SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Chris Daniels has been competing in the Texas International Fishing Tournament for more than two decades.
During that span, Daniels has dreamt of one day being named TIFT Grand Champion, an award given to the angler with the highest point total of three eligible species (trout, redfish and flounder) during the two days of competition.
Daniels’ 22nd time competing proved to be his breakthrough, being named the TIFT Grand Champion Bay Fisherman during the closing ceremony of the 82nd Texas International Fishing Tournament on Sunday at the South Padre Island Convention Centre.
The Harlingen native took home first place with a total weight caught of 24.9 pounds during Friday and Saturday’s competition.
“Me and my partner came in with a plan to fish and we stayed with the plan,” Daniels said. “We just stayed focused and it ended up working out. … It’s an awesome feeling. For somebody that fishes all the time, it’s a lifetime dream come true.”
Daniels was just one of several individuals recognized during the 82nd TIFT awards ceremony, with awards handed in several different divisions, as well as awards for heaviest species of fish.
In addition to this year’s event being the 82nd rendition of the tournament, the 2022 competition served as a part of the inaugural season of the Sport Fishing Championship.
TIFT was one of 12 nationwide tournaments selected to participate in the five-month event, which concludes with the San Juan International Billfish Tournament on Aug. 16-21 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“When we set out to create the Sport Fishing Championship, we set out to create a legacy championship for saltwater fishing,” SFC CEO Mark Neifeld said. “It’s been about 20 months or so in the making. … Our three cornerstones to building that legacy championship were championship towns, championship experience and championship competition. I can tell you those three cornerstones are here at the Texas International Fishing Tournament. This tournament raises the bar every single year.”
The first ever Sport Fishing Championship Gulf Division champion was crowned during the final day of the tournament, with Texas-based team Quantified taking home the title.
Quantified finished first in the gulf division with a score of 12,850 points. Points are earned through team finishes at SFC qualifying events as well as through qualified catch points during each event.
They sit atop the overall SFC leaderboard with 12,850 going into the final event of the season in two weeks.
“We’ve been doing this all together for quite some time. I was born and raised here. This TIFT tournament, I’ve been fishing it my whole entire life,” Quantified captain Justin Drummond said. “We won first place as team last year. This whole SFC thing, we decided to go after it early this season when we caught wind of what was going on. We ended up going to Louisiana, Mississippi, Orange Beach and Destin to compete. My boat owner, Joe, he allowed us to put this team together and be competitive.”
Quantified was also represented in the TIFT individual awards, with team member Matt Driscoll named Texas Grand Champion, an award given to the angler with the highest point total over the two days of fishing. The winner must weigh or tag and release a billfish or mako shark to qualify for the award.
Meanwhile, the junior bay division featured a sweep by the Wernecke family, with siblings Jaxon, Luke and Hunter taking first in the 7-under, 8-12, and 13-16 divisions, respectively.
Jaxon also captured the award for heaviest drum fish, reeling in one weighing 13.6 lbs. during Day 2 of the competition.
For full results and award winners visit https://www.tift.org/tournament.php?id=1.
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: 82nd Annual Texas International Fishing Tournament Awards Ceremony
