A Brief History of the Puerto Rico Light Tackle Anglers

PRLTA was founded in October 1962. At that time, sport fishing as we know it today was in its infancy in Puerto Rico. Juan Casellas invited a small group of friends to devise a way to conduct friendly wars of light line fishing, in a style unfamiliar to many participants.

No big trophies, no Calcutta’s, no big promotional budgets; the main idea was (and still is) to get friends together – young and old and have a fair fight on the water and afterwards, a fair party. A small 5” X 8” inch plaque was (and still is) the winner’s only material reward. Even registration fees were held to a minimum, to make the tournaments accessible to all. Somehow, there was always a small surplus, so the PRLTA was able join the International Light Tackle Tournament Association (ILTTA) as early as 1964 and maintains its status as a member continuously ever since. The first Board of Directors was presided by Mr. Juan Casellas, President; with Mr. Roberto Homar, Vice president; Mr. Adolfo Pagan, Treasurer; Mr. Bruno Rodriguez, Secretary; Mr. Tito Infanzon and Mr. Paul Hammer as vocals.

The list of achievements is too long to relate here. But it was a logical consequence of the initiative of the founders and the trustees, together with a dedicated, enthusiastic group of anglers that contributed to the development of sport fishing in Puerto Rico in general, and of light tackle fishing in particular.

Since its foundation the PRLTA has celebrated many tournaments every year, both offshore and inshore, where men, women and children participate on equal standing, and enjoy good fishing and fun on all corners of the island.

In 1988 the PRLTA hosted for the first time, the 48th edition of the ILTTA tournament in Mayaguez Puerto Rico. The Committee Chairman was Tito Infanzon and the PRLTA President was Pepe Terrassa. Since then, the PRLTA has hosted the ILTTA tournament three more times in Puerto Rico; in 1993, with Chairman Bill Wood and President Roberto Sabater; in 2000, with Chairman Pepe Terrassa and President Jose Jimenez and lastly in 2005, with Chairman Agie Vicente and President Luis Infanzon.

The future of the PRLTA lies in our children to keep fishing and making friends while conserving and protecting the national resources of fisheries, not just in our beautiful Caribbean waters, but also throughout the planet.