First Light moves into top spot with big red snapper in Summer Slam

After four weeks of fishing in the Boathouse Summer Slam tournament, there’s a new leader on the board. 

Capt. Steve Haeusler and crew on the First Light brought in a 27.6-pound red snapper June 23 to take first place in the federal boat category in the red snapper division. 

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 is also a Ladies and Juniors Division.    

The others in the red snapper division remain the same, with Alibi leading the state boats with a 26.4-pounder and Angler tops in the private boats with a 24.2-pounder. 

More fishing news:Fish Flash: Charter boats back fishing after rough tropical weekend

A check on the sea turtles:Claudette washes over turtle nests along Emerald Coast, but still intact

In the gag grouper division, Capt. Robert Hill of the Twilight leads the federal boats with a 45.2-pound gag. The Just Reel leads the state boats with a 9.8-pounder and Fifty Fifty leads the private boats with a 29-pounder. 

In the pounder’s division, the numbers continue to go up. The Twilight leads the federal boats with 1,286.4 pounds of fish, OSeaD leads the state boats with 423.2 pounds and Fifty Fifty tops the private boats with 264.8 pounds. 

More about Summer Slam:Weighmaster Amberjack: Former Miss Destin finds her perfect job

In the Ladies Division, Kitchen Pass has the top red snapper at 18 pounds, and Twilight has the leading gag grouper at 36 pounds. 

In the Juniors Division, Twilight has the top spot in red snapper with a 20.6-pounder. Reel Chill has the top gag grouper at 15.8 pounds. 

The Summer Slam goes through Aug. 8. The scales are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Boathouse on Destin harbor.