(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

POINTS RACE HEATS UP IN GEORGIA FOLLOWING GOLDEN ISLES
by Ed Killer, Field Editor
ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, GA
July 9, 2001

Until the third weekend in June, the National Championship qualification picture in the Mercury Tournament Trail's Div 4 was about as clear as the water in the Brunswick River. But then came along the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic.

And despite a fleet that carried a tournament-record 27c1 boats - 90 of which fished simultaneously via the Yamaha Pro Tour - the kingfish bite overall was above average for above average-sized fish. The resulting catches shed as much light on the qualification matter as the guiding beam of the St. Simon's Island lighthouse.

By now, most Division 4 regulars are aware that the top couple of spots in the Golden Isles Classic were taken by pro competitors, the good news is that several D-4 teams - like Ken Murray's Backlash - were able to double their chances of making a year-end trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, site of this year's SKA National Championships.

Cliff Murray, Ken Murray and Mike Blackerby entered the Golden Isles event with close to 41 pounds of kings caught in two tournaments. Buried in the standings, the trio knew they had to find at least one if not two decent fish in the division's final two tourneys in order to score a bid to the big show at the end of the season.

But after getting skunked on the first day of fishing, optimism was giving way to desperation until a mid-morning strike.

"We didn't get a fish Friday at all," said Ken Murray. "And we only had about 40 pounds coming in."

"We were fishing pogies on a patch of Sapelo live bottom (Gray's Reef), and we weren't alone. At one point we counted 112 boats fishing around us."

The Murrays hauled in a huge second day fish that weighed 40.34 pounds lifting the 26 Mako fitted with Yamahas into third overall in the divisional standings.

Angiline, a Yamaha-powered 26 Century was able to more than double its numbers thanks to a fish that weighed 37.48 pounds on the tournament's second day.

"This ought to bring us up some," laughed Kenny Smiley of Hinesville, Georgia, who is sponsored by Century and Coastal Outdoor Marine. "We didn't have one bite Friday but (Saturday) we had this fish on our first knockdown of the day at Gray's Reef. In 60 feet of water, he ate a ribbonfish fished way back in the spread." The Angiline moved well up in the standings, from obscurity to eleventh. Their Century teammates, Lee McCurdy and Dennis Dowdy on Get Reel hold a slight lead in the division with 96.06 points.

Double Dare's Bud Thomas carried his team's Friday-caught 37.33-pounder to the scales off their Yamaha-powered Fountain. "It was the only bite we got," he said. "We went out and hung out on live bottom and at about 10:30, we had that bite on a double pogy rig. And that was it."

The Rebecca Ann team, also fishing from a Yamaha-powered Fountain 31, found a 34.99-pound fish that will help her crew get to the Nationals. "We had nothing going on inshore, so we went offshore," said Tim Short. "In 75 feet we found a spot where bait were holding and finally caught a couple of fish including this one."

A 28.79-pound fish for Jobsite and a 28.05-pound fish for Jet Lag may have finished a little down the leader board, but put both in position to capture the Division 4 title with 81.04 and 90.77 pounds, respectively. Both are Yamaha-powered Contender boats. "This'll get us to Fort Pierce," said Darrell Thaw of the Jet Lag. "Our goal was to get into the Nationals, now the pressure's off."

The majority of the bigger fish were brought in off Gray's Reef over the weekend, but the concentration of fishermen there was probably the greatest obstacle of all. Big Bad Wolf's 51.7-pounder did require some anglers' courtesy in tight quarters, but there were no tales of cut-off lines and unbudging boats. A few fish were caught on Spanish mackerel like Fish'D In's 31.49-pounder at St. Catherine's Sound or as one non-SKA boat discovered, whiting make a decent kingfish bait as can be attested by his 41-pounder.

In the 23 and Under division, Inside Out's 32.54 wound up on top, boosting Bob Wedincamp into second with 72.84 pounds. N-2-Deep's 28.8 was much-needed, putting Ricky Williams and crew into first place in the division with 74 pounds overall. Jimbo Tuten's Purple Hooter slipped to third overall with 65.08 pounds.

As usual, tournament officials did a splendid job of producing a top notch affair. Likewise, the staff of Golden Isles Marina demonstrated its reputation as one of the finest in the Southeast.

Next up for Division 4 is the season finale July 20-21 at the Fort McAllister Cobia/Yamaha/Loadmaster Second annual Kingfish Tournament in Richmond Hill, Georgia. At stake is the divisional title as well as a free entry to the Championships for the winners of both the Class of 23 and big boat categories, so stay tuned.

Final Standings

1. BIG BAD WOLF.......................51.70 Contender/Yamaha Stacy Wester Ditto Wester 2. FISH'D IN...................31.49+29.56=61.05 Contender/Yamaha Greg Holmes Fred Rourk Ronald Crowe Bruce Boatwright 3. BACKLASH........................40.34 Mako/Yamaha Ken Murray Cliff Murray Mike Blackerby Kendra Blackerby 4. ANGI LINE...........................37.48 Century/Yamaha Kenny Smiley Alison Smiley Mark Chappell Karen Moody 5. DOUBLE DARE.......................37.33 Fountain/Yamaha Justin Bjorneby Bud Thomas Scott Outhwait	6. ATTITUDE ADJUSTER................36.63 Wellcraft/Mercury David Murphy Jim Davis Bob Townsend 7. OUT TO LUNCH.......................34.02 Contender/Yamaha Paul Hanson Matt Matheson Ed Carlyon 8. REBECCA ANN....................33.98 Fountain/Yamaha Frank Strickland Marty Rowland Tim Short 9. Dunn Workin..........................32.87 10. GOIN SEANILE.......................32.36 HydraSports/OMC Michael Fairman Stevie Pipkin
Final Standings Class of 23
1. Hooker.....................41.53 2. INSIDE OUT....................32.54 Contender/Yamaha Bob Wedincamp Mike Croft Bobby Wedincamp	3. AGENDA.......................32.30 Wellcraft/Evinrude Michael Thomas Jill Cooksey Debbie Foose Scott Thomas Blake Thomas

 

DAYBREAK TOPS SKA FLEET AT FT. MCALLISTER
by Sam White
July 27, 2001

RICHMOND HILL, GA--A cold front passed through coastal Georgia just prior to the first and only day of fishing in the Cobia/Yamaha/Loadmaster Ft. McAllister King Mackerel Tournament, causing seas to build throughout the tournament. All participants knew the weather would be getting worse during the day, and most hoped to go out early, catch their fish and return to port before the conditions became unfishable. Freddie Hires captained the Mercury-powered Donzi, Daybreak, to second place overall and tops among SKA-registered boats in the 102 boat fleet. The team baited up off Sapelo Beach at seven in the morning before heading to one of Georgia's most popular big fish spots: D Buoy. Teammate Jimmy Stanfield reported that they fished for a while at D, then saw birds working offshore, so they picked up and headed out. "We only had a couple sharks, though, so then we went back to D, then out to LT," Stanfield said. "Then Jimmy Mason called us back into D when he caught his fish, so back we went." Around 11:15, the team was rewarded with a good strike on a toplined pogy. After two good runs of about 200 yards each, the fish rolled up beside the boat. "Luckily, the fish stayed on top the whole time and never went deep," Stanfield reported. "I think he was dead when he hit the deck!" The Daybreak's fish scaled 36.38 pounds, less than a quarter of a pound off the leader. Ounces do count in tournament fishing! The team also won a $1000 bonus courtesy of the CCA in Geogia for being the top all-CCA boat in the tournament.

Raymond Dixon borrowed a boat to fish the Ft. McAllister event, and was rewarded with the tournament's third largest fish at 35.53 pounds. Dixon's High Cotton team elected to fish the C Reef in search of that one fish that would secure their bid for the SKA National Championships later this fall. However, they only kept the local barracuda population well fed while they were there, so they quickly ran back inshore to rebait off St. Simons Island. "That's when we were going for broke," Dixon said. "We went out to the ship channel there off St. Simons and worked the rip for a while there, then headed over to the fish haven at STS. After about 20 minutes, we hooked up with that fish." Junior angler Clark Dixon was on the rod for the duration of the fight, and was the SKA's top junior for the tournament for his participation with the team. Michael Fairman was able to capitalize on his shot at a big fish, putting the Going Seanile team into fourth place overall. Fairman scaled a 31.26 to put the team in contention for a shot at the SKA's National Championship at year's end. Todd Veal's Sea Ducer is another familiar boat in the Georgia tournament scene. Although Veal hasn't had an outstanding year in 2001, the Sea Ducer still managed to pull out a fifth place finish in the last event of the season. Jeremy and Dale Herrington put the Geared Up into the SKA's top spot in the Class of 23. The father and son team chose to fish near their home waters off the Savannah shipping channel in their 22-foot Angler, where they were able to boat a 19.69 pound kingfish. The Geared Up team also took home an additional $1500 in bonus money courtesy of the SKA's CEO, Sid Steverson. He announced at the captain's meeting that the boat weighing in the kingfish closest to 20 pounds without going over would win a bonus of $1000, providing that all aboard are SKA Competition members. In addition, Steverson also added a bounty for the winners of the Class of 23: $200 for having an SKA sticker on the boat, and an additional $300 for having a sticker on the tow vehicle. "We had our first knockdown in the shipping channel around 10:15 on a top pogy," Dale Herrington reported. "And that fish is probably in China right now--it just never stopped! The second hit was just after noon, and that's the one we boated. By then, the seas were building to 6-8 feet and the wind was howling out of the northeast, so we decided it was time to head for the scales."

Congratulations are in order for all teams that fished in the event. Even though Ma Nature wasn't especially kind this year, the Ft. McAllister sportfishing club went out of their way to make this a fun and memorable tournament for all involved.

Final Standings

1. Two Shy..............36.61 2. DAYBREAK...........36.38 Donzi/Mercury Freddie Hires Jimmy Stanfield Daniel Anderson Alan Anderson Brandon Stanfield 3. HIGH COTTON................35.53 Contender/Yamaha Ray Dixon Randy Dixon Curtis Tumlin Richard Blythe Brian Dowling Clark Dixon 4. GOING SEANILE..............31.26 HydraSports/Johnson Michael Fairman Stevie Pipkin Stephen Anderson 5. SEA DUCER..................28.82 Contender/Yamaha Todd Veal Tom Winslow Mitch Matthews

6. GONE WISHIN'......................28.81 Offshore/Mariner Jimmy Mason Mamie Mason 7. BIG BITE..............................26.49 Marlin/Yamaha Sam Britt Kevin Barker Gary Wetherington Kurt Henessee 8. INTIMIDATOR....................24.86 Contender/Yamaha John Dasher, Sr. Larry Wells 9. GOOD VIBES................22.62 Contender/Yamaha Pete Eldridge Trey Hines Harris Hines 10. KINGBUSTER...................21.50 Contender/Yamaha Fred Hoyt David Reddick Stewart Mason

 

Two Way King Mackerel Tournament
TEAM PARADISE GOES TWO FOR TWO AT TWO WAY
Hendricks and Team Win Two in a Row
by Sam White
Two Way, GA
June 6, 2001

Jason Hendricks has accomplished something that very few tournament fishermen ever achieved in the past.

He captained the Team Paradise boat to their second tournament win in as many weeks at the Two Way Sportfishing Club's Fifteenth Annual Wellcraft Kingfish Tournament.

The Mercury-powered Donzi 32 bested the 123-boat field to take home the event's top prize of a Yamaha-powered Wellcraft 182 boat and Loadmaster trailer. Wellcraft's Dave Taylor was on hand to personally present the prize to the team, offering the team a challenge to compete in the boat in the Class of 23 next season.

After a celebratory swim in the Altamaha River, the team dried off enough to give a full report on the day's fishing, and what it takes to win two in a row. "We were just really lucky today," Hendricks reported. "We fished all morning at Port Royal, then left at 1:15 to head over to the CCA Reef. Then we moved about four miles southwest of the CCA, and that's were we hooked up with the winner in about 50 feet of water." Teammate Zack Bowen said, "The fish hit one of the last three baits in the well, a little three inch pogy that was rednosed and pretty beat up." Bowen angled the big fish for fifteen terse minutes before the team could put the winner in the boat and begin the long trip to the scales at Two Way, arriving without much time to spare before the five PM cutoff. The team wanted to express their gratitude and thanks to Len Jordan, John James and the staff of A Boater's Paradise in Thunderbolt, Georgia. "Those guys have worked really hard to get us where we are, and they deserve all the credit in the world," Hendricks said. He also wanted to thank the team's other sponsors for their assistance throughout the year: Atlantic Kitchens and Bath, the Coach's Corner, and Hogan's Marina.

While it's unusual for a team to win back-to-back tournaments, it has happened in the past in SKA tournament competition. It's the confidence that comes with winning that makes a team believe in their ability to do it again, and this is a feeling that's obviously felt by the Team Paradise crew. "We're going to fish as hard as we can for the rest of the season, you can count on that," Hendricks said in closing.

Frank DeLoach's Jobsite bagged the second place kingfish at Two Way. DeLoach and teammates Johnny Jones and Craig Stalnaker found a hot bite in progress just south of the live bottom in 45 feet of water. "It was pretty rough going out," DeLoach said, "so we got pounded pretty hard. But we got in a pretty good bite, and put the big fish in the bag around 11AM." A live pogy fished on the surface proved to be the big king's undoing, as angler Johnny Jones fought the fish for 20 minutes before it came to the gaff. "We had several more fish in the high twenties that we released right at the boat--it was one of those bites where we stayed hooked up while some others around us seemed like they were struggling a little," DeLoach reported. "It was a pretty good day of fishing, even though it was rough."

Pete Owens and the Jet Lag team continued their climb up the SKA standings with a third place finish at Two Way. The team nailed a 31.02 pound kingfish, the last of the thirty pounders in the tournament, fishing an undisclosed area. "We're looking forward to a good finish in this division," teammate Darrell Thaw said. "We've caught some good fish, but so has the Team Paradise guys and Lee [McCurdy] on the Get Reel, so it's going to come down to the last tournament to see who wins." Darrell's son Taylor was also the SKA's Top Junior Angler for the event.

Joe Bell's Yamaha-powered 28-foot Privateer ,Play'n To Win, finished fourth at Two Way with a 29.32 pound king. They were followed by Ricky Hodges' Hit-N-Miss in fifth with a 28.61 pounder. Hodges and his team were also first in the SKA's Class of 23 standings for the event--they compete from a Contender 23 and are also looking forward to a strong finish in Division Four this season.

The entire staff of Two Way Marina and Mudcat Charlie's really went out of their way to make this a very fun and enjoyable event, one that has become a showcase tournament on the SKA's Mercury Tournament Trail. The next event on the tournament slate for Georgia will be the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic, so stay tuned.

 

Sapelo Open King Mackerel Tournament
TEAM PARADISE GETS FIRST BIG WIN AT SAPELO
Tutens Win Class of 23 on Purple Hooter
by Sam White
SHELLMAN BLUFF, GA
May 30, 2001

Sometimes, there's no other explanation other than being in the right place at the right time when it comes to winning a tournament. That was the case for Jason Hendricks and the Team Paradise during the Sapelo Open King Mackerel Tournament. Teammate Zack Bowen reported that there were at least fifty other tournament boats in the area, yet their 35.20 pound kingfish decided to hit one of their baits instead of someone else's.

"We were in the ship channel off Savannah in about 45 feet of water," team captain Hendricks said later. "The big one nailed a naked double pogy rig right around 9:15 in the morning." The big king led the team on a spirited fight through the fleet, threatening to cut them off the entire time. "The fish would head for anything else around, including some of the big cargo ships that were in the channel," Hendricks said. "I'd really like to commend the sportsmanship of the other boats, though. Everyone pulled up their downriggers and clipped their lines in order to clear the way for us, and it's greatly appreciated." Thirty-five minutes later, the fish was aboard the Mercury-powered Donzi and the team decided to call it a day. Travis Smith said, "It's tough to wait it out with a fish like that, but we made the call and headed on back. I'm glad it held up for the win today!"

Now in its' twenty-second year, the Sapelo tournament hosted over 150 boats this season, fishing for a grand prize of a Mercury-powered Buddy T boat and Loadmaster trailer. That prize would go back to Thunderbolt, Georgia with the Team Paradise. But a last minute run at the leaderboard was made by Alan Tucker's Cashflow.

Tucker, with son AJ, Laura Crawford and Mitch Youngblood, barely made the weigh in cutoff at 5PM with a great fish aboard the Mercury-powered Marlin 36. "That fish hit at 3:15 in the afternoon, right as we were getting ready to head in," the elder Tucker reported. "We were at a place called the Rockpile, 52 miles from the seabouy!" A live cigar minnow rigged behind a chartreuse C&H Lures Lil' Stubby lure proved irresistible for the fish, which would weigh 35.15 pounds.

"Laura was the angler, but I had to tighten the drag a little--we had to get the fish in the boat and go. He made one pass by the boat, I gaffed him and basically hammered the throttles while the rest of the team was still icing him down in the bag." A heartbreaking fifth of a pound would separate the Cashflow from the winners, though.
AJ Tucker was the SKA's top Junior Angler for the weekend. Jimmy and Mamie Mason also found another good kingfish this weekend to place third after a great showing at the Halfmoon. The Masons fished several local live bottoms before finally boating their 32.60 pound kingfish in the Mariner-powered Offshore.

Pete Owens' Jet Lag placed fourth with a 31.70, followed by Frank Strickland and the Rebecca Ann team in fifth with a 29.85. The Rebecca Ann came to the scales literally with fumes remaining in her tanks, as the team had run all the way north from Canaveral to weigh in the king. One motor had already shut down from lack of fuel just after the team cleared the check in boat--they were the very last in line and also came close to not making the cutoff.
In all, it was a very exciting tournament for all participants involved. The Paradise boat weighed in first, leaving the rest of the field scrambling to fill the leaderboard, while the Cashflow and Rebecca Ann made late day charges to place in the top five.

The Sapelo Sportfishing Club did an outstanding job organizing and running this year's tournament, from the chicken bar-be-que at the captain's meeting to the annual neighborhood fish fry at the awards on Sunday.

 Final Standings

1. TEAM PARADISE........................................35.20 Donzi/Mercury Jason Hendricks Travis Smith Walt Wright Zack Bowen 2. CASHFLOW........................................35.15 Marlin/Mercury Alan David Tucker AJ Tucker Laura Crawford Mitch Youngblood 3. GONE WISHIN'.........................................32.60 Offshore/Mariner Jimmy Mason Mamie Mason 4. JET LAG...........................................31.70 Contender/Yamaha Pete Owens Darrell Thaw Taylor Thaw Jason Varnadoe 5. REBECCA ANN....................................29.85 Fountain/Yamaha Frank Strickland Marty Rowland Lee Sims	6. DOUBLE J.......................................27.45 Contender/Yamaha J.T. Gregory Bob Barnette Bill Blount 7. Lockwood Marine..................................26.40 8. VICTORIA'S SECRET...........................22.85 Contender/Yamaha Ricky Raleigh Vicky Raleigh Penny Harris Jim Harris 9. CRAWFISH...................................22.10 Contender/Yamaha Kenny Crawford Gary Pate Doreen Lands 10. JOBSITE....................................20.90 Contender/Yamaha Frank Deloach Johnny Jones Craig Stalnaker
Final Standings Class of 23
1. PURPLE HOOTER.........................27.65 Century/Yamaha Jimbo Tuten Robin Tuten Adam Parker 2. DOUBLE SHOT.................................26.5 HydraSports/Evinrude Trey Wagner III Jerry Wagner II Matt Cammack Robie Steele Wallace Smith	3. Laura Leigh...................................25.9 4. Nette One...................................23.85 5. * COMPENSATION.........................23.25 ChrisCraft/Johnson Thomas McCarthy James A. Giello Randy Vien

* The Compensation team were SKA members during the Halfmoon tournament but failed to sign up for their points. However, they rebounded for a top five finish at Sapelo, and are looking forward to a Championship bid in November--SW

GET REEL KNOCKS DOWN WIN AT HALFMOON
McCurdy and Dowdy Put Team Century in the Winner’s Circle
by Sam White
MIDWAY, GA
May 24, 2001

Any tournament fisherman will tell you that winning feels great. Winning your first SKA-sanctioned tournament is even better. And winning your first tournament right in front of your hometown crowd is, well, pretty spectacular.

Just ask Lee McCurdy, who captained the Yamaha-powered Century Get Reel to the big win at the Halfmoon Sportfishing Club’s Kingfish Klash. McCurdy and teammate Dennis Dowdy topped the tournament with an event-record 45.34 pound king mackerel. For their efforts, the pair would split the tournament’s top prize of a Yamaha-powered Century 1901 Bay boat and Loadmaster trailer supplied by Coastal Outdoor and Marine. “I really can’t believe we have finally won a tournament, and right here at home, too,” McCurdy said.

With his pregnant wife Stephanie cheering on the team from dockside, Lee eased the Get Reel to the weigh in site just after the scales opened at three o’clock, announcing that they did indeed have a good fish aboard. “We put over 200 miles on the boat today,” he reported. “I really need to give Wendell [Free Spooling] Harper the credit for this. He was the one that turned us onto a spot offshore where some of the charter boats had been catching big kings.”

Unfortunately, Lee’s Century teammates on the Free Spooling experienced some last minute mechanical problems that prevented them from making the long run. “That fish hit in 150 feet of water, on a really small pogy,” Dowdy related. “I cleared some grass off the bait and put it back out, and there he was. At first, he ran at the boat then went deep. I told Lee that it didn’t feel like much, then he made a good run and we thought it might be a good fish.”

Thirty minutes later the smoker was safely aboard and the team was off and running for home. Some eighty miles off Gray’s Reef, however, an O2 sensor began acting up. Luckily, the team was able to make it to the scales with plenty of time to spare.

Terry Adkins, the local CCA-Georgia representative, teamed up with Walter, Tim and TJ Cheek on the Triple Threat to place third in the tournament behind non-members. Adkins nailed a 27 even to hold down second in the SKA points race for the division, fishing from a Mercury-powered Ranger. The Triple Threat team fished an undisclosed live bottom to locate their fish.

Mike Mixon’s Mix’n One, a Fountain 31, found fourth in the tournament with a 26.21 pound kingfish. Mike’s son Hunter Mixon was also the SKA’s top junior angler for the tournament for his participation aboard the boat during the day. Jimmy and Mamie Mason rounded out the top five on Gone Wishin’, a Mariner-powered Offshore 24.

Ricky Williams’ team on the N-2-Deep was the top SKA Class of 23 boat, placing sixth with a 25.49 pounder, followed by Jeff and Nancy Dunbar on the Fish Dancer. The Dunbars were second in the SKA’s small boat class and eighth overall with a 24.49 pound king off their Yamaha-powered Century 23.

The Halfmoon tournament has continued to evolve into one of the best events on the Georgia circuit. The tournament coordinators worked hard to make this an enjoyable weekend for all participants and spectators alike, from the fish fries both nights to the entertainment provided at the awards. The number of boats participating has grown every year, too, which is a testament to the hard work these volunteers put in making it a success.

Final Standings
(Second Place is an Aggregate Award)

1. GET REEL..........................................45.34 Century/Yamaha Lee McCurdy Dennis Dowdy 2. Compensation....................................33.01 3. TRIPLE THREAT..................................27.00 Ranger/Mercury Terry Adkins Walter Cheek Tim Cheek TJ Cheek 4. MIX’N ONE............................................26.21 Fountain/Evinrude Mike Mixon Frank Edge Henry Strickland Hunter Mixon 5. GONE WISHIN......................................26.09 Offshore/Mariner Jimmy Mason Mamie Mason

6. *N-2-DEEP...............................................25.49 Wellcraft/Mariner Ricky Williams Hamp Danner Shannon Yardrough Scott Wallace 7. KABOOKA...................................................24.82 Baja/Mercury Derek Gunderson Justin Snell 8. * FISH DANCER..........................................24.49 Century/Yamaha Jeffrey Dunbar Nancy Dunbar 9. GOOD VIBES...............................................21.82 Contender/Yamaha Pete Eldridge Brian Hersey 10. SILVER BULLET........................................21.80 Fountain/Suzuki Bob Berry Lee Southard Mark Gordon Cambell Berry

TOP JUNIOR ANGLER Hunter Mixon, Mix’n One