go without saying, but sometimes people forget to leave room for their own trash, and it is left on the beach. We say….unacceptable!
Overall, the fishing was very slow for this time of year, with only a handful of sharks and redfish landed. The weather was extremely warm, and with the constant barrage of drifting seaweed piling up on all long rods, shark fishing was challenging to say the least. Those who caught fish worked hard and deserved the praise they received at the check in. Winners of each division
Sharkathon 2004 Winners
Largest Shark
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Angler:
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Length:
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Prize:
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1st Place
Eric Ozolins
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74” Bull Shark
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$600
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Most Inches of Shark
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Angler:
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Length:
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Prize:
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1st Place
Eric Ozolins
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105 inches
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$600
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2nd Place
Sam Tisdale
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$350
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3rd Place
Bruce Jendrzey
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73 inches
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$175
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Redfish Division
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Angler:
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Length:
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Prize:
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1st Place
Mickey Berry
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41 inches
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$430
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2nd Place
David Fossatti
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38 inches
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$300
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3rd Place
Dwade Hickey
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29 inches
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$130
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The prizes were impressive, with donated items including reels from Okuma and Penn, rods by Beefstick and Tsunami, leaders, Fishbites, Bait needles, and gold shark tooth necklaces for the winners of the shark categories. With over 2500.00 in cash prizes and some great door prizes, this was an event to behold. Next year’s event will surely be larger, but this was a great learning experience for all of the anglers, promoters and organizers.
We hope to continue this tradition, raising environmental awareness of the fishermen who utilize the resources of Padre Island. Big sharks reach sexual maturity very late, and anything we can do as fishermen to stop the killing of sharks will help ensure that this precious resource is available for future generations.
I would like to dedicate this tournament series to my Dad (Jim Weir). Without him, I would have never learned to love the outdoors as much as I do today. He is battling pancreatic cancer, and wasn’t able to stay through the awards ceremony, but he did do something that he has never had a chance to do. He met a living legend of Padre Island National Seashore, and for that, he is eternally grateful. A special thank you from my Dad to Capt. Billy Sandifer for offering a prayer on his behalf. You can’t imagine how much that meant to him.
Thank you all for being participants and sponsors of this event. Without you, none of this would have been possible.
Russell Weir (Yakmon)
11/4/04