GIFT Tourney next week benefits GIMM

The 18th annual Gasparilla Island Flyfishing Tournament will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 22 in the waters around Boca Grande, and Capt. Sandy Melvin plans to donate the proceeds to a great island cause: The Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum.

It will be fishing for redfish, with two reds per team and overall length wins. Everyone is welcome to participate, and the entry fee is $300 per team. The entry fee also includes entrance to the cocktail party, which will be held on Monday, Nov. 21 at PJ’s Seagrille.

“This is the 18th year of the GIFT Tournament, and we’re pleased with the support we have had in the past,” said Melvin, the coordinator of the tournament. “We hope to catch a lot of reds and, at the same time, to help the Maritime Museum to continue on.”

Everyone is invited to attend the cocktail party at PJ’s, whether they are fishing the tournament or not. The cost is $35 a person, and the fee includes appetizers, cocktails and an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets.
Last year Capt. Jamie Allen and Ritchie Meehan won the tournament, and donated their winnings, $1,200 in all, back to the GIFT charity for 2010, which was the Lillian Bay Beatty Fund.

The Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum has been the focus of a preservation study for several years, and for work to continue they must pay for a comprehensive survey. The money raised at this year’s GIFT Tournament will go toward paying for that study.

The museum is on the National Registry of Historic Places, and has one of the longest histories on the island.

Call Gasparilla Outfitters at 964-0907.