Old School Kingfish Shootout growing into a new Northeast Florida fishing tradition

Tournament fishing season is here, with a new twist.

In its fourth year, the Daily's Old School Kingfish Shootout presented by Yellowfin has begun to grow into a Northeast Florida fishing tradition ahead of Saturday's main tournament based at Vilano Beach.

Participants may launch from any ramp spanning from Fernandina Inlet near the Florida-Georgia boundary to the south jetty of Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, with fishing hours starting 7 a.m. Saturday. They'll weigh in their catch between 2 and 5:30 p.m. at the Vilano Beach Pier, with the option to transport the fish to the site by either boat or truck.

In contrast to many large tournaments, the "old school" fishing format restricts competitors to a range of 3 nautical miles offshore from the beach, and requires them to catch their own live bait during the competition rather than purchasing often-expensive baits from out-of-area vendors prior to the start.

The plan: Keep costs down, boost participation numbers up and provide a platform that gives the regular weekend angler more of a level playing field against professionals with the most powerful equipment and the deepest pockets.

"It's worked out well, and we're hoping to see a lot of small boats and families fishing this weekend," said tournament director Paul Dozier.

Since its 2020 launch in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the event has shown it can draw sizable participation numbers in the old school format, including 521 boats that registered for the 2022 competition.

Dozier expects comparable numbers for this weekend's events. The entry fee is $350 per boat through the end of Thursday.

Though anglers aren't able to venture far from the coastline, waters near the beach still include prize catches of their own. Last year, the crew aboard Out of Site with captain Ryan Linsley reeled in a fish that tipped the scales at 43.29 pounds, a tournament record.

Even with the emphasis on relative affordability, top anglers this week can still reel in some substantial prizes. The boat weighing in the largest kingfish will receive a 21-foot Yellowfin bay boat with a trailer and a 200-horsepower engine, a prize package valued at $105,000.

In all, the top 25 finishers in the big-fish category will receive prize money, in addition to the prizes offered for the Lady Angler (top five) and Junior Angler (top 10) divisions.

"Our goals are to get people out there fishing and have the joy of competing at a championship level," Dozier said.