On September 14th and 15th 2024, Mike Morales of Fin Factory Kayak & Tackle held the Rey Del Mar kayak fishing tournament. This was USAnglings first qualifier for Saltwater Kayak Fishing’s National Championship, to be held in Florida 2025 in conjunction with Extreme Kayak Fishing. The top 10 anglers from the offshore division were to earn a direct invite to the National Championship. Mike and the Fin Factory have been doing this for quite a while now and offer up a great community event each year. 

The wind conditions for the event were still a bit brisk the first morning as a hurricane had just swept by. The competitors also met challenging surf at the launch. But this did not stop the crew from pushing out up to six miles to the offshore oil rigs, where many of the local pelagics hunt for food. Unfortunately, the bite was tough for the offshore segment of the tournament, and the offshore rigs didn’t produce as expected. With the rigs not producing, the anglers decided to make the long 6 mile treck back in and work the waters closer to shore to try and make something happen. 

This proved to be a good strategy, as all of the top 10 finishers were all able to get on the board and into the nationals with Spanish Mackeral. Bill Barbe, first place finisher, had this to say about the event: “I love that this sport brings people together from all backgrounds and that the kayak fishing has such a great sense of community.” Second place finisher Tony Duge said, “Mike Morales, his family and his crew did a great job organizing the tournament.” 4th place finisher Donald Hunt said, “I went into the Rey Del Mar with one goal: to qualify for the national championship. I look forward to competing with some of the best offshore kayak anglers in the country, and I am honored to represent the great state of Texas. A great story within this event is that Orlando and Adam Pena, a father and son team, both made a top 10 finish and will both be competing side by side in the Nationals. 

Here are the top 10 finishers that qualified:

1. William Barbe
2. Tony Dugue 
3. Adam Pena
4. Donald Hunt
5. Albert Guzman
6. Tommy Burgin
7. Orlando Pena 
8. Alfredo Garcia 
9. Angel Nguyen
10. Mark Garcia

Congratulations to all the anglers and to Mike Morales for hosting such great community event. 

If you would like to learn more about USAngling Saltwater Kayak Fishing visit our website at https://usangling.org/saltwater-kayak-fishing/ or contact us by email at usakfs@usangling.org or by phone at (707) 495-2625.