2:43

PM EST March 6, 2017 Jordan Ferrell

El Cheapo: a fishing tournament for the

whole family
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – They call it the El Cheapo for a good reason. At a
mere $80 per boat, the annual Sheepshead tournament in Mayport is by
far the cheapest and one of the largest purse shing competitions in all
of Florida.

The 17th annual El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament kicked o early

Saturday morning in traditional fashion. By dawn, the parking lot at the
Mayport docks had already transformed into a boneyard of boat
trailers.

Per Assistant Tournament Director Trina Polkey, 385 boats registered

for the tournament this year. Polkey, who has been involved with
Jacksonville O shore Sport Fishing Club (JOSFC) for over a decade, has
been heavily involved with the tournament for the past three years.

The JOSFC started hosting the El Cheapo Tournament in 2000. The club
takes care of organizational aspects, like the collection of tournament
fees and arranging sponsorships. Each year, the JOSFC takes a portion
of the proceeds and puts them towards building arti cial reefs o shore
and supporting the Marine Science Education Center here in
Jacksonville.
El Cheapo Assistant Tournament Director Trina Polkey

“And that’s not even listing all the things we support through the
year,” Polkey said, speaking on behalf of the JOSFC. “Whenever there
are issues with the SAFMC, we support people going to lobby for our
rights to sh.”

Polkey said that the tournament averages around 400 boats each year.
This year, that number was slightly down, but you wouldn’t know after
talking to participants, like Carl “CJ” Carlin, who makes the trip from
Lillian, Ala. to Jacksonville annually to join his son and daughter-in-
law in this family oriented shing tournament.

Carlin said he’s been participating in the El Cheapo for the past seven
years. He considers the tournament as a “family reunion.”

“Nothing,” Carlin said, when asked if he caught a Sheepshead last year.

“But it’s fun! It’s not the catching of the sh, it’s just going out and
doing something together.”

Carlin’s misfortune last year should come as no surprise, though. The

Sheepshead is a notoriously di cult sh to catch, due to their soft bite
and ckle taste. The preferred bait to use when shing for Sheepshead
has been ddler crabs in the past, but this year, oysters and shrimp
seemed to be the two most popular choices.
Carl "CJ" Carlin pictured with his daughter-in-law Summer
Lato

“After you feel that second bump, if you don’t have it pulled by then,
you’ve lost it,” said Ocean Waves Sunglasses representative Billy
Wilkerson. “A lot of the guys don’t even know how to sh for a
Sheepshead. There’s a skill to it.”

Billy and his son Travis Wilkerson have been participating in the
tournament as a sponsor for many years. They said they’ve seen it
continue to grow each year, and alongside it, the participants, who
some of which, Billy coached and Travis played little league baseball
with.

“The best part about this tournament is that everybody knows each
other,” Wilkerson said. “The families start coming out here; the kids
start coming out here and everybody just hangs out. It’s like a big
party.”

The El Cheapo tournament is divided into four separate categories of

anglers: general, juniors, ladies and kayak. The individual prize
amounts vary based on category, but the total cash value of all prizes
equal over $100,000. The grand prize this year in the general division
was a new boat, motor and trailer, with 15th place being $150 cash.

According to El Cheapo Weighmaster John “Pork Chop” Porcella,

despite a smaller number of registered boats, anglers this year seemed
to have more luck when it came to hooking Sheepshead.
Porcella, a New York native, has been involved in the El Cheapo since it
started, 17 years ago. His job as weighmaster includes riding around in
the media boat during the tournament and asking participants to show
what they’ve caught so far.

El Cheapo Weighmaster John "Pork Chop" Porcella

“We started out with originally probably 20 boats and now we are up to
400's,” Porcella said. “It’s the cheapest, largest tournament in all of
Florida.”

Porcella’s prediction for this year’s winning Sheepshead was 10.7

pounds. He wasn’t even close.

The winner in the general angler division was a 14.3-pound Sheepshead

caught by Chris Beasley. The hefty sh broke the previous El Cheapo
record of 12.9-pounds, which had been held since 2009. Beasley’s sh
was just shy of the current state record of 15.2-pounds.

“After years and years of shing for them, you just have to be patient
and have a variety of di erent baits,” said local radio personality Kirk
Waltz, who coincidentally came in second place. “Just like us, they like
fresh seafood. Put the right seafood in front of them and they’ll eat it.”

Photos: 2017 El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament

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