Tourney helps Willacy County students

By Tony Vindell

For Lone Star outdoor newS

A 40-inch cobia was the biggest fish caught during the 2023 Willacy County Young Farmers Fishing Tournament.

Matthew Dean, a Canyon Lake resident, hooked the 24-pounder when aboard Reel Obsession, an offshore fishing operator from Port Mansfield, with several family members.

“We were fishing for red snapper and saw the line swimming toward us,” Dean said. “I caught it after it took the bait we were using.”

Dean also took second place in the shark division while his father, George, took first.

The Deans, both avid anglers, said this was their first time fishing in the event, which aimed to raise scholarship money for high school students and for several nonprofit organizations.

“We love it here,” he said. “We will be back next year.”

Tristan Machen and Kathy Machen, of Port Mansfield, went out in state waters and took first and second places, respectively, in the red snapper division.

More than 200 anglers participated in the bay waters division, and Edcouch resident Orlando Alvarado was declared the grand champion as he checked in a redfish, trout and flounder stringer with a combined weight of 12 pounds, 3.2 ounces.

“I feel great,” he said after walking away with the tourney’s biggest trophies. “I have been fishing this tournament for quite some time and I finally took the big prize.”

Alvarado and three others fished the one-day tournament, held May 27 in Port Mansfield.

He said they started targeting the reds first, followed by the trout and the

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