by Jeffrey Powell/De Funiak Springs Herald
Nick’s seafood restaurant in Basin Bayou is usually a pretty quiet place on Monday nights as it is normally closed. The exception to that rule is the annual Speckled Trout Shootout fishing tournament wrap up fish fry and awards ceremony. In its 14th year now, the tournament is a nine-day affair that attracted 90 anglers to compete in eight divisions. This year the tournament had a very diverse group of anglers with both sexes and all ages represented.
“We really appreciate all of the anglers in this year’s tournament,” said Nick’s owner Jennifer Nick. There were 30 females participating this year and we had a wide range of fish brought in. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and will come back next time. This could not be done without all of our sponsors, a special thank you goes out to Brad Everett and Sherrie Hinely; they do a lot for us.”
The evening started out with tables full of fried fish and all the trimmings provided by Nick’s in appreciation of the anglers. Afterwards, Trey Nick and Sherrie Hinely presented dozens of trophies and medals to participants. One of those was DeFuniak Springs resident Levi Sasser who is a regular fixture in the tournament.
“This is my ninth year in a row and it is really fun,” said Sasser. “I enjoy the tournament and fishing with my dad. We fished every day and I enjoy adding to my collection of trophies. I just like fishing with my dad.”
Nick’s next tournament is the Kids catfish tournament held on July 26.
