World's Largest Surf Fish Tournament 2009 KOA World's Largest Surf Fishing Tournament is set for Saturday, Feb. 21 at Pier 19 inside South Padre Island KOA! Hundreds of anglers are expected to “hit the beach” on South Padre Island for the third annual “World's Largest Surf Fishing Tournament.” The event, which is set for Feb. 21, 2009, is a perfect opportunity for casual and avid anglers alike to participate in a fun, competitive setting and lend a hand to helping our coastal environment. Participants will compete in three age groups - Small Fry (5 to 9), Junior (10 to 16), and Adult (17 and up) - ensuring anglers of all ages have an opportunity to win prizes. And, since the competition is held on public beaches, everyone will have an equal opportunity to “get to the fish.” Anglers from each age division will be vying for prizes in the largest pompano, largest whiting, and largest overall fish (any species, oversize redfish and oversize black drum not allowed) categories. All fish entered must comply with Texas Parks & Wildlife rules and regulations. All fish must be caught from the beaches of South Padre Island (between the Brazos Santiago Pass and the Mansfield Cut). Legal fishing time is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. All fish must be checked in at Pier 19 by 2 p.m. in order to be legal. Fish must be caught by legal rod and reel methods as defined by Texas Parks & Wildlife. Both artificial lures and natural baits are allowed.   Entry is $10 per adult angler and $5 per small fry or junior angler. The first 250 paid participants will receive a t-shirt. The tournament will also double as a beach cleanup effort. A raffle ticket will be awarded for each bag of trash returned to the tournament headquarters at Pier 19. Extra bags are available for pickup at Pier 19 or KOA on the day of the event. Last year's event removed over 18,000 pounds of litter and debris from the beach. This year's goal is 20,000 pounds. The KOA World's Largest Surf Fishing Tournament is being held with the cooperation of South Padre Island CVB and Cameron County Park System and sponsored in part by KOA, Osprey Charters, Pier 19, Shakespeare Fishing Tackle, and SPI Sunrise Pools and Spas. Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, email shane@fishacrosstexas.com. To register and pay online, click the appropriate age category here (Adult, $10; Small Fry or Junior, $5) and you will be rerouted to a secure PayPal site. Registration is also open at South Padre KOA through Feb. 20 and the day of event at Pier 19. For more information, entry fee schedule, and registration forms, visit www.fishacrosstexas.com or call (800) 562-9724. Scroll down to read the recap from the 2008 event. 2008 KOA Worlds Largest Surf Fishing Tournament Sets Record Beautiful ‘beach weather’ greeted over 400 fishermen Saturday morning as they lined the beachfront of South Padre Island during the second annual KOA World’s Largest Surf Fishing Tournament and Beach Cleanup. Last February, the event established a Guinness World Record with 415 participants. The 2008 effort pushed that mark to 466, establishing a Guinness World Record for the second straight year in the process. The highlight of the day for the more than 200 spectators outside of Fish Bones Grill & Pier was seeing the 92-pound blacktip shark brought in by Fred Calderas of Zapata. That fish was good enough to claim the overall title for 2008. Winning the largest adult whiting category was Andy Kazukewicz, while Ron Vencil took home the pompano honors. In the junior angler category, David Camarillo won the whiting category and Joel Casas won the ‘other’ category with a 3.81 pound redfish. In the small fry division, Jorge Tobar won both the whiting and pompano categories and Napoleon Almaraz won the other category. Participants also removed a container from of trash and debris from South Padre Island beaches. Last year’s event accounted for 4,500 pounds of trash coming off the beach. Participants in this year's event collected 18,000 pounds. Plans are already underway for the 2009 KOA World’s Largest Surf Fishing Tournament and Beach Cleanup.