The 2010 Bottoms Up Fishing Tournament

...will be held Saturday October 2nd, 2010 here at Marquardt's Marina in Mexico Beach, Florida. This first-ever event is presented by Marquardt's Marina, the Mexico Beach CDC, and Yamaha. Area hotels/inns are offering discounted rates for all anglers and their familiies, so what are you waiting for...signup now, and book your reservations! This is a Gag Grouper / King Mackerel Tournament. Captain's Party on Friday in Downtown Mexico Beach...Mango Marley's, The Fish House, and Ruby Rum Runner's. Come join the fun!

1ST ANNUAL PANHANDLE KINGFISH SLAM RESULTS! FOR RULES & MORE INFORMATION GO TO: www.BluewaterCharityClassic.com June 4 & 5 Bluewater Charity Classic - www.BluewaterCharityClassic.com July 30 & 31 6th Annual Marquardt's Marina Offshore Classic - July 30th and 31st. 2010 Targeted species: Wahoo, Dolphin & King August 28 MBARA Kingfish Tournament: Visit www.mbara.org and click on Kingfish Tournament.

Panhandle Kingfish Slam Results

Team "Green Banana" with 89.00 lbs took top honors and $5000.00 in cash and prizes in the Panhandle Kingfish Slam by a slim 1.05 lb margin over team "Chaos". In fact, the top three spots were separated by only 1.65 lbs after the 3 tournaments !!

The Panhandle Kingfish slam began on the first weekend in June at the Bluewater Outrigger Charity Classic, then came the Marquardts Offshore Classic on the final weekend in July, and the grand finale, MBARA Kingfish Tourney on the last weekend in August. The winner was determined by the heaviest aggregate weight of king mackerel caught over the 3 events. Going into the final tournament, at least 15 boats were within one good "smoker" of winning it all, but team "Green Banana" lead by boat owner Josh Bloodworth moved up from 2nd to the top spot with a 24.95 lb king mackerel.

Over 220 boats participated in the 3 tournaments despite challenges beyond the normal weather issues and raised money for reef building in the Gulf of Mexico. The MBARA organization has deployed over 1.1 million dollars in artificial reefs off Mexico Beach and Gulf county through fund raising and grants over the past 13 years. The Bluewater Outrigger Charity Classic funded the Forgotten Coast Warrior Weekend hosting wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the reef building efforts. The Marquardts Offshore Classic has raised money for reef building for the last 8 years.

Come down to the Forgotten Coast and support these tournaments, all are non-profit events benefiting great causes and are competitive for all size boats. More information available at www.bluewatercharityclassic.com or MBARA.org, or call Capt Mitch Coleman at 850.896.4930.