(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

The Reel Won Gets The Real Win in Naples
Ed Killer
March 26, 2001

NAPLES, FLA. - The Woithe family was faced with a challenging - albeit welcome - logistical quandary Saturday night: Which Woithe would tow home the clan's brand new 21-foot Contender, 200 h.p. Yamaha outboard and Loadmaster trailer?

A nice problem to have, wouldn't you say?

We're happy to report there were at least two vehicles between the four - Bob, Sue, Bob, and Bruce - and The Reel Won's home port of Palm Island is just a short jaunt up the road from where the Woithes won the Naples Contender Kingfish Classic. A 45.7-pound slab earned the longtime Southern Kingfish Association veterans, and familiar leader board occupants, their first-ever victory in an SKA-sanctioned event. Believe it or not.

"Bruce and I fished our first SKA tournament in 1993 and finished second fishing within sight of our parents' house," explained Bob. "We've had a number of seconds and thirds and top 10 finishes, as well as a couple of firsts in local tournaments, but this was the first big win we've had."

The sizable smoker also enabled The Reel Won to collect the crown of Division Champions, edging out Team Yellowfin for the newly-formed Southwest Florida Division 11 Title on the Mercury Tournament Trail. The Reel Won's 97.8 pounds topped the Trail's first division finish. Team Yellowfin's Wylie Nagler, David Van Lent, Scott Routh, and Mark Liberman found a 27.8-pound fish Friday for 92.0 pounds overall. Both teams, and about 24 of their closest friends, qualified for the Southern Kingfish Association's year-end National Championships to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Fort Pierce, Fla.

The division began a scant month earlier fishing three events between Feb. 22 and March 24 from Fort Myers, Marco Island and finally Naples. The popular, angler-friendly events were orchestrated by Sports Masters International and front man Johan Kriek, featuring competition fleets of 74 boats, 73 boats and 107 boats in the division finale.

An equipment change has helped strengthen a team of already formidable fishing talent. Last year the Woithes took ownership of a 31 Contender with twin Yamaha 250s, a change from their diesel-powered 34 Pursuit they fished from for years. The change enabled the team to collect SKA Lady Angler of the Year honors for Susan Woithe, SKA Senior Angler of the Year honors for Bob Woithe, and last year's Dan Schaad Family Achievement Award.

The Woithes shared their victory with other members of the Contender fishing team.

"We're calling the spot the ':08 Seconds Reef' because Joel and John Zalud Junior found that spot and put us on the fish," Bruce said. "They caught their 32.3-pounder there Friday and the bite was on as soon as we got there (Saturday)."

By mid-morning, The Reel Won brought in four fish that bested day one leader and eventual runner-up Fish Tale Marina's 36.8-pound king. According to the elder Bob, they team released a bunch of fish in the mid-30-pound class after boating their big one. The bite was still hot when the Woithes left to make the weigh-in.

Several of the Contender boats received fresh live baits from the factory, and The Reel Won was grateful for theirs which kept them in the action all day. Big Bob said the big one ate a big blue runner fished near the bottom in 70 feet of water, 15 miles outside of Naples' Gordon Pass.

"After living in Naples for several years, it sure was nice to come through Gordon's Pass with a nice fish in the box," said the younger Bob.

As for the crew aboard :08 Seconds, their fish placed fifth overall, and lady angler Christina Huston collected the tournament's second place Lady Angler award behind Susan Woithe.

"We found the spot during the Marco Island tournament and it produced our nice fish then," explained Joel Zalud. "There's supposed to be a wreck there, and there's some hard bottom, but the wreck no longer has a profile. It holds bait sometimes."

Fish Tale Marina's Capt. Jeff Hunter, Mike Wood, Sean McQuade and Vinny Muscarella were disappointed with the runner-up status - their second in two D-11 tournaments - but were consoled by succeeding in earning a bid to nationals with 77.5 pounds on just two fish. The 50-foot Viking convertible was pressed into committee boat duty in the Fort Myers division-opener and was therefore unable to fish then.

The Wellcraft/Mercury combo of Sapelo Son finished third in the division with 81.8 pounds buoyed by a 32.1-pound, 6th place fish in Naples. Gottim On's Mark and Cliff Wicker took third at Naples with a 36.3-pound Saturday catch and made it into nationals on two fish as well (63.6 pounds). La Perla with former Angler of the Year Randy Keys took fourth with 35.3 pounds in Naples and qualified fifth with 80.1 points, one slot behind Loose Lucy's 81.5 qualifying points. Our Girls slid in under the qualifying cut at 52.0 pounds in 15th position.

The competitive 23 and Under class saw Tempest Fin's Kirk Annis and Mike Wallace win Naples with 27.9 pounds. Eight boats qualified for the national championships led by Comfortably Numb II's Eric Smith, son Justin Smith, and Randy Colter of New Port Richey, Fla. with 65.9 points.

Susan Woithe collected the tournament's Top Lady Angler award as well as the divisional bid.

Final Standings

1. 45.7 pounds, The Reel Won, Robert Woithe, Boca Grande, FL 2. 36.8, Fish Tale Marina, Capt. Jeff Hunter, Fort Myers, Fla. 3. 36.3, Gottim On, Mark Wicker, Manassas, Va. 4. 35.3, La Perla II, Randall Keys, Madeira Beach, Fla. 5. 32.3, :08 Seconds, Joel Zalud, Venice, Fla.	6. 32.1, Sapelo Son, Tim Harris, Savannah, Ga. 7. 31.7, Team REM, Frank Marsiano, Naples, Fla. 8. 30.9, Sea Spirit, Naples, Fla. 9. 30.7, Time Out, Naples, Fla. 10. 30.4, John's Pass Marina, St. Petersburg, Fla.
CLASS OF 23 & Under: 27.9 pounds, Tempest Fin, Mike Wallace, Tampa, Fla. Top Junior Angler: 31.7, Team REM Top Lady Angler: 45.7, Susan Woithe, The Reel Won

 

Zing Pow Knocks Down First SKA Win at Marco Island
Ed Killer
March 12, 2001

Marco Island, FL—The crew aboard Zing Pow recently learned there’s a first time for everything. And that can be a good thing.

During the Marco Island King Mackerel Shootout, Zing Pow captain Matt Meister handled the angling duties on a tournament king for the first time. Consequently, the gaffing duties fell to teammate Pete Moroz for the first time during a tournament. At the wheel, Bobby Matarazzo kept Meister and Moroz in position to boat the big smoker.

Playing out of position was apparently not a hindrance to the trio as they hauled in the tournament winning 43.8-pound king. The big fish was part of a stellar second day run of slabs and earned the Sarasota-based team a 180 Wellcraft with 150 h.p. Mercury outboard and Loadmaster trailer package worth a retail value close to $20,000.

Nine of the event’s top 10 winners - including the top seven fish - were hauled to the scales on the second day. Day one leader Grand Cruz’s 29.5-pound fish narrowly escaped a leader board free fall finally landing in 8th overall for locals Tom and Bob Raiser.

Zing Pow, a 31 Contender outfitted with Yamahas, caught "nothing but squealers" on the Shootout’s first day fishing a spot 80 or so miles to the west. Day two found them in the waters of the Atlantic off the Marquesas Keys, a good 200-plus mile round trip from Marco Island.

Shortly after arriving at the spot Meister wanted to fish, they had a taker on a big blue runner fished on the surface in 75 feet of water.

"It was all kind of strange," Meister said. "Normally, I’m the one running the boat and gaffing the fish, but I happened to get the rod. It was the first tournament king I’ve reeled in."

Moroz made good on his first swipe. A 26-pounder was added to the box, but that was about all the king bites that team Zing Pow would get to the boat. The winning fish more than compensates for the 15.5-pound fish Zing Pow posted two weeks earlier in Fort Myers. Now with the newly-formed Division 11 schedule two-thirds towards its completion, Zing Pow sits with 59.3 points among the division leaders with one tournament to go.

"We qualified for nationals last year and we’re hoping to be able to do that again," Meister said.

Fish Tale Marina, a 50-foot Viking convertible from Fort Myers, collected runner-up status with a 40.7-pound fish that came from a spot in 30 fathoms along with another king in the high 30’s, and a pair of wahoo in the 40-pound range. Angler Annie Watson from Cairns, Australia reeled in a foul-hooked 34.4-pound king aboard Runamuck for third overall and the event’s Top Lady Angler distinction.

When It’ll Do angler Bill Hetzel weighed an 18-pound class fish Friday, he promised that his ringer of an angler would produce a serious leader board upgrade during Saturday’s action. Delivering that upgrade was James Lottes, 11, whose 31.3-pound king earned the youngster his first Top Junior Angler honors, and took sixth place overall for his team in the process. With 48.7 pounds after two events, It’ll Do may only be 20-25 pounds from receiving a trip to Fort Pierce at year’s end.

The 23 and Under class in southwest Florida is still wide open. Remember, 10 boats will go to nationals from this category, and less than that have actually weighed fish following two events. Comfortably Numb 2 with Eric Smith, son, Justin, and Randy Colter are rolling along with a chance to fun fish the rest of the year after posting a 20.1-pounder in Marco for 47.9 overall.

Kat’s Rival’s one-man fishing team Frank Langdon won the category in Marco with a 20.6 pound fish. Twin brothers Jim and Dave Ingalls on Inspiration took third with an 18-pound fish.

A fleet of 72 boats competed in the young division’s second of three events. Division 11 will celebrate its national qualifiers in two weeks following the Naples Contender Kingfish Classic March 22-24. For more info visit the Division 11 website at www.kingfishdivision11.com or call the SKA offices at 921-466-9434.

Final Standings

1. 43.8, Zing Pow, Matt Meister, Sarasota 2. 40.7, Fish Tale Marina, Jeff Hunter, Fort Myers 3. 34.4, Runamuck, Annie Watson, Marco Island 4. 33.9, Team Baja, John Dansom, Marco Island 5. 33.6, The Reel Won, Bruce Woithe, Boca Grande	6. 31.3, It'll Do, Bill Hetzel, NC 7. 29.6, Hooligan, Joe Winslow, NC 8. 29.5, Grand Cruz, Bob Raiser, Fort Myers 9. 28.6, Hog Wild, W. Carmangnani 10. 28.1, Economy Tackle, Mark Goodwin, Sarasota
CLASS OF 23 & Under: 20.6, Kat's Rival, Frank LAngdon, Deerfield Beach Top Junior Angler: James Lottes, It'll Do, 31.3 Top Lady Angler: Annie Watson, Runamuck, 34.4

 

Team Yellowfin Picking Up Where It Left Off
Edward Killer
February 26, 2001

Ft Myers Beach, FL—The rest of the competition in the Florida-swing of the Mercury Tournament Trail better look out: Team Yellowfin is picking up right where it left off in 2000.

Reigning Angler of the Year David Van Lent, Wylie Nagler, Mark Liberman and Scott Routh opened up the newly-formed three-event Division 11 slate with a 37.4-pound winning kingfish, good for $10,000 in cash as the biggest catch in the Fort Myers King Mackerel Tournament.

The earnings should go a long way towards covering the Clearwater and Sarasota-based team’s sizable fuel bill. The foursome nabbed three or four kings in the same size range fishing a spot near the Marquesas Keys off Key West, some 125-plus miles south of host Fish Tales Marina on Fort Myers Beach.

"We knew there were still some bigger kings down there, and we had the conditions to make the run on the first day," explained Nagler. "Fortunately, we were able to get about 67 mph despite a full load of fuel and crew due to Friday’s calm seas. That allowed us to get almost four hours of fishing time in, but the bite really was over about a half-hour after we got there."

Van Lent told the crowd at the awards ceremony that having the speed and the range offered by the Mercury-powered 34 Yellowfin built by Nagler was critical in their positioning.

"We got to the spot and had three fish in the bag before we even saw the next boat," he said.

"You have to have a lot of luck on your side, and it was just our day," Nagler said.

Comfortably Numb 2, a new 23 Proline with Mercurys, topped the 23 and Under division with a 27.8-pound king that also garnered 10th place money on the overall board. Eric Smith and Randy Colter of New Port Richey, Fla. were among several teams who targeted the upstart division as their key to qualification for the SKA National Championships.

They found fish closer to Fort Myers weighing similarly-weighted kings on both days.

"I think we found where we’re going to fish in the next Division 11 tournament," Smith said.

Loose Lucy’s Sue Kaminsky is glad she made the trip down from Charleston, SC. She collected fourth overall and the tournament’s Top Lady Angler prize, sitting atop the league with 34.6 pounds despite losing a day of fishing from engine problems on two of her team’s three outboards.

Matt Norris, 16, earned Top Junior Angler honors with a 34.1-pound fish on Smilin Jack, a southwest Florida boat and new SKA member.

A total of 73 boats were entered in the inaugural affair including several dozen newly-registered SKA members. Many teams made treks from points north (Div. 6, 5, 3, & 4) and east (Div. 10) in an attempt to improve their chances of earning bids to Nationals.

Division 11 opened up with a fair catch total despite relatively difficult fishing conditions. Although seas were flat on Friday and manageable Saturday, the dearth of kingfish forced many to run to points south to find more enticing water temperatures or bait populations. Due to the nature of the weights posted in the opening event, it is still conceivable that a team could qualify with just two fish to its credit.

The entire division will wrap its competition in one short month after the Marco Island Mackerel Shootout March 8-10 and the Naples Contender Kingfish Classic March 22-24. For more info visit www.kingfishdivision11.com or call (941) 596-2064 or the SKA Offices. All three tournaments feature a Thursday through Saturday format.

Final Standings

1. 37.4, TEAM YELLOWFIN, Wylie Nagler 2. 35.0, Gottim On, Mark Wicker 3. 34.6, Perico Harbor/Buggin Out, Glenn Gee 4. 34.6, Loose Lucy, David Kaminsky 5. 34.1, Smilin Jack, Jack Thomas	6. 33.6, Sapelo Son, Tim Harris 7. 33.1, King Pin, Greg Samuel 8. 30.7, La Perla 9. 29.7, Sake, Neil Nix 10. 27.8, Comfortably Numb 2, Eric Smith
CLASS OF 23 & Under: 27.8, Comfortably Numb, Eric Smith Top Junior Angler: 34.1, Matt Cross, Smilin Jack Top Lady Angler: 34.6, Susan Kaminsky, Loose Lucy