Pontiac girl takes home first place in annual spearfishing tourney
Winners in the Pontiac spearfishing tournament held June 18 on Bull Shoals Lake were, from left: first place Regan Blackburn, second place Lola Wade and third place, Scott Gunzenhauser.
Regan Blackburn, an 11-year-old girl from Pontiac, swept the competition in the June 18 annual spearfishing tournament held in Bull Shoals Lake at Pontiac Cove Marina with a whopping 14 pound 15 ounce catfish.
Regan completed her certification to scuba dive last May when she was 10. She is the daughter of Gabe and Jessica Blackburn.
“I’m just so proud of her. Not just for winning - which is amazing considering she beat out a whole bunch of grown men including her dad and dive buddy, but just that she does it at all,” said Regan’s mom Jessica. “I could never dive into that cold, dark lake and shoot a spear into the head of a giant fish. Never.”
There were 28 competitors in this year’s competition, including Regan. Fifteen fish were weighed, a variety of blue and channel cats, walleye, carp and gar. Regan’s good friend Lola Wade, also 11, snatched up the second place prize with a 9 pound 2 ounce catfish. Lola is the daughter of Matt and Jabet Wade. The two girls were guided by their dads during the tournament.
Third place went to Scott Gunzenhauser with an 8 pound 2 ounce catfish. First place in the walleye division went to Joe Graber with a 4 pound 6 ounce fish, and Bob Benson took home first place in the rough fish category with a carp weighing 9 pounds 2 ounces.