We are PROUD to Announce
Changes
to Cobia World Championships!
First Ever Stand-up Paddle Board Division; New Weigh Station in
Pensacola
Cobia fishing’s premier tournament, the Cobia WorldChampionships, is adding a new twist for 2013. The tournament, which has taken
place at Destin’s Harbor Docks Restaurant for over 20 years, has partnered with
Bote Boards, to introduce a Stand-Up Paddle Board Division. The angler who
lands the largest cobia on a paddle board during the tournament will be awarded
a new BOTE Board donated by the Destin store.
“Fishing on S.U.P.s is rapidly increasing in our area, and
across the nation,” says Eddie Morgan, Tournament Director, “since cobia
migrate just off the beach in our waters, they are a perfect species to target
on a paddle board. Catching a large one on a board will be quite the challenge,
but people are catching sailfish on them, so why not cobia?”
The Cobia World Championships is also announcing a partnership with Pensacola’s Outcast Bait
& Tackle, thus allowing boats fishing the tournament to weigh their catch
at the Pensacola tackle shop. Traditionally, boats have been required to weigh
their catch at the official weigh station at Harbor Docks, essentially making
the tournament exclusive to Destin boats.
“Most of the best cobia fishermen in the world fish are out
of either Destin or Pensacola,” Morgan said, “adding a scale at Outcast allows
more of those fishermen to compete against each other for the right to be the
World Champion.”
The 2013 Cobia World Championships will kick off on Friday,
March 22 at 6:00 pm at Harbor Docks Restaurant, the first day of fishing will
follow on March 23 and the tournament will end on May 5, 2013. A representative
for the Cobia World Championships will be in Pensacola at Outcast’s tournament
kickoff party on March 21 to register boats wishing to fish the tournament.
Along with the new S.U.P. World Championship division, boats
may also compete for the Overall World Championships, Ladies World
Championships, Donut Hole Junior World Championships, Most fish Caught 50
Pounds and Over, and a division for smaller vessels, the 28’ and Under World
Championships.
Harbor Docks Restaurant will also serve host to the Crab
Cruncher Classic cobia tournament. The weekend tournament will take place at
Harbor Docks from Thursday, April 11, 2013 through Sunday, April 14, 2013, with
top cobia fishing teams converging on the Destin Harbor to compete for a total
purse well over $200,000.
The Cobia World Championships and Crab Cruncher Classic
serve as Harbor Docks Charities’ main fundraisers for their 19th
Annual Take-A-Kid Fishing Day, held Sunday, November 3, 2013. In 2012, the
tournaments combined to pay out over $155,000 in cash and prizes and raised
over $15,000 for the 18th Annual Take-A-Kid Fishing Day.
“Our goal is to treat 500 underprivileged children to a
memorable day of fishing aboard some of Destin’s finest charter boats. People
don’t realize that many local children have never even seen the gulf,” Morgan
added, “We just want to take them fishing.”
Formerly known as Rally for Recreation (founded in 1986),
Harbor Docks Charities hosts numerous fundraising events throughout the year
including the Cobia World Championships and Crab Cruncher Classic fishing
tournament as well as the Caddyshack Classic Golf Tournament and Harbor Docks
Charity Auction.
###
If you’d like more information about the Cobia World
Championships, please visit www.cobiaworldchampionships.com.
You may also call Eddie Morgan at (850) 837-2506 or email Eddie at
eddiem84@gmail.com. Follow Cobia World Championships on facebook for exciting news and announcements!
