(Caloosa Belle/Danika J. Hopper) Kiera Howard and Jaxson Watson, the winners of the Children’s Fishing Tournament with Robbie Hull (event organizer).[/caption]

The sun was shining over the Caloosahatchee, and the water was like glass last Saturday, as anglers both young and old tried to reel in a big one during the 6th Annual Neal J. Hull Fishing Tournament, held at the LaBelle Boat Ramp. Up on shore, near the jampacked parking lot, a sign of a successful turn out, there was a kid-filled bounce house, pony rides, tasty fried gator and barbecued pork, and some live music by the local gals of Press On.

While weighing their fish, teams shared quite a few “the one that got away” fish tales. The Big Fish prize went to Ken Willis, with a fish weighing in at 8.46 lbs. Third place winners of $250, with a total weight of 10.94 lbs., were Johnny and Asa White, while Charles Bass and Ken Willis came in second with a total weigh in of 14.02 lbs., winning $500. First place winners, Joe and Lammana Martinez had 15.96 lbs. of fish, and received $1,000. Kiera Howard and Jaxson Watson were the winners of the Children’s Fishing Tournament. Some of the winners were gracious enough to donate their prize money back into the fundraiser.

The event raised a whopping $6,400 for Cross Training Ministries, located in Pioneer Plantation. Cross Training Ministries, Inc. is a Christian based discipleship regeneration program that ministers to people with substance abuse issues and their families. Cross Training Ministries, Inc. would like to thank all the fisherman, sponsors, and volunteers that came out and helped make this benefit tournament a success. Organizer Robbie Hull says, “We will be back next year!”