Caymanian junior angler reels in record tuna

Teyon Goff wowed the crowds at the weigh-in of the 2023 Burger King Big Fish tournament, after the 13-year-old reeled in the biggest tuna caught by a junior angler in the event’s six-year history.

Goff tipped the scale on Saturday, 11 March, at the Barcadere Marina in George Town, with his 52.4-pound yellow-fin tuna; an effort that won him the junior category and second overall for the tournament, behind teammate Jivarre Dixon by only .4 pounds.

For Goff, this isn’t the first time the young fisherman has participated in the BK Big Fish event. In fact, he won the junior category in 2020 and again in 2021 with his family team, ‘Morning Spirit.’

Now, after recording his personal best catch, Goff recalls his battle with the sea beast over the weekend, noting that it was his hardest catch to date.

“It was [a] pretty long [process],” he told the Compass. “We had to do a lot of live baiting, chumming and stuff like that to get him on the line. I hooked mine and he took off,” he said, adding it was back and forth for nearly 20 minutes.

“I had him on an 80, so it was even harder to hold him. My team gave me a lot of support, they were holding me, so I didn’t get pulled overboard…[and] saying, ‘Hold him, boy, hold him.’”

Goff listened to his team and held on to the near 53-pounder, which he eventually reeled in successfully.

Mark Anthony, the owner of the tournament, told the Compass that while the event is obviously focused on competitive fishing, he believes it’s also about building up future Caymanian anglers, like Goff.

“I always tell people, if you want to see Cayman, come out to our fishing tournaments,” he said. “It’s near and dear to the history and culture, it’s part of the fabric. Having kids, in many ways, is preserving this history and preserving the culture.”

According to the Cayman Islands Angling Club president Frank Thompson, more than 70 young anglers competed in the BK Big Fish fishing clinic on Sunday, 12 March.