Apr 26, 20213 min read

2021 Spring King Fishing Tournament with Team FishGum

The annual YouTuber's Spring King Pompano tournament has come and gone with quite the show happening for all to see. Definitely check out the competitors YouTube channels to see the action as it happened as the videos will likely be uploaded soon. You will get some good information from these anglers channels as well that might help you out while surf fishing! Great job to all that entered and competed but a special congrats to the top three winners:

1st- Jarvis Williams of GulfCoastFishing850

2nd- Ryan Smith of Kastin Assassin

3rd- Tony Faggioni of FishGum

Winners! Photos courtesy of Phil Hollandsworth

Final Leader Board

Team FishGum went out on Friday at 5:30 AM to get it started in Destin and fishing with Cliff Gardner, Mike Smith, Robert Green, Tom Cabrerra, Tony Faggioni, and myself. The sea state, current, and watercolor were all jumbled up after the recent storms and a pending one that was brewing. Some smaller pompano were caught on the first beach, but the team decided to find cleaner water and more ideal conditions to get on the fish.

After searching a few beaches to the west, the water clarity changed, but not much else, sadly. We finally decided on Henderson Beach State Park and began our next round. The team spread out to their holes, and the fishing took off. All of the fish were spread out over different distances. They were primarily hiding in holes and along with the cuts of the sandbar. Several limits were achieved, and three were set aside for the tournament weigh-in set for Sunday afternoon at Lost Key Outfitters in Perdido Key, Florida. The bait of choice for the day varied: Sand fleas, crab knuckles, FishGum Pomp Candy, and Fishbites Shrimp. The team packed it in for the night and prepared to get back at it on Saturday if the weather would permit.

Saturday, Team FishGum went back out and got after it again with Cliff, Tom, and Tony. All three team members put up a great fight with a pending storm to the North that turned up the water and made the wind be less than favorable to the average angler. The anticipated severe storms stayed to the North of the zone, so fishing was done at full power. The team went to Marine Park in Navarre and got to work. All three team members managed to achieve a limit of 6 Pompano each! Outstanding work in such conditions.

Left to right: Tony, Cliff, and Tom

Sunday, the team got back together and pushed to get across the finish line with good weight in the cooler to do so. Members: Cliff, Mike, Tom, Tony, and I were present and got to work at Marine Park in Navarre, Fl. The forecast was for a hefty sea state and high winds. The forecast was partially wrong, and by that, I mean sea state was 1-3 feet waves and a smooth wind out of the North, which gave a tremendous extra advantage of casting distance. That extra boost of wind was needed as the pompano were holding out very far.

The team was able to secure 24 Pompano! What you don't see in the pictures was the amount of fish that the team gave back to the Gulf of Mexico! The pompano run was on as we threw back 30+ fish that were keeper size. We needed specific weight for the tournament, and we were able to pick and choose which one would be coming to Perdido for the weigh-in. If you ask any angler, it is a bizarre feeling to be throwing back keeper size fish, especially those you're always hunting to find.

Left to right: Tony, Cliff, Tom, Brian, and Mike

It was a fantastic three-day fishing event! For us, over 90% of the fish we caught were on FishGum alone! No tipping of the hooks with shrimp or fleas like you have seen other times. The bait was truly on fire for each cast and the pompano were hungry for it. Each team gave it all they could to get the job done and fight to be crowned The Spring King! Only one could win the crown, however, and that honor belongs to Mr. Jarvis Williams!

List of YouTuber's from the tournament:

Tony Faggioni (FishGum)- https://bit.ly/3vaEpI9

Brad Warren (Bearded Brad) - https://bit.ly/3dCV556

Cody Gaither (Southern Family Living) - https://bit.ly/3sIhaU6

Arinton Mercado (Reel Addicted Adventures) - https://bit.ly/3sFCN7N

Gregory Findley (Maddog Fishing) - https://bit.ly/3vg11ap

Jack Moran (Yakin with Jack) - https://bit.ly/3ngnNfl

Ryan Smith (Kastin Assasin) - https://bit.ly/3sHt8gR

Blane Roberts (Perdido Blane) - https://bit.ly/3sO4HP3

Scott Kennedy (Kayaking Kennedy) - https://bit.ly/3nb2zzx

Kyle Kvartek (KyleForAhwile) - https://bit.ly/3gqBwyR

Jeremy Smith (Southern Roots Alabama) - https://bit.ly/3tJGfiT