Mark Gerretson, who loved to fish, started the Holiday Toy Drive Fishing Tournament
in 1994 to benefit the Delray Beach Police Department’s annual drive.
After his death in 2005, friends named the fishing tournament for Gerretson.
Contributed by Pat Gerretson
By Willie Howard
Mark Gerretson loved fishing, cooking and raising money to help kids in Delray Beach.
As president of the Delray Beach Jaycees, Gerretson founded the annual Holiday Toy Drive Fishing Tournament in 1994 to benefit the Delray Beach Police Department’s holiday toy drive.
The tournament grew over the years and continued to raise money for a variety of charitable causes in Delray Beach, including the 505 Teen Center, the Boys & Girls Club and scholarships for Atlantic High School students.
The 20th anniversary of Gerretson’s fishing tournament will be Aug. 9, and will be based at Veterans Park on the Intracoastal Waterway at Atlantic Avenue.
Gerretson, a self-employed tile setter, died in 2005 from a heart condition.
His idea for an annual fundraising fishing tournament — now called the Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament — lives on through the dedication of a group of Mark’s friends and family members who serve on the tournament committee.
“We really have tried to stay true to Mark’s vision for helping the community,” said his brother, Jim Gerretson, who will travel from Maryland to grill food this year at the annual Mark in the Park party near the weigh-in scales at Veterans Park.
“We always feel he’s watching over us,” said Mark’s friend Chris Reich, owner of the Delray Camera Shop and member of the tournament committee. “It was his tournament. We feel his presence.”
Committee member Tim Knapp, owner of the Printer’s Choice print shop, plans to fish the tournament again this year. He knows the competition will be tough, recalling the 2012 tournament when his 48-pound wahoo was beaten by two heavier fish.
Attending the kickoff party the night before the Gerretson tournament and Mark in the Park cookout at Veterans Park has become an annual tradition for many, tournament committee member Carol Eaton said.
“We’ve had people coming to that weigh-in for 20 years,” Eaton said.
Tournament teams will be fishing for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo and a mystery fish.
The mystery fish will be selected during the captains meeting and kickoff party, set for 6-8 p.m. Aug. 8, at the Delray Beach Elks Lodge, 265 NE Fourth Ave.
On tournament day (Aug. 9), the scales will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Veterans Park.
The entry fee is $200 per boat. To enter this year’s 20th anniversary tournament, attend the captains meeting or complete an application and drop off the entry fee at one of four locations before Aug. 8.
The drop-off locations for tournament entries are:
• Boynton Fisherman’s Supply, 618 N. Federal Highway
• Delray Beach Elks Lodge, 265 NE Fourth Ave.
• Delray Camera Shop, 186 NE Second Ave.
• Ray’s Offshore Fishing Tackle, 1940 NW Second Ave., Boca Raton.
For tournament info, call Noel Bourque at 927-8092 or visit www.mgmft.net.
Flotsam
• Ron Smith caught a 19.75-pound mutton snapper May 24 while fishing on the Living on Island Time drift boat, based at the Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Smith’s chubby mutton snapper hit a dead sardine in 130 feet of water off the south end of Boynton Beach. Although his fish was very large, it’s still more than 10 pounds shy of the 30.25-pound all-tackle world record mutton snapper caught in the Dry Tortugas in 1998.
• The regular spiny lobster season opens Aug. 6 and continues through March 31. The daily bag limit is six lobsters per person. To be legal to keep, a lobster’s carapace, or head section, must measure more than 3 inches. Lobster must be measured under water and brought ashore whole. No egg-bearing lobster may be taken. Don’t forget to display red-and-white dive flags on the boat and float-mounted dive flags marking divers or snorkelers in the water. For details, go to www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lobster.
• Palm Beach County’s annual Lionfish Derby, a roundup of the invasive Pacific fish, will be held Aug. 16 at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island. It begins with a mandatory captains meeting on the evening of Aug. 15 at Sailfish Marina. The $150 entry fee includes two banquet tickets and gloves used to handle lionfish, which have venomous spines. For details, go to www.reef.org.
Tip of the month: Troll the ocean in the early morning for wahoo. The days around the full moons of August and September are among the best times of year to catch wahoo. The striped ocean speedsters can reach over 100 pounds and have been known to sever leaders and straighten hooks.
Start by heading to a tackle shop to make sure you’ve got gear sturdy enough to handle wahoo — or fish with someone who targets wahoo regularly. Try trolling with artificial lures, rigged mullet, large ballyhoo or bonito strips behind a lure in 120 to 300 feet. Troll over structure such as natural and artificial reefs.
The best bite tends to be early in the morning. Fish around inlets on the outgoing tide, if possible.
Wahoo also hit live bait such as goggle-eyes and blue runners. Try slow-trolling live bait below the surface on a downrigger or let the bait fish run free while drifting.
There’s no size limit on wahoo, but sporting anglers release the small “wee-hoo.” Daily bag limit: two wahoo per person. Beware the wahoo’s sharp teeth. Handle them with a gaff, and move them directly into a cooler.
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
Comments