The Battle of the Badges returns September 19-21, to Riverside Park in New Smyrna Beach. Only in its second year, this popular, fun-filled event is becoming well-known around Florida. Check out more about the event at www.BadgeBattle.com

Battle of the Badge: The Rematch

Last year, FS editor Sam Hudson fished the tournament, and we've included his report, below. This year's event should be even better.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for years held school bus races on a muddy track to raise money for Florida Sheriff Youth Ranches, a place where troubled kids get a second chance. The tradition came to an end last year after Sheriff Chris Daniels died during a race accident. Switching strategies, the Sheriff’s office dedicated the inaugural Battle of the Badges inshore fishing tournament, in New Smyrna Beach, to the memory of Daniels.

Three hundred anglers, many of them law officers from across the state, participated in the one-day competition, fishing in waters anywhere within the Volusia County line. Through the day, law enforcement colloquialisms rang through the crowd such as, “You’d get shot for that from where I’m from.” There would be no underhanded practices in this event.

The weigh-in had three divisions consisting of junior angler, open division and “battle of the badges” or law enforcement. The winners of the open division for each targeted fish—trout and redfish—received $1,000. Winners of the law enforcement division, oddly enough, received a carport.

One thousand dollars richer were Richard Knuth with a 5.2-pound trout and Eric Mantz with 7.3-pound redfish. Rounding out the open division for trout were Michael Stitely (5.0) and Mike Marple (4.8), and redfish open division Craig Morrisey (7.1) and Chris Latour (6.7). Battle of the Badges division winner for trout was Jim Power (5.8), followed by Tadd Derr (4.5) and Gary Malphurs (3.6). Top redfish for an officer went to Michael McBurney (6.6), trailed by Tommy Seagraves (6.2) and Tom Maccio (5.6). Junior angler winners were Hannah Davis with a 5.2-pound trout and Kody Kirton with a 6.9-pound redfish. Tom Clausen won the $450 prize for most-spot redfish with his 29-dotter. Lucky for him, a fish brought to the scales with 95 spots wasn’t entered in the mini-tournament.

The day of the tournament, I met Volusia County Chief Deputy Bill Lee at 6 a.m., and we fished with Oak Hill guide, Capt. David Roberson. Two livewells full of pigfish kept us busy throughout the tourney. We used 14-pound braid, mono leader, a 6/0 kahle hook, and hooked the pigfish behind the anal fin. The trick was to keep the pigfish from scurrying into the grass, and instead, keep them on the sand spots in between—the outcome often a jigging motion every ten seconds. Reds and trout hit the pigfish while it was jigging backward toward the surface.

Constant action throughout the day, from a variety of spots in the maze of Canaveral National Seashore islands, proved that this technique was dynamite. Roberson called it a “slow day on the water” because neither the Chief nor I caught that 8-pound trout or red that would have won the tournament. Between us two anglers we caught 30 trout and 10 reds, even with rain for two days before the tournament clouding the water and strewing grass on the surface.

A memorable spot was a point with tangle-limbed trees sprouting from the grass, gun shots the background music from the special September duck season. The water below was deep close to shore, with depths thinning away from the bank. Schools of mullet continually broke the surface as packs of reds marauded through, trout hung below and tarpon rolled on the fringes. This spot would have produced all day, but the schooled reds were averaging 24 inches, 3 inches shy of the fish we were after.

-- Sam Hudson