OCEAN CITY- The 10th Annual Kid’s Classic fishing tournament hosted last weekend by the Ocean City Marlin Club was once again a big success with fish of all species and sizes caught and, more importantly, funds raised for the Wish-A-Fish Foundation.
Throughout the summer, the big boys and girls get to show off their fishing skills practically every weekend with one tournament or another, but the focus during last weekend’s 10th Annual Kid’s Classic was clearly on the younger anglers. The annual tournament is held for the benefit of the Wish-A-Fish Foundation, a national program that provides opportunities for kids with special needs, whether they are suffering from a life-threatening illness or suffer from long-term disability, to enjoy a day on the water catching fish.
Dozens of young anglers of all ages competed in various categories from billfish and tuna offshore to croaker and spot inshore. They fished from boat and from docks and piers and even the shore. In the billfish release division, angler Tom Albed on the “Boss Hog” took first place with 100 points. In the dolphin division, Sam Tinkler on the “Spring Mix II” took first place, while John Hay Matthai on the “Reel Estate” took second and Spencer Paquette on the “Spring Mix II” took third.
James Doerzbach on the “Reel Chaos” took first in the tuna division, while Corey Burns on the “Boss Hog” was second and Tanner Gladwin on the “No Limits” was third. The team of Anna Pence, Wil Kennington and Courtney Grady took first place in the dolphin division. In the bluefish division, is was Ashton and Morgan Clarke taking first place, while Jack and Alec Burbage on the “Ocean City Service Guide” took second and third place.
In the flounder division, it was Emily Miller on the “Bobby Lou” taking first place, while Addison and Brynlee Lane on the “Partnership” took second and third. The team on the “Reel Fantasy” including Anna Pence, Wil and Caroline Kennington, Courtney Grady, Emma and Ava Helwig, Ashton Cheritvtch and Ryan DiLodovico, took fourth in the flounder division.
In the croaker division, it was Fisher Zimmerman, Dylan Churchill, Aidan and Rilyn Romero and Addy Wilkerson taking first place. Graham and Gavin McCabe and Hunter and Graham Hammond on the “Double Trouble” took second in the division, while Ella Peters, Walker and Harper Hastings on the “Gretchen Ann” too third. In the mackerel division, Jacob and Ella Wozer and Cameron and Carleigh Neville on the “Jezebel” took first and second. Iris and Elijah Lillie, Alexandra Jones and Kelsey Deppe took third.