Due West Goes West to Win Tournament of Champions!

By Jack Holmes

Treasure Island, Florida -  Dante Fabbro, Kyle Martin, and Mike Tomaino fished the Due West, a Yamaha powered Cape Horn, in 155 feet of water north west of Johns Pass.

“It was rough but we knew this was the place to go,” said team captain Dante Fabbro.  “We had fished this area last week and found fish.’ Fabbro went on to explain, “ She hit at nine o’clock enticed by a big blue runner on the surface.”

Mike Tomaino was the guy who made the team hero’s this weekend easing the 41.53 to the waiting gaff, not to mention putting some jingle in their pockets.

The Due West team was one of the early teams back at Gator’s dock. “It took us five hours to get back in fighting those east winds. Seas were four to seven feet, and we couldn’t move faster than 15 knots,” Fabbro elaborated. They had the salt on their dark t-top canvas to prove it. But serious tournament anglers do what they think is necessary to win an event.

When asked if this was their first victory, Fabbro told me that he had won the BudLight tournament in Pensacola back in ’04. Winning one in their back yard certainly will be memorable.

This team has certainly paid their dues in our sport and deserve this win.

One name synonymous with leader boards in Division Six is the G-Force. Jason Gell and Scott Lavieri earned second place this weekend with a nice 37.26.

“We fished the shipping channel but we almost didn’t fish this weekend,” said Gell. “I’m in law school at Stetson and didn’t get here in time to pre-fish or catch bait because of exams. If it wasn’t for J-Bird hooking us up with some good baits we would have stayed on the hill.”

Scott hooked the fish at one o’clock after she ate a ladyfish on the surface and fought the king for over an hour. “She was foul hooked on the side and just kept circling the boat. Finally I got her just doing circles off the bow and eventually to the surface.

Bimini Twist, a Suzuki powered Cigarette, picked up third with a 36.54.

Matt Tarrance’s Idle Time earned fourth. “We have one goal this year and that’s to win the Division title,” said Matt. “Jack Penny won the Division in ’06, we won it in ’07, and he finished at the top again in ’08. We’ve got something to prove!”

At the TOC this year his team, Eric Sidor, Jeff Houser, Ed Gunn, and Doug Paul, went south to Venice but didn’t find any fish so kept going south to Boca Grand.

“We paid attention to the wind and water temperatures,” Matt added. “It was about noon our 35.91 hit a blue runner on the surface in sixty feet of water. Doug did the honors and kept us in the hunt for the title.”

Idle Time is a Mercury powered Fountain and now have a two fish aggregate of 68.78 and second place in the Division.

“We went one tower too many,” said Jack Penny at the awards ceremony. “We had her, she would have gone at least fifty pounds but we needed another forty five minutes to make it to the scale.” The Penny is still in contentention but must scale fish in the final two events. They are already qualified from Division 11.

Rounding out the top five was Travis Maxwell and Casey Bryde on the Constant Chaos.

Delosa’s Marshall Law had a good weekend earning sixth after scaling a 29.47. Jim Breazeale, Kevin Grissinger, and Don Wiwi already have a 41.07 in the point’s race from Sarasota so this 29 has to be looking pretty good right now. Their two fish Division leading aggregate totals 70.54.

Poon Daddy scaled a 28.38, the eighth biggest king out of seventy-four teams fishing this weekend. Steve McCracken, Mike Milisits, and Benny Calzon fished the Egmont Channel and hooked up around one o’clock. “Benny, who had a blue runner at the end of his line, made short order of the fight,” explained McCracken. “It was a team effort and we’re real happy considering fishing was not the best and a lot of teams ran south.”

The team fishes an Evinrude powered Hydra Sports. They qualified last year after earning eleventh in the Class. This is a great start!

Team Booth Construction fishing a Yamaha powered Cape Horn, earned second place in the Class with a nice 25.89. Matt Boothe and John Celestian fished thirty miles west of Johns Pass at a spot John described, “a favorite area they’ve been fishing for a year.”

“We finished third last year in this same tournament so I guess we’re improving,” Matt said. “John caught her at ten thirty using a blue runner.”

Rounding out the top three money spots in the Class of 23 was Jeffri Durrance’s Top Down. Fishing their Mercury powered Triton walk around, with Todd Parrish, Jim Long, Ryan Parrish, and Joe Bazenas, they scaled a 24.14. After scaling a 29 second place 29.02 in the season opener in Sarasota’s this team finds itself leading the Division in the Class.

The top lady angler of the tournament was Karen Bixler on the Sea Dog who caught a 25.31.

Seventh place in the overall event fell to David Heavenridge on the Yamaha powered Spectre, Courtside Grill / Top Gun. They scaled a 28.88 giving Josh and Cameron Heavenridge the top junior angler honors. They were our Junior Division winners in Division 6 last year and are well on their way to repeating. They are third in the Division with a two fish aggregate of 57.24.

Eighth place went to Robert McRanie’s C.R.A.P. Happens with a 26.78 and Todd Guarnieri’s Fish Bonz with a 26.62 earned ninth.

Rounding out the top ten was Steve Hays and Perry Warner on the Surreel.

The weather at check out heralded strong winds out of the east that allowed for calm seas all along the beaches but the further out you traveled the rougher it got. By one o’clock however winds died and proved to be a beautiful afternoon.

The Tournament of Champions event was produced by the Southern Kingfish staff.

Next and final spring event of Division Six takes place May 8th and 9th at Gator’s on the Pass. The final event of the Division does not take place till October 23rd and 24th. For SKA members, the top twenty-five open class boats and twenty Class of 23 boats will qualify for the Nineteenth National Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi.  The winners of both the Open Class and Class of 23 gets entry fees and rooms compliments of the SKA and Mercury Marine.

Tournament of Champions Final Standings

Open Class 41.531. DUE WEST Cape Horn / Yamaha Dante Fabbro Kyle Martin Mike Tomaino 37.262. G-FORCE Contender / Yamaha Jason Gell Scott Lavieri 36.543. BIMINI TWIST Cigarette / Suzuki Grant Johnston Dane Karcher Mike Grasso 35.914. IDLE TIME Fountain / Mercury Matt Tarrance Eric Sidor Jeff Houser Ed Gunn Doug Paul 29.795. CONSTANT CHAOS Contender / Yamaha Travis Maxwell Casey Bryde 29.476. DELOSA'S / MARSHALL LAW Yellowfin / Mercury Jim Breazeale Kevin Grissinger Don Wiwi 28.887. COURTSIDE GRILLE / TOP GUN Spectre / Yanmar David Heavenridge Warren Williams Ron Kien Cameron Heavenridge Josh Heavenridge Morgan Kien 26.788. C.R.A.P. HAPPENS Hydra Sports / Yamaha Robert McRanie Cody McRanie Tommy Ziesman Bill Chancey 26.629. FISH BONZ Yellowfin / Evinrude Todd Guarnieri Ed Hodgson Mike Bjurmark Blake Guarnieri 26.3410. SURREEL Fountain / Mercury Steve Hays Perry Warner

Class of 23 28.381. POON DADDY Hydra Sports / Evinrude Steve McCracken Mike Milisits Benny Calzon 25.892. TEAM BOOTHE CONSTRUCTION Cape Horn / Yamaha Matt Boothe John Celestian 24.143. TOP DOWN Triton / Mercury Jeffri Durrance Todd Parrish Jim Long Ryan Parrish Joe Bazenas Top Lady Angler 25.31Karen Bixler SEA DOG SKA Top Junior Anglers sponsored by N.B.O.A. Marine Insurance 28.881. Josh & Cameron Heavenridge COURTSIDE GRILLE / TOP GUN 23.222. Landon Howes TEAM MARLAGO 13.143. Zac Howes REEL KNOTTY