Desperado Wins 18th Annual Fall Suncoast Kingfish Classic!
By Jack Holmes
Treasure Island, Florida - It was the battle of the forty pound kings and what a battle it was. Shortly after the scales opened at four o’clock Ken Dellane, Chris Terry, Chris Geschke, and Jimmy Cope, came up to the Gator’s dock. I could see from where the scale was positioned that their fish would bounce the scale up-up-up.
The Kingpin team, fishing an Evinrude powered Jupiter, held their breath while the scale settled. 41.75 came the cry of the weigh master. A really nice king for this time of year and number one on the big board.
As others came to the scale, the 41.75 looked really good. Then Dante Fabbro, Mike Tomaino, and Kyle Martin showed up with a very heavy bag. They fish a Yamaha powered Cape Horn named Due West. When the scale settled it read 41.70, just five one-hundredths off the lead but it wasn’t over yet.
A couple of boats later Bryan Wallace, Charlie Dewire, and Jack Vasilaros had one to weigh. The Desperado team watched as the LED lights on the scale bounced between 41.74 and 41.78. It finally settled on 41.76, one- one hundredths of a pound ahead of Kingpin and that’s how one, two, three, ended up. Desperado, Kingpin, and Due West.
If that wasn’t enough drama, try this one on for size. Going into this final event of the season for Division 6, Matthew Tarrance was in the lead in the Open Class. He and his team, Ed Gunn, Doug Paul, Eric Sidor, and Jeff Houser, fishing the Mercury powered Fountain, Idle Time, had a three fish aggregate of 87.23 pounds and had a 20.45 drop fish. They came to the scale with a fourth place 36.92. After replacing their drop fish they had a nice three fish 103.70 aggregate. Was it enough?
The fourth place team in the standings was Fabbro’s Due West, which had a two fish aggregate of 73.53. Their 41.70 wasn’t big enough to win the event but it sure was enough to pass Idle Time and two other teams to clinch the Division title and the ride to the Championship.
There was surely a lot going on but we weren’t done yet. After securing the Class of 23 title in Division 11 Chris Workman, Michelle Jackson, Kevin Weber, and Jim Kurth, fishing Get Snookerd scaled a 28.43 to win the Division Six Class title also.
Jeffri Durrance Jim Long, and Joe Bazenas, didn’t go down without a fight for the Division title however. They scaled a nice 27.60 to earn second place both in the tournament and in the standings. They were less than seven points out of first. “We had her in the boat before eight o’clock but just couldn’t improve on it as the day went on,” said Durrance. “Our team never quits.”
Third place in the Class of 23 in the tournament fell to our ’06 Class of 23 National Champion. Matt Bonnell. His Bandit team, Vernon, Sandy, Jeremy, and Chris Bonnell, scaled a 27.24. They don’t have to worry about qualifying each year, they get the automatic to the big show.
Buggin Out, a Yamaha powered Contender, picked up sixth overall with a 36.02. Glenn Gee, Todd Paulins, Mark Hall, Drew Ellis, Mel Stowe, and Tom Polch, make up the successful team. They ended up eighth overall this year in the Open Class standings.
Seventh place was a non-member, which also carried the Top Lady Angler. A very attractive young lady who will never see any accolades for her efforts because the guy she was with was to cheap to join the Association. Maybe she’ll find a new boat to fish on for next year.
Finally, Tim Wooten, Doug Clark, Doug Boling, and Tyler Wooten secured eighth place with a 34.10. They fish the Suzuki powered Everglades, Never Satisfied. They earned fourth overall in the standings. That’s a very good season in anyone’s book!
The top three SKA juniors were Nathanial Hall from Rambunctious, Zac Luz fishing Reel Knotty, and Blake Guarnieri off the Fish Bonz. Nathaniel also won the $500 Mercury scholarship money plus Top Junior overall status for the Division.
Division six is a tough Division to fish. You have three events in the spring, then have to wait five months for the final event to see if you make it to the big show in November.
Congratulations to the entire staff at Gator’s, who work very hard on producing a good event. This, their 18th annual was exceptional!
See everyone at the Nationals!
| Gator's Fall Suncoast Classic Final Standings |
| Open Class | 41.761. DESPERADO
Yellowfin / Mercury
Bryan Wallace
Charlie Dewire
Jack Vasilaros
| 41.752. KINGPIN
Jupiter / Evinrude
Ken Dellane
Chris Terry
Chris Geschke
Jimmy Cope
| 41.703. DUE WEST
Cape Horn / Yamaha
Dante Fabbro
Mike Tomaino
Kyle Martin
| 36.924. IDLE TIME
Fountain / Mercury
Matt Tarrance
Ed Gunn
Doug Paul
Eric Sidor
Jeff Houser
| 36.655. Olympic Gold
| 36.026. BUGGIN OUT
Contender / Yamaha
Glenn Gee
Todd Paulins
Mark Hall
Drew Ellis
Mel Stowe
Tom Polch
| 35.707. Wicked
| 34.108. NEVER SATISFIED
Everglades / Suzuki
Timothy Wooten
Doug Clark
Doug Boling
Tyler Wooten
|
| | Class of 23 | 28.431. GET SNOOKERD
Contender / Yamaha
Chris Workman
Michelle Jackson
Kevin Weber
Jim Kurth
| 27.602. TOP DOWN
Sea Craft / Evinrude
Jeffri Durrance
Jim Long
Joe Bazenas
| 27.243. BANDIT
Bluewater / Yamaha
Matt Bonnell
Vernon Bonnell
Sandy Bonnell
Jeremy Bonnell
Chris Bonnell
|
| SKA Top Junior Anglers | | sponsored by NBOA Marine Insurance Agency, Inc. | 25.281. Nathaniel Hall
RAMBUNCTIOUS
| 21.652. Zac Luz
REEL KNOTTY
| 18.793. Blake Guarnieri
FISH BONZ
|
| Mercury Marine Junior Angler Scholarship Winner | Nathaniel Hall
RAMBUNCTIOUS |
|