CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The 17th annual Saltwater Sweeties fishing tournament was hosted in Aransas Pass.
The weigh-in was held at Conn Brown Harbor and organizers explained it was even bigger this year than before.
Saltwater Sweeties is an annual tradition in Aransas Pass with forty teams competing this year.
Tournament Director, Dave Kahil said the ladies-only fishing tournament gives women and kids a chance to show their talents on the water.
"There's a lot of women that are in tournaments now. There's not that many fishing tournaments for the ladies. Kind of cool to get the women out there and show that women can fish the kids can fish," Kahil said.
The woman fished for hours, getting plenty of experience and doing it all for a good cause.
Janell Kramer is a volunteer at the Coastal Bend Guide Association, she spoke with 3NEWS and said, "It's for an amazing cause, you know, when you go to the chemo kids' fish-off and you see those kids, it's like this is what I want to be a part of. It's a community."
Each team had between one and four people and each angler paid $100 to enter. Combined with funds raised from donations and auctions, that money is raised for another fishing tournament for chemo patients at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
Janell Kramer previously competed in Saltwater Sweeties and said it's fun for women of all ages. She added, "You really do make some amazing friendships, amazing bonds and I think all these women are really coming around and just, they really, really enjoy it."
The tournament increased in size from at least 70 contestants last year to about 125 this year. It started before sunrise and contestants had from noon until 3 p.m. to bring their fish for the weigh-in.
Since it was an in-shore fishing tournament, they could go anywhere except the open water. Faith Miller said she was confident in her team's abilities.
"It's fun to go out there and, I hate to say it, but sometimes women fish better than men," Miller said.
The goal was to find the heaviest red fish, drum, and trout to win trophies and cash prizes. Bonnie Kinnebrew said fishing with other women with experience led to more success in the tournament.
"It's nice to fish with women that really fish. They don't have to be told what to do, they know what to do, they do it, they have fun doing it," Kinnebrew said.
For Linette Dury, the tournament was an opportunity to spend quality time with friends.
"To come out here and to do this with my best friend, we've been hunting together for years. So now, to throw in tournament fishing has been unbelievably awesome," she said.
There was also a live release after the fish were weighed. The competitors explained that doing it that way is better for the fishing community.
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