By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PARADE
The 43rd annual Ladies Kingfish Tournament (LKT) is slated to take place Aug. 9-11. Registration is currently open for the event and the fee is $100, which covers the meals and an event bag. All anglers, boat
hands and guests must be paid participants of the event. Meals will be provided, but a meal ticket must be purchased. Meal tickets for those not registered on a boat will be $30 for the barbeque meal and $15 for the
breakfast. They can be purchased at the merchandise booth.
The event will take place across multiple days and be split into two categories: Bay and Offshore. The Bay fishers will compete in the categories of flounder, redfish and trout. The offshore fishers will compete for
Dolphin, Bonito, Blackfin Tuna, and, of course, Kingfish. The top three of each category will receive trophies, as will the champion for each category.
Jeanette Greider, president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South Padre Island (SPI) Chamber of Commerce, provided some insight into the event. She said the expected turnout is around 250-300 anglers,
and that this event is the “First all-female fishing tournament in the state of Texas.” Since the chamber is completely funded by its members, LKT is one of the two main fundraisers that allow the chamber to continue their good work of serving the public of SPI. Greider says that she hopes those who come will “enjoy fishing and the water,” and that the event will bring “a lot of traction and visitors to the Island”.
The event officially starts on Aug. 9; check in and on-sight registration will be held from 4-7 p.m. at the SPI Convention Center. A barbeque dinner will be served from 5-7 p.m. Bars, raffle tickets and vendors will
be open until 8 p.m. The following day, fishing begins at 6:30 a.m. at Sea Ranch Marina ll located at Southpoint. The bay division weigh-in will be from 2-4 p.m. and the offshore weigh-in will be from 4-7 p.m. On Sunday, a celebratory breakfast will be served during the awards ceremony at 11 a.m.
The official website for the event can be found at the SPI Chamber of Commerce website where an official countdown to the start day of the event is available for all to see, alongside rules for the bay and offshore events, registration, and places to stay and eat while participating. The various sponsors for the event are also available to view.
For more information, call (956) 761-4412 or email info@spichamber.com.
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