Altieri first overall in Kingfish Challenge

Sometimes the fish can be bigger than the fishermen; at least that was true last weekend during two full days of angling in the Ancient City Game Fish Association Kingfish Challenge.

In fact, Historic City News local reporters learned that the largest catch this weekend came during the Kingfish Challenge Junior Tournament on Friday. Dylan Childres brought in a 46-pound king mackerel — and Dylan is only eight years old. Junior and Small Fry division top finishers received prize packs including fishing rods, life preservers, and other Kingfish Challenge paraphernalia.

The top 15 adult contestants landed cash prizes ranging from $400 up to $15,000 — with top money paid to Greg Altieri for pulling in his 38.75-pound kingfish.

According to an announcement from Ancient City Game Fish Association Kingfish Challenge co-chair John Jordan, only 111 of the 132 registered boats brought back legal kingfish on Sunday. Several teams were given a void because their catch didn’t meet all tournament qualifications, or because they were not able to bring in a kingfish.