(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

Marishie C/Hardcore Tops the Fleet at McConnell GMC Tourney
October 25, 2001
By: Phil Irby

DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL--This two day biggest fish tournament was everything an angler could ask for: one to two foot seas, cool nights, and warm days. It started out with great captain’s meeting with Larry Kirby serving up boiled shrimp, sausage and corn on the cob. The first day of fishing the wind was blowing out of the northeast making it a little choppy but later in the day the wind and seas laid down nicely.

Twelve of the 70 boats made the long run to the West Delta-- six came back with 40 pound kings and six with 30 pound kings. Boats were sitting at the docks as soon as the scales opened up. One of the first boats sitting at the dock was Marishie C/Hardcore, with Nathan Payton, Mark Collier and Jay Doole aboard. This is one of the top boats in the SKA’s Class of 23. They were fishing about 20 miles south of Dauphin Island, using silver eels furnished by Better Baits.

They deployed one ribbonfish on the downrigger at 90 feet and scored their biggest fish of the weekend. Jay was on the rod when the king took a long run, almost dumping the spool. It was about 11:00 AM when the king hit the bait. Nathan Payton was on the gaff when they got him to the boat, and it took two of them to bring him aboard. The treble hook was bent and only had one barb in the fish. The fish weighed in at 56.74 pounds.

They had caught several kings ranging in the 20-30 pound range earlier in the day. After catching the big king they messed around a few more hours before heading into the scales. After weighing in the king they decided not to fish the second day in hopes no one else would bring in a larger king. Their luck held out, winning first place in the tournament.

Marcus Kennedy’s Kwazar went to the West Delta on a wild goose chase during the first day of the two day event, bringing back a 36.5 pound king. Mark’s brother fished on the east side catching several 40 pound kings so on the second day. Steve Shook, Max Williams, Danny Mathis and Lauren Richoux set out towards the south about 55 miles south of Dauphin Island and caught two kings. They hooked up a live hardtail, threw him out and caught a nice 45 pound king and let it go. The team went back to trolling with a very large hardtail and a big king hit the bait running hard. They landed a 53.75 king which took second place. Lauren Richoux won the Top Lady Angler award for Sunday.

Ram Rod, another Class of 23 boat, was fishing 60 miles south of Dauphin Island in about 100 feet of water when a 53.36-pound king skied on a live hardtail. Mark Eubanks was on the rod when the king hit. The king made a good run and he was able to land him to take third place. 23 foot and under class winners went to Piranha, weighing in a 48.59 pound king. Second place went to Size Matters, bringing in a 45.7 pound king and third place went to Stranglehold bringing in a 45.65 pounder.

Final Standings

1. MARISHIE C/HARDCORE............56.74 Cape Horn 21/Mercury Mark Collier Nathan Payton Jay Doole 2. KWAZAR.............53.75 Contender 36/Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Steve Shook Max Williams Tyler Kennedy Rene’ Kennedy Ronnie Sommers 3. RAM ROD...................53.36 Contender 23/Johnson Larry Thompson Eric McMichael Mark Eubanks Jr. Mark Eubanks Sr. Shelly Thompson 4. SOUTHBOUND................51.58 HydraSports 27/Yamaha Doyle Taylor 5. RENEGADE.................49.94 Wellcraft 30/Yamaha Paul McLeod Jr. Matt McLeod Justin Highnote Michael McLeod Paul McLeod	6. WRINGER...................48.99 Contender 25/Yamaha Edd Gillespie Harry Crump Benton Crump Braxton Gillespie 7. MIDDLE BAY MARINE............47.32 Contender 31/Yamaha Todd Kercher Mike Waller Rodney Willard Todd James 8. RAG-TAG..............47.14 Contender 25/Yamaha Creighton Parker Robert Merritt Michael Franz 9. CONXXXTION..............47.02 Contender 36/Yamaha David Jones Mark Jones Glenn Jones Dave Jones Robert Jones 10. REEL ADDICTION..............46.60 Contender 27/Yamaha Gary Smith Mike Allen John Smith Rachel Mills David Roberts
CLASS OF 23 & Under
1. TEAM PIRANHA..............48.59 KenCraft/Mercury Tony Free James Turner III Tom Grimes Stacy Free	2. SIZE MATTERS..............45.73 Trophy/Mercury Greg Holmstrom Jamie Wright Blake Anderson

 

MIDDLE BAY MARINE HEADS UP SKA FLEET AT ADSR
Akridge Puts Contender in the Winner's Circle
by Phil Irby
July 27, 2001
DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL

The 69th Annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo started on the 20th of July, finishing up on Sunday at 5PM. It was held in LA--that's Lower Alabama for those who have never visited this part of the world before. The ADSFR started years ago as a Tarpon Rodeo before there was a bridge that connected the mainland to Dauphin Island. In the old days, if you didn't have a camp there, you would camp out on the beach, and the only way on or off the island was by boat. This year, 300 anglers signed up, 203 of which were in the King Mackerel Jackpot. The weather was great Friday with calm seas. Come Saturday, however, it was a different story entirely. A front pushed through causing torrential downpours and lightning, with wind gusts over 30 miles per hour at the tournament site. By late afternoon, things began clearing up and calming down. With a low pressure system churning up the Gulf on Sunday, the seas were pushing six to eight feet, making it difficult for those teams fishing in the West Delta to make it back to the scales. The top twenty places were still 44 pound kings or better, though. Robert Akridge captained the Middle Bay Marine Deuce team into second place, topping the SKA fleet at this year's ADSFR. After leaving Dauphin Island during some of the worst weather of the day, Akridge and the team headed roughly 65 miles south to Block 175 in three to five foot seas. "We only had about four small hardtails prior to heading for the rigs," he reported. "They were only about a half pound each, which is pretty small for around here." But the team elected to head out anyway. After just five minutes, their fish hit. Angler David Webb thought the fish was either a shark or amberjack, but decided to fight the fish to the boat anyway rather than cutting it loose unseen. The entire time, Webb was thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if this was a big king, large enough that we could boat it and head back in?" After thirty minutes on the rod, Webb got his wish. Unfortunately, the storm they had passed through on the way south was once again bearing down on the Yamaha-powered Contender 25. "We just battened down and headed back through it," Akridge said later. Their fish would pull the scales down to 57.26 pounds.

Third place overall and second in the SKA fleet was the Backdraft team in an Aquasport 225 Osprey. They sat out Sunday morning in six to eight foot seas at the Gus rig, 65 miles south of Dauphin Island. Around 10:30 in the morning, Andy Morgan's live hardtail was nailed by a 56.32 pound king mackerel. After enduring the six to eight foot seas Sunday and the storms on Saturday, their luck had changed for the better. After three seasons of fishing the SKA's tournament trail, their efforts are starting to pay big dividends.

Mike Ward captained the Wizz Bang into fifth place overall and third in the SKA. He hooked up with his kingfish on a live hardtail Friday afternoon near South Pass, Louisiana. Bruce Davis said it hardly fought at all, while Ward thought the unseen fish might be a 25 pounder. Bruce knew better, believing the fish to be the one they were looking for. They cleared the lines as the fish began circling deep beneath the boat. Again, Mike said it was probably a 30 pounder while Bruce insisted it was a monster. The fish finally appeared within gaff range and it took both men to wrestle the fish into the boat. To their satisfaction, it would later weigh 50.10 pounds.

Second place in the SKA's Class of 23 and sixth place overall was awarded to the Dream Weaver team, who brought in a 49.21 pound king. Angler Matt Waite reported that the fish hit a dead herring on the surface and fought like an amberjack. He was elated to learn that the fish was indeed a big kingfish, though. It was landed around 10AM Sunday.

Top Junior Angler honors for the SKA went to Tyler Kennedy on the Kwazar with a 45.39 pound king. Second was Zach Robinson on the Instigator with a 44.77 pound fish, and third was Daniel Jackson on the Sea Cruiser with a 44.55 pound king.

Final Standings

1. Get Sum..........................59.94 2. MIDDLE BAY MARINE DEUCE...............57.26 Contender/Yamaha Robert Akridge William Akridge Gary Constantine David Webb Alison Akridge 3. * BACK DRAFT.......................56.32 Aquasport/Johnson Neal Morgan Jerry Morgan Andrew Morgan 4. Wet Willies..............................50.28 5. WIZZ BANG....................50.10 Contender/Yamaha Mike Ward Michael Ward Bruce Davis Kent Yrabedra	6. * DREAM WEAVER.................49.21 Cape Horn/Yamaha Steve Houghland Matt Waite Jason Taylor 7. * MARISHE C/HARDCORE................48.57 Wellcraft/Yamaha Mark Collier Nathan Payton Jay Doole 8. SHAGNASTY....................48.02 Cape Horn/Yamaha Chris Ford Joe Bishop 9. TOO SMOOTH................47.89 Contender/Yamaha Greg Hodges Paul Harvey Bruce Jacobs 10. SPECKULATOR...................47.04 Contender/Yamaha George Simon III JJ Tabor
Top Junior Angler: Steven Summersell

 

PENSACOLA/BUD LIGHT KING MACKEREL/COBIA TOURNAMENT GOES AIRBORNE
by Phil Irby, Regional Manager
July 9, 2001

PENSACOLA, FL -- One of the oldest sayings in tournament fishing is that it's always better to be lucky than good. Some of both certainly applies to Steve and Sean McMullen aboard the Airborne. Fishing with teammates Jay Watts, Chris Scarno and Jim Hart, they set out some forty miles south of Orange Beach, Alabama aboard their Yamaha-powered ProLine in search of a winning kingfish. A strong northeaster made conditions tough but fishable for the team, especially considering that they were in a 23 -foot boat. After missing several large kings, they felt that their luck might have run out. That is, until shortly after noon, when Jay Watts hooked up with another big Gulf king mackerel. "He really exploded on hardtail on the surface," Watts said. "He made about five good runs before we could get him close to the boat." Sean McMullen reached over to gaff the fish, but in trying to get him into the boat, the big smoker rolled off the gaff and sought freedom once more. The fish ran off over 100 yards of line before Watts was able to close the distance once again. McMullen again reached out with the gaff and was able to boat the fish on the second opportunity. "After that first time, I just knew he was gone for sure," Sean reported later. To the team's relief and excitement, the 54.17 pounder would lead the tournament from Day One until the final boat had weighed in, putting the team in the winner's slip.

Todd Kercher is one of the many captains in the Gulf that has gone into one of the new triple-engined Contender 36s this year, and it's really been a strong move from a strong team. Kercher, fishing with Mike Waller, Todd James, Spencer Johnson and Jimmy Madden, just missed the fifty pound mark in Pensacola. The Middle Bay Marine team boated a 49.69 pound kingfish to take second place behind the Airborne.

Tim and Brandon Bailey put another Contender, the Reef Theef, into third place in the tournament. They fish out of a Yamaha-powered 25 footer, and nearly ran over the fish on the way out. Minor motor problems forced the team to stop short of their intended fishing grounds, where Joe Simmons pitched out a live hardtail on the surface. He was rewarded by a good strike and a 49.45 pound kingfish, just a few tenths of a pound behind the Middle Bay team in second.

The family team of Mark Eubanks Junior and Senior rounded out the top five on board the Stamina, an OMC-powered Stamas boat. As a testament to the hot fishing, it took a 42 pounder to make the board in tenth place. It certainly appears that this division is off to a great start, and should continue to grow throughout the year.

Final Standings

1. * AIRBORNE.....................54.17 ProLine/Yamaha Steve McMullen Sean McMullen Jay Watts Chris Scarno Jim Hart 2. MIDDLE BAY MARINE................49.69 Contender/Yamaha Todd Kercher Mike Waller Todd James Spencer Johnson Jimmy Madden 3. REEF THEEF........................49.45 Contender/Yamaha Tim Bailey Brandon Bailey Joe Simmons Stephen Simmons 4. Relentless..........................47.89 5. STAMINA.......................46.15 Stamas/Johnson Mark Eubanks, Sr. Mark Eubanks, Jr.	6. BACK AGAIN..........................46.12 HydraSports/Evinrude Rex Hudson Jerry Hudson Steve Webb Roy Hudson 7. HIGH DEFINITION....................44.62 Palmetto/Yamaha Brian Bailey Sr. Brian Bailey Jr. Kenny Summersell Steven Summersell Billy McCloskey 8. * ROCKETMAN........................43.46 Contender/Yamaha Harry Crump Judson Crump Benton Crump 9. CATCH-YA-LATER....................43.33 Contender/Yamaha Robert W. Young Keith Rowell Darlene Young Joe Dennis Bob Howard 10. Double Trouble.......................................42.65
Top Junior Angler: Steven Summersell

AJs King Mackerel Classic Tournament
AJ'S Win Falls to Rag Tag Team
By Bob Childress, SKA Regional Manager
June 6, 2001

DESTIN, FL -- Ahhh, Destin. Home of sugar sand beaches, vacationing families and bikini clad queens. Despite all these distractions the fishing teams of the SKA came to town with only smoker kings on their agendas.

Day one of the tournament began as one of those picture perfect days that you hope for in competitive fishing. You know, the type of days when you're normally at work, wishing you were fishing. The weather was beautiful, but the kingfish just didn't agree, making a very tough day for the teams on the water. This only confirmed the predictions of the old salt in Destin that I had the pleasure of talking to prior to the tournament. His quote was, "These guys ain't gonna catch much. The southwest wind puts the fish down for some reason. Never been able to figure it out. That's just the way it is." His predictions ran true with only half of the field bringing fish to the dock.

Ken Stafford's Ken's Car Tunes brought in the top fish for Day One, a 41.35 that ate a big bluefish on the surface. The Starr B showed up with a 94 lb. Wahoo. This is an all-female team that will be a tough combination as soon as they train their baits to keep out of the way of those big wahoo.

Clayton Kirby on The Works came in with a 36.95 caught off Orange Beach in 85 feet of water. This fish would keep him in third place for the tournament. Kirby was fishing with captain Ken Simmons aboard one of the big, new Fountain center consoles, powered by triple Mercury outboards.

Marcus Kennedy came to the scales with a 29.7 pound kingfish that would put Tyler in the top spot for Jr. Angler. This team journeyed over 120 miles one way in his Contender 36, just another testament to the tough fishing conditions over the weekend.

Day Two dawned just as nice weather-wise, but fishing remained tough with only a small percentage of the field able to better their scores from the first day of competition.

The Rag Tag team , captained by SKA veteran Creighton Parker, was one of the first boats in to the weigh scales at AJ's. They boated a 46.5 that bettered their score from the first day and put them in first place for the tournament. This fish took a Better Baits eel deep on a downrigger. This turned out to be the winning combination for them and it was also the only way they caught fish during the tournament. "I really need to credit Maurice [Ryan] from Better Baits for supplying us with those eels--it was really the key to the win," Parker reported.

Dan Abshire on the RXCape was unable to fish the first day because of some minor mechanical problems, but came through on Day Two with a 29.8 to put his wife Ronda in the top spot for Lady Angler as well as fifth place overall for the tournament. This gave little relief to this self-described fishing junkie, having only been able to fish one day of the Kingmaster and one day in Destin after a long break following the catch of her life, Dan III, their first born child. This was a happy Lady Angler that you guys better look out for because her first comment after she accepted her award was, "I'm ready to catch some fish!" She's already won the SKA's Top Lady Angler award once, and it sounds like she's ready for a repeat run at the title.

This pretty much wrapped up the event with some of the teams leaving with slightly bruised egos, but still looking forward to the Pensacola Bud Lite Tournament next in line on the SKA Mercury Tournament Trail.

Final Standings

1. RAG TAG.....................46.5 Contender/Yamaha Creighton Parker Robert Merritt Charles Higdon Hal Hudson 2. KEN'S CAR TUNES...................41.35 Contender/Yamaha Ken Stafford David Howell Dirk Hearn David Turner 3. THE WORKS............................36.95 Fountain/Mercury Ken Simmons Clayton Kirby Danny Russell Terry Williams 4. Windwalker II............................33.30 5. RXCAPE................................29.80 ProLine/Mercury Dan Abshire, Jr. Ronda Abshire Dan Abshire, Sr.	6. KWAZAR....................................29.70 Contender/Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Steve Shook Max Williams Tyler Kennedy 7. Attitude.............................25.45 8. REEL MCCOY................................24.75 Contender/Yamaha Jeff McCoy Melvin Dunn Josh McCoy Jonathan McCoy Greg Blakerey 9. MIDDLE BAY MARINE...............................23.45 Contender/Yamaha Todd Kercher Daniel Eubanks Mike Eubanks Doug Malloney Michael Eubanks, Jr. 10. INVICTA................................................21.80 Donzi/Mercury John Holley Jamie Fuller Tommy Swanson
CLASS OF 23 & Under: AIRBORNE.........................20.05 ProLine/Yamaha Steve McMullen Sean McMullen Christopher Scarano Jimmy Hart Jay Watts Top Junior Angler: Tyler Kennedy, Kwazar