About Reel Coastal Events

Built by Anglers. Designed for the Tournament Community.

Reel Coastal Events was created with one goal in mind: to build fishing tournaments that anglers genuinely want to fish.

Our events are designed around the things that matter most to the fishing community — fair competition, simple and well-thought-out rules, flexibility, family participation, great prizes, strong sponsor partnerships, and an experience teams look forward to year after year.

Built From Experience

Reel Coastal Events was founded by Samantha Soderland, a tournament angler who grew up around competitive fishing and the offshore community.

Over the years, Samantha has experienced fishing tournaments from nearly every side. She has competed in tournaments, volunteered and helped behind the scenes at events, worked within the fishing industry, and sponsored numerous tournaments.

Seeing tournaments from the perspective of an angler, volunteer, industry professional, and sponsor has provided a unique understanding of what makes an event successful — and where there are opportunities to do things differently.

That experience is the foundation behind Reel Coastal Events.

A Different Approach to Tournament Fishing

We believe a great tournament should work with anglers, not against them.

More Than Just a Tournament

Reel Coastal Events is about more than who brings the biggest fish to the scale.

We want to create events that bring together anglers, families, captains, businesses, and the marine industry while supporting the fishing communities that make these tournaments possible.

Our events are built around:

Sportsmanship • Fair Competition • Conservation • Family Participation • Community • Sponsor Support

We also believe our sponsors should receive real value for supporting our tournaments. Our goal is to build long-term partnerships with businesses throughout the fishing, boating, marine, and outdoor industries and give those companies meaningful opportunities to connect directly with our participants.

Just Getting Started

The Winter Wahoo Open is the beginning of what we hope will become a growing lineup of Reel Coastal events throughout the Southeast.

We're excited to build something new, listen to the anglers who participate, continue improving every event, and create tournaments teams are proud to be part of.

Whether you're competing, sponsoring, volunteering, or following along from the dock, we're glad to have you along for the ride.

We'll see you at the scales.