Winners announced for the annual Delaware Youth Fishing Tournament

DELAWARE - DNREC announced the winners for the 40th annual Delaware Youth Fishing Tournament that took place on June 6 at Blockhouse Pond in Sussex County, Akridge Scout Reservation in Kent County, and Lums Pond in New Castle County.

Gabriel Alfaro of Newark was declared this year’s overall tournament winner, by catching 10.1 pounds of fish this year at Lums Pond in New Castle County.

Tournament weighmasters onsite at each pond weighed catches for participants ages 4 through 15 as they competed for each county’s top catch and age group titles. 

The Sussex County winner was Jaxon Betal, with 9.22 pounds of fish caught at Blockhouse Pond. The largest fish of the day was a 9-pound Common Carp caught by Jaxon Betal. Kaden Elliott caught the smallest fish, which was a Bluegill weighing just 13 grams.

Other Sussex County winners - 

Ages 4 through 7:

First place – Scott Zenorini, 6.59 lbs.

Second place – Luke Coco, 4.56 lbs.

Third place – Walter Bernard, Jr., 3.63 lbs.

Ages 8 through 11:

First place – Webb Ciavarra, 3.69 lbs.

Second place – Christopher Payne, 3.50 lbs.

Third place – Ella Elliott, 2.09 lbs.

Ages 12 through 15:

First place – Kaden Elliott, 4.27 lbs.

Second place – John Timmons, 1.31 lbs.

Third place – Bentley Callahan, 0.43 lbs.

For Kent County, Kaylee Shockley was the overall winner at Akridge Scout Reservation, with 8.58 pounds of fish and the smallest was a 3-gram Mummichog, caught by Cameron Finley.

Other Kent County winners - 

Ages 8 through 11:

First place – Kohen Marvel, 2.97 lbs.

Second place – Arlo Dupuy, 2.53 lbs.

Third place – Connor Dupuy, 1.90 lbs.

Ages 12 through 15:

First place – Collin Messinger, 2.97 lbs.

Second place – John Kubovcik, 2.79 lbs.

Third place – Josiah Shockley, 2.24 lbs.

Lastly, for New Castle County, Gabriel Alfaro was the day’s overall winner with a total of 10.1 pounds of fish. The largest fish of the day was a 4.14-pound northern snakehead caught by Olivia Strong, and the smallest fish was a tie: a tiny 11-gram bluegill caught by Mackenzie VanSant and an equally small 11-gram white perch caught by Jackson Tully. 

Other New Castle County winners - 

Ages 4 through 7:

First place – Olivia Strong, 4.14 lbs.

Second place – Maddilyn VanSant, 0.78 lbs.

Third place – Nathan Marques, 0.74 lbs.

Ages 8 through 11:

First place – Fiona Awesome, 3.83 lbs.

Second place – Harrison Sullivan, 2.87 lbs.

Third place – Jackson Tully, 2.87 lbs.

Ages 12 through 15:

First place – Carter Davis, 5.24 lbs.

Second place – Gabriel Vasquez, 2.89 lbs.

Third place – Landon Gonzalez, 1.38 lbs.