Twilight leads in grouper, junior and pounders division of Summer Slam tournament

After nine days of fishing, Capt. Robert Hill of the Twilight is leading in three divisions of the third annual Boathouse Summer Slam fishing tournament on Destin harbor. 

As of close Wednesday, the Twilight was leading in the Gag Grouper Division with a 45.2-pound gag, the Junior Division with a 20.6-pound red snapper and the Pounders Division with 450 pounds of fish. 

“I pushed 113 pounds of fish in my cart from the Twilight last night,” said Amber Helton, weighmaster and event organizer for the Summer Slam Thursday morning. 

The Summer Slam is a 10-week boat tournament with three eligible species: red snapper, gag grouper and amberjack. The boats are separated by federal, state and private. The tournament also has a “pounders” division in which registered boats can weigh their one-person bag limit per trip to keep a running tally of weight throughout the tournament. There also is a Ladies and Juniors Division.   

“I’ve weighed about a dozen snappers over 20 pounds so far this week,” Helton said Thursday morning. 

More fishing news:Red snapper may not be the biggest draw to the area, but it is a factor

More:The Summer Slam is on with red snapper and grouper taking center stage

However, Capt. Chris Couvillion still tops the board in the Snapper Division with a 26.6-pounder on a federal boat. Leading state boat is Alibi with a 26.4-pounder and top private boat is Angler with a 24.2-pounder. 

In the Gag Grouper Division, Twilight is the leading federal boat with its 45.2-pounder. Top state boat is Just Reel with a 5.4-pounder and Fifty Fifty leads the private boats with a 29-pounder. 

Leading in the Ladies Division is Kitchen Pass with an 18-pound red snapper. Reel Chill has the top gag grouper, 16.6 pounds. 

In the Juniors Division, the Twilight is tops on the board with a 20.6-pounder. No gag grouper has been weighed yet by a junior. 

As for the Pounders Division, Twilight leads the federal boats with 450 pounds. OSeaD tops the state boats with 131.2 pounds of fish, and Fifty Fifty leads the private boats with 96.8 pounds. 

Look who made the list:Destin Fishing Rodeo names top captains for the 72nd annual event

The Summer Slam goes through Aug. 8, but boats have to be registered the day before they fish to be eligible to enter a catch. The scales are open daily from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Boathouse on Destin harbor.