(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

AJ's Win Falls to Venice Marine
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
September 18, 2000

Destin, FL— Destin is dubbed as one of the top fishing destinations in the South, and despite rainy weather and tough fishing conditions during the weekend the reputation stood as such. The Venice Marine fishing team of Brent, Deborah, and Brandon Ballay, along with Jerry Franks and Kirk Lewellen emerged as the winners of the tournament with a 42.8 pound kingfish.

Newcomers to the SKA Mercury Tournament Trail, they fished over 120 miles from the scales to find their winner. “Everyone else ran the ditch,” according to team captain Brent Ballay, “while I think we were one of the only teams to head out the jetties.”

After running their OMC-powered HydraSports center console hard in the six foot seas, they finally arrived at their numbers by 10:30 in the morning. “We had only a couple sharks there,” Ballay reported, “so we picked up and ran to the nearest rig.” The kings quickly responded, with a double-header right off the bat, followed by a triple hookup once the baits had been redeployed. Their biggest fish of the day hit a jumbo hardtail down 50 feet on the downrigger at 1:10 PM. Deborah grabbed the rod and proceeded to angle the fish to the boat in just 15 minutes.

“We use about 10 pounds of drag on 30 pound test line in the Gulf, so it usually doesn’t take us very long to get them to the boat,” Ballay said. The team then made the long journey to the scales, and would remain in the lead for the remainder of the tournament. For their efforts, the team won not only the event’s top prize of $10,000 but a beautiful hand-carved kingfish trophy.

Neal Foster and the Intense team came to the scales near the end of the day on the first day of the tournament, after having made the same long run as most of the fleet with the tournament’s second place fish aboard their Yamaha-powered Contender. Unfortunately, the team weighed in right in the middle of an intense downpour (pardon the pun), so there wasn’t an opportunity for any photos to be taken of their fish.

“We ran a total of 370 miles today,” Foster reported, “all the way to Dauphin Island and then 55 miles offshore.” Foster said there was a hot bite in progress most of the day, as the team caught and released nearly 40 kingfish during the first day. Their kingfish hit a hardtail on the topline for Robbie Montgomery in 115 feet of water.

“He only fought the fish for about 10 minutes--we saw that he was hooked really well in the jaw, so he put the pressure to him,” said the happy captain. “I’d like to thank both Contender and Yamaha, though--the boat holds the fuel that gave us the range to fish that far from the dock, and the motors had the fuel economy and reliability to let us run. In fact, there were only a couple boats at the spot that weren’t Contenders. It’s just a great ride in the ocean.” The Intense’s 42.5 pounder would put them in second place overall, just three-tenths of a pound behind Venice Marine.

Third place in the tournament went to the Triple Action team of Mark McDonald, Chad Pierce and Jimmy Duke, fishing aboard a triple-Mercury powered Donzi 35. They were first to the scales on Day One with a very nice fish aboard. Their 40.9 pounder would eventually be dropped down to the tournament’s third spot after leading for a short while. “We only had about 5 or 10 gallons of fuel left in the tanks,” McDonald reported. “We ran hard and burned a lot of gas today!” The team ran 20 miles from Dauphin Island to 100 feet of water. At 10 AM, their number was called when their biggest fish of the day came calling. “We had a double on the flatlines, then about five minutes later the big boy hit deep,” Pierce reported. The big king proved to be a stubborn adversary, however, dogging deep and refusing to come to the surface.

The tournament’s fourth place finisher is certainly one of the most consistent teams in the upper Gulf--Mark Kennedy, his son Tyler, Steve Ennis, Max Williams and Jeff McKoy on the Kwazar. The team also elected to make the long run off Dauphin Island in their Contender to find the fish, coming to the scales shortly after the Intense and also in the rainstorm during Day One. Their fish weighed forty pounds even, earning Tyler yet another SKA First Place Junior Angler plaque for his efforts with the team during the day.

The Rag Tag, captained by Creighton Parker with Robert Merritt, Geoff Persell and Hal Hudson aboard, is usually one of the top boats at AJs. This year would be no exception as they rounded out the top five. They chose to run the ICW to Fort Morgan before heading out to the rigs in 100 feet of water. “We could barely keep the lines in, that’s how strong the bite was today,” Parker reported. Their biggest, a 39.8 pounder, hit a Better Baits ribbonfish that was being let out on the downrigger. “We were trying to put it down, and he just smoked it. Robert [Merritt] fought the fish for 15 minutes or so before we could boat him,” Parker said later. “We ran the boat extremely hard today in the ocean--I need to thank both Yamaha and Contender for making our day today. We had the range and fuel efficiency to find the fish and get back in time.”

The staff and volunteers at AJ’s deserve a hearty pat on the back for their hard work during the weekend. Gary Jennings from CCA-Florida pitched in as tournament weighmaster, and he did an outstanding job. Although the weather was not good, everyone enjoyed the weekend and all said they would return next year.

Final Standings

1. VENICE MARINA’S TEAM HYDRASPORT......................42.8 HydraSport/Evinrude Brent Ballay Deborah Ballay Brandon Ballay Jerry Franks Kirk Lewellen 2. INTENSE.............................42.5 Contender/Yamaha Neal Foster Robby Montgomery Tim Berger 3. TEAM TRIPLE ACTION......................40.9 Donzi/Mercury Chad Pierce Mark McDonald Jimmy Duke 4. KWAZAR...............................40.0 Contender/Yamaha Mark Kennedy Jeff McCoy Steve Ennis Max Williams Tyler Kennedy 5. RAG TAG..............................39.8 Contender/Yamaha Creighton Parker Robert Merritt Geoff Persell Hal Hudson	6. WENDY SEA.............................37.1 Contender/Yamaha Mike Kennedy Kenny Smith Pete Shores Skip Thomson 7. OUT OF CONTROL..........................34.7 Contender/Yamaha Jimmy Garrett Clinton Wells Clayton Wells Christopher Wells Will Norwood 8. TRAVELER..........................33.1 Fountain/Yamaha Jim Shilston David Smart Sam Langham Mark Bradley 9. *SEA HAGG............................32.6 SeaCraft/Mercury Cecil Capps, Jr. Earl Burbridge Gary Rucker 10. CRAWGATOR..............................27.1 Contender/Yamaha Bill Butler Steve Jenkins Mitt Butler Mike Butler

Rag Tag Holds On for GMC Victory
Sam White, Southern Kingfish Association
September 18, 2000

Mobile, AL—The Jaws Too team, captained by Dave Mistretta, won the fourth leg of the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour today in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mistretta ran the Yamaha-powered Donzi 35 well offshore in the six- to eight-foot plus seas today, returning early to the scales at Point Cadet Marina with the largest kingfish of the day, a whopping 47.0 pounder.

“It was really rough out there,” he reported. “It took us almost three hours to get back out to the spot we had located the fish yesterday. We only fished for a little while, then we decided to come on home.” For their efforts, the Jaws Too team will return to their home port of Indian Rocks Beach, Florida with over $30,000 in cash.

The Day One leaders, Creighton Parker’s Rag Tag team, wound up in second place overall. They had the biggest fish of the tournament, a 51.2 pounder caught yesterday, but could only manage a 30.5 pound king mackerel today.

The Pro Tour has an aggregate format, forcing the teams to weigh in their biggest king mackerel each day of the two-day event. The scores are then totaled to determine the overall winner. The Rag Tag, based in Pensacola, Florida, is a Yamaha-powered Contender boat.

The En Fuego, captained by Stewart Montgomery, took third in the Pro Tour with a combined score of 76.1 pounds. They returned today with a 35.4 pounder to go with their 40.7 pound fish from Day One. The En Fuego team hails from Wilmington, North Carolina.

Geoff Everhart and the Fish Boys team found fourth place with a total score of 75 pounds even, followed by Steve Shook’s Team Thunder in fifth with 74.1 pounds.

The fifth and final stop on the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour will be in two weeks in Morehead City, NC. The overall winner of the Pro Tour will be declared the SKA’s Top Angler of the Year, the most prestigious award in saltwater sportfishing today.

Even though Parker’s Rag Tag team couldn’t find a larger fish today, they still held on to win the McConnell GMC King Classic, part of the SKA’s Mercury Tournament Trail. This tournament’s format is the biggest fish of the weekend, and that went to Parker and his team with their 51.2 pound kingfish from Day One. They wisely elected to fish in both events, and that decision paid off handsomely for the Pensacola-based team. For their efforts, they will take home a new 23-foot ProLine boat powered by a 250 hp. Mercury outboard motor and resting atop a Loadmaster custom aluminum trailer.

Second place in the GMC tournament went to the King Buster team captained by Fred Hoyt. The Bluffton, South Carolina team nailed a 49.5 pound kingfish yesterday.

Ocean Isle Beach’s Brant McMullen won third place with a 49.3 pound king mackerel, also caught yesterday.

All three of the top finishers in the GMC tournament compete from Yamaha-powered Contender boats, giving that manufacturer the sweep. The top team in the Class of 23 and Under, designed for boats less than 23 feet in length, went to Bob and Robin Cathey on the Last Minute. They are based out of Jacksonville, Florida. The top lady angler for the tournament was Stephanie McCurdy from the Get Reel team, with their 48.3 pound fish.

Final Standings
Boat Name, Capt. Name, Home Port, Biggest Kingfish in Pounds

1. RAG TAG, Creighton Parker, Pensacola FL, 51.2 2. KINGBUSTER, Fred Hoyt, Bluffton SC, 49.5 3. CAROLINA CONTENDER, Brant McMullen, Ocean Isle Beach NC, 49.3	4. JUST NATURAL, Richard Chapman, Emerald Isle NC, 49.0 5. RXCAPE, Dan Abshire, Pensacola FL, 48.3

Southbound's Two-Fish Agg Earns Win in Venice!
Jack Holmes, Southern Kingfish Association
August 1, 2000

Venice, LA— When you scale a 54.45 you pretty much know that your going to get a good chunk of the tournaments prize money. It doesn’t always hold true when the event boasts a two day aggregate. For Doyle Taylor, Gary Grove, and Dan Morley they had that big fish on day one and knew they had to have a winner on day two to hold their lead. Try a 45.26!

Taylor’s Southbound, a new Mercury powered 23’ ProLine, with only one tournament under it’s belt, came thru with flying colors. “We looked at a lot of boats but this one seemed to have the best entry and now it’s mine,” said the captain Doyle Taylor speaking about his new ProLine. “We wanted to compete in the Class of 23.” They fished both days in the same area in Louisiana’s West Delta, 140 feet of water, and used and caught both of their fish on live hardtails. “It was clean water but green,” he added. “We had caught fish here before.”

Another new boat bloodied the deck and earned a paycheck. Russell Webb’s Sand Bar Tender, a 26’ Yamaha powered Regulator just two weeks old, caught a 51.25 on day one and backed it up with a 47.75 on day two to earn second place.”We fished the same place both days,” said Webb. “Block 71 in the West Delta. We just stopped at a rig because no other boats were there and there was a lot of bait.” Both fish ate ribbonfish on downriggers. With Webb was Chase Webb, Dave Wesson, and Jody DeSivelle.

Mike Eubanks led the Contender contingent with a third place finish. His boat, the Xkavator, bagged a 48.38 on day one, then backed it up with a 39.69. “When we ran out the pass I asked everyone, which way?” explained the captain. “ Michael and Daniel, Clay Thompson, and Jim Jernigan said east, that’s the way we went. We fished a spot in block 60 that we’ve had luck on before. Hardtails were deployed, and both fish hit on the surface.

Rex Hudson’s two fish aggregate of 86.99 earned his Back Again team fourth place. Lee Fox, their junior angler, got sick at the ADSFR and almost wasn’t asked to go. It’s a good thing he did as he bagged both fish for the team, a 40.45 and a 46.54. “”We fished block 71 both days and used hardtails,” said Hudson. “Bait was hard to get due to the rough seas. We had just caught a shark and I thought it was time to leave but we put out one more bait and there she was.” On board the boat with Rex was Roy Hudson, Jerry Hudson, Steve Webb, and Fox.

The fifth place finisher was Marcus Kennedy’s Kwazar. He fished on Saturday and helped the team with a 45.98. Of course he went to church on Sunday however the team, Jeff McCoy, Max Williams, and Melvin Dunn, went out and scaled a 40.55 to give the team an 86.53 aggregate. Kwazar’s team now has a 58 pounder caught at Fourchon, a 61.49 at the rodeo, and now a 45.98 from Venice, giving the team a great Divisional total of 148.02. They’re in the top ten in standings in the pros also, what a year they’re having. I think they’re going to Morehead!

Final Standings
Standings reflect a two day aggregate total.

1. SOUTHBOUND....................99.71 ProLine/Mercury Doyle Taylor Gary Grove Dan Morley 2. SAND BAR TENDER....................99.00 Regulator/Yamaha Russell Webb Chase Webb Dave Wesson Jody DeSivelle 3. XKAVATOR....................88.07 Contender/Yamaha Mike Eubanks Michael Eubanks Daniel Eubanks Clay Thompson Jim Jernigan 4. BACK AGAIN....................86.99 Hydra Sports/Evinrude Rex Hudson Roy Hudson Jerry Hudson Steve Webb Lee Fox 5. KWAZAR....................86.53 Contender/Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Jeff McCoy Tyler Kennedy Max Williams Melvin Dunn	6. RAG TAG....................84.92 Contender/Yamaha Creighton Parker Robert Merritt Geoff Persell 7. LOCK JAW....................84.51 Cape Horn/Yamaha Elliot Eserman Craig Vizier Al John Boudreaux 8. SEA HAGG....................83.36 Sea Craft/Mercury Cecil Capps Jr. Earl Burbridge Gary Rucker 9. INTENSE....................82.03 Contender/Yamaha Neal Foster Robby Montgomery Tim Berger Robert Young 10. XTREME....................81.80 Muran Chris/Yamaha David Jones Mark Jones Glenn Jones David Jones Robert Jones
Final Standings Class of 23 1. SOUTHBOUND....................99.71 2. SEA HAGG....................83.36 3. QUIETUS....................81.28

Kwazar's 61.49 Earns Top Slot in Rodeo
ADSFR Largest Tournament in Country—1,069 Boats with 3,206 Anglers!
Jack Holmes, Southern Kingfish Association
July 25, 2000

Mobile, AL—Fishing was good, turnout great, weather was miserable. Worse than miserable, it was downright scary. The weather channel had predicted seas two to three feet on day one of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Tens to twelves was more like it but it built to that throughout the day before a big storm hit around 3 o’clock. One fisherman was heard to say “I was so happy just to get in I thought I was going to cry.” Others vowed to change their ways.

In spite of it all and the dangerous conditions some good fish were scaled. The Quietus, a 21 foot Yamaha powered Cape Horn, put a big boy on the scale early, a hefty 57.81, and grabbed the lead. Many were saying this was the fish of the tournament as a 53 pounder won it all last year.

Tony Bryant, the angler on the big king, wanted the win but knew there were 340 teams hard at it on the water and there was a lot of time left. “ We were out 40 miles due south of the island in 120 feet of dirty water,” explained the captain, J.J. Gilmore. “We had caught fish here before and knew we had to give it a try.” On board also was the teams co-captain David Rogers. They finished second and won the Class of 23.

The big fish of the rodeo was also weighed after the storm on Friday. Marcus Kennedy, Jeff McCoy, Max Williams, Tyler Kennedy, and Ronnie Summers normally fish in Louisiana’s Delta during this event, but elected instead to stay home and fish south of the island. “We’ve been catching some good fish 40 to 50 miles due south and decided to stay home and fish here,” said the winning captain and angler Marcus Kennedy. They caught the winning king, a 61.49, on a live hardtail in 135 feet of water at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, then had to contend with the high seas running for port.

The Lock Jaw, a 24 foot Cape Horn weighed a 52.23 to move into third on Saturday only to lose a spot when Cat Daddy weighed on Sunday. Elliot Eserman, the boat’s captain, fished the South Pass using hardtails for bait. They bagged the big fish at 8:30 in the morning. On board was Craig Vizier, Al John Boudreay, and Jared Duet.

Other notables who weighed Saturday included Joe Bishop’s Shagnasty, a 49.62 which eventually placed them in 8th place. They, along with Steve Shook’s Thunder, caught their fish on Friday in the West Delta. Shook weighed a 51.62 to earn sixth overall. He and his wife Ginger caught their fish in 38 feet of water while Bishop was putting a bait out when their king struck.

Sunday the weather cleared, temperatures dropped, and the guys fishing the Delta came in droves to get their catch weighed before the 5 PM cutoff.

Danny Mathis’ Cat Daddy hit the leaderboard hard, posting a nice 53.72 good for third place. They found their king fishing in Louisiana’s west Delta around 2 o’clock on Saturday. Guy Koontz fought the king which hit a hardtail on the surface while Danny ran the boat and Danny Mathis II and Richard Mathis aided in the landing of the fish. The Cat Daddy has been on a roll here lately. Don’t be surprised if we don’t see more of him and his team in victory lane this season.

Sleepy’s Spot, a Yamaha powered Contender, caught a 52.09 to boost the number of fifties to five for this years event. Trent Brady and Jim Thibodeaux were fishing at rig 117 in the Delta when their king ate a live hardtail right behind the boat. They released several fish in the 45 pound range. They finished fifth.

George Simon’s Speckulator earned 9th on the strength of a 49.03 while Aaron Pierce and Joey Adams teamed on the Hooked Up and claimed the big board’s tenths spot with a 48.11. Once again, this area has proven to be the undisputed home of big smoker kings--it took better than 45 pounds to make the top twenty! For a complete recap and photos of the ADSFR, see the upcoming issue of Angler Magazine, the official publication of the Southern Kingfish Association.

Final Standings

1. KWAZAR....................61.49 Contender...Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Jeff McCoy Max Williams Tyler Kennedy Ronnie Summers 2. QUIETUS....................57.81 Cape Horn....Yamaha J.J. Gilmore David Rogers Tony Bryant 3. CAT DADDY....................53.72 Hydra Sports....Evinrude Danny Mathis Danny Mathis II Guy Koontz Richard Mathis 4. LOCK JAW....................52.23 Cape Horn....Yamaha Elliot Eserman Craig Vizier Al John Boudreay Jared Duet 5. SLEEPY’S SPOT....................52.09 Contender....Yamaha Trent Brady Jim Thibodeaux 6. THUNDER....................51.62 Donzi....Mercury Steve Shook Ginger Shook 7. Lady Sandy....................49.87 8. SHAGNASTY....................49.62 Cape Horn....Yamaha Chris Ford Peter Gunn Joe Bishop 9. SPECKULATOR....................49.02 Contender....Yamaha George Simon Jason Leblanc 10. HOOKED UP....................48.11 Contender....Yamaha Aaron Pierce Mark Bruce Joey Adams Charlie Bruce Lynn Pierce	11. No Name....................47.94 12. CRAWGATOR....................47.91 Contender....Yamaha Bill Butler Steve Jenkins Mitt Butler 13. WIZZ BANG....................47.91 Contender....Yamaha Mike Ward Michael Spellmeyer 14. WRINGER....................47.44 Contender....Yamaha Edd Gillespie Larry Crawley Scotty Bowden Joey Guidry 15. TEASER....................47.23 Contender...Yamaha Mike Frenette Donald Bourgeois Steven Frenette 16. FULL BLOWN....................46.68 Hydra Sports...Evinrude Jason Andrews Jeff Gaddy Charles Chitwood Byron Weeks 17. TEAM SIMCO LIFER....................46.68 Pursuit.....Evinrude Wendell Simmons Chuck Garrett Mary Landgrave Andy Simmons 18. ANTICIPATION....................46.58 Regulator....Yamaha David Stevens Jr. Troy Turner 19. REEL ADDICTION....................46.52 Contender.....Yamaha Gary Smith Michael Allen John Smith Rachel Mills 20. MEN AT WORK....................45.56 Dorado....Cummins Steve Vaughn David Ruffin Jim Hill Jerry Smith

Kwazar's 58 Pounder Nabs Division Seven Opener at Kajun Sportsman
Jack Holmes, Southern Kingfish Association
June 6, 2000

Port Fourchan, LA— Mobile, AL fishing guru, Marcus Kennedy and his team won it all with the 58 pounder. "Tyler and I are going home," said the winning captain, referring to his Top Junior Angler son and himself early Saturday evening. For as long as I've known Marcus, he spends his Sunday's with the family in church thus giving his team 50% less fishing time than the rest of the entrants. If you had a 58 you'd feel rather comfortable too.

"We ran 52 miles to he southwest, tied up to a rig because the Gulf was full of weeds, and started to chum with chunks of hardtail," explained Kennedy. "The water was so clear we could actually see the kings below our boat. We saw several in the 40's plus the big fish we eventually caught." Kennedy and team members Jeff McCoy and Max Williams were using 40 pound test line tied to number 8 wire and a big single hook. "Really dispels the theory of needing lighter tackle here in the Gulf," he added. The winning smoker only took five minutes to come to the boat. "We were using Penn International 20's and we saw he was hooked good so I locked the drag down and really put some pressure on him."

Jeff McCoy remained in Fourchan to collect their prizes Sunday afternoon. Greg Bent from Bent Marine presented him, on behalf of the team, the keys to a new center console ProLine boat complete with a Mercury outboard and Loadmaster Trailer.

Neil Foster and his team of Robby Montgomery, Robert Young, and Tim Berger aboard his 31 foot Yamaha powered Contender, ran to the southwest and also fished in the clear purple water on the first day. Neil, who has gone without putting a 50 on the scale all last season, was ecstatic when he watched the scale settle on 52.4. "It seemed as if we could only find 49 pounders," said the second place captain. "Now we've got that monkey off our back and can focus on winning this division."

Local Louisiana television fishing personality, Mike Frenette, had the big fish of day two, a 50.9. "We were past due," said the third place finisher. "Plus it doesn't hurt to have a 50 on my side of the ledger. A little luck and we'll be in the Championship."

Kent Fisher and Erika Burns fished a new 23 foot boat being developed in Louisiana by Rocket Boats. Kent and Erika jumped started the premiere showing of the boat by earning 4th place money, Top Lady angler, and first in the Class of 23 with a 50.5. "The boat worked well," said Fisher who is expected to campaign the Rocket thru the Division 7 season.

Rounding out the top five was a Yamaha powered Cape Horn, the Shagnasty. Craig Ford, Joe Bishop, and Peter Gunn, fishing their first event as a SKA team showed they very well may be a force to be reckoned with. They day a 45 pounder on the first day, then came back to scale a 50.1 on day two.

Final Standings

1. KWAZAR..............................58.0 Contender....Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Jeff McCoy Max Williams Tyler Kennedy 2. INTENSE..............................52.4 Contender....Yamaha Neal Foster Robby Montgomery Robert Young Tim Berger 3. TEASER..............................50.9 Contender....Yamaha Mike Frenette Donald Bourgeois 4. ROCKET..............................50.5 Rocket....Mercury Kent Fisher Erika Burns 5. SHAGNASTY..............................50.1 Cape Horn....Yamaha Chris Ford Joe Bishop Peter Gunn	6. CAT DADDY..............................49.1 Cobra....Mercury Danny Mathis Danny Mathis II Guy Koontz Richard Mathis 7. TIFFANY'S TOY..............................48.8 ProLine....Johnson Mike Nelson Tiffany Nelson A.J. Phillip Matthew Phillip 8. QUIETUS..............................48.7 Cape Horn....Yamaha J.J. Gilmore David Rogers Tony Bryant 9. GET LAYED..............................47.8 Contender....Yamaha Fred Watkins Jr. Mike Cole William Watkins 10. MEGA JEN..............................47.6 Hydra Sports....Johnson Joseph Foret Gerard Strohmeyer Joseph Foret Sr. James Thomson
Final Standings Class of 23 1. ROCKET..............................50.5  2. QUIETUS..............................48.7 3. GET LAYED..............................47.8