Jacob inspires Dylan to hook up

A number of siblings have taken up fishing in the Cayman Islands. Few are as young as Jacob McTaggart and Dylan Merren.

McTaggart, 18 and Merren, 13, recently took part in the Family Ties junior angler tournament put on by the Cayman Islands Angling Club.

Merren grabbed the second heaviest barracuda at 7.5 pounds on McTaggart’s boat Naut Sure (a 28 foot canoe).

McTaggart, who was born and raised in Spotts, said he has been fishing for years, though it is a rarity to have his brother with him.

“For this tournament I decided to take him out with me and go fishing,” McTaggart said. “It’s better than staying at home. We went fishing to East End and we weren’t even after barracuda. We were targeting wahoo, so that goes to show you can never be sure of these things. I’ve done tournaments every year from before Dylan’s age.”

For his efforts, Merren would claim a book by marine conservationist Guy Harvey. He would be just behind Andrew Cayasso, aboard Topless, who had the heaviest barracuda at 7.9lbs and claimed a Harbour House Marina rod and reel combo.

In all, 33 junior anglers and 13 boats registered for the tournament. All were after four main species of wahoo, yellowfin tuna, tarpon (catch and release) and barracuda. The big winner was Charles ‘CJ’ Ebanks-Evans, who had the tournament’s heaviest wahoo (25lbs) and the three heaviest yellowfin tuna catches (with weights of 30.9lbs, 24.4lbs and 18.9lbs). All were caught on board his father’s boat, Patriot. Ryan Barnett, aboard Anna Maria II, was first place in the tarpon release category and won fly fishing lessons for two with Capt. Ron Ebanks.

McTaggart, the son of Mark McTaggart and Victoria Merren, states his dedication to the sport comes out of its unpredictable nature. As opposed to other disciplines, he feels angling offers a greater thrill due to a heightened element of chance.

“With other sports there’s no luck to it. To me that’s not quite as exciting. With fishing you could get a lot or nothing. I took a liking to it when I was younger and I’ve been hooked since then.”