MASSENA — While Waddington may be known as the carp capital of the world, in the early hours of this year’s St. Lawrence International Junior Carp Tournament, Massena definitely was the place to be.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, the tournament’s leader and the top two fishing sites were located in Massena, with young anglers casting off Route 131 and at Hawkins Point reeling in more than 130 pounds of fish.

The sport continued until 8 p.m. Friday and will resume at 7 a.m. today. The tournament closes at 5 tonight with an award ceremony to follow at 7 at Madrid-Waddington Central School.

The tourney’s early leader, Matthew J. Delosh, 14, of Madrid, had hauled in four carp totaling 61 pounds, 3 ounces by Friday afternoon.

St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Director Patricia L. McKeown said that scoring is based on an angler’s best four fish.

“Right now he’s trying to replace his smaller fish,” she said. “And when I say smaller, I’m talking about 14- or 15-pound fish.”

That’s one of the things many of the competitors, including Matt, said they enjoyed most about carp fishing.

“They’re strong, they’re fast and they’re big fish,” Matt said, adding fishing was something he enjoyed doing with his family.

His brother Austin, 12, also was participating in the tournament.

Today when the competition resumes, both boys will be trying their luck at Coles Creek.

Ms. McKeown said that, as of Friday afternoon, 46 fish totaling 664 pounds had been caught. The biggest fish brought in as of that time weighed 24 pounds and was caught in Ogdensburg near the Customs House.

The overall winner of the tournament will receive $10,000. Second- and third-place prizes also are offered, along with awards for sportsmanship, teams and biggest fish.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer