(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

SKA Mercury Tournament Trail
BOATING UPDATES FOR SKA NATIONALS QUALIFIERS
Updated: November 16, 2001

MANATEE ZONES: All boaters must obey posted speed zone signs at all times, but in Fort Pierce, these waters are closely watched and heavily patrolled by local law enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard. They WILL stop you. They WILL write tickets. This is manatee season along this part of Florida and with Nationals being such a high profile event, manatee protectors will be looking for violators. They will be covered in depth at the Captain’s Briefing.

SECURITY ZONES: Following the Sept. 11 Tragedy, Pres. Bush ordered increased security and military protection of all nuclear power plants in the country. There is one 7 miles south of the Fort Pierce Inlet on Hutchinson Island. Up until Nov. 11, the area offshore of the power plant was patrolled by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter which, unfortunately made a last-resort bait fishing spot off limits. The good news is, the Coast Guard has been relieved of duty there meaning that bait fishing can occur.

The bad news is, clouded water conditions from rains and high seas have scattered bait, and according to one Coastie who fishes regularly, "There isn’t any bait there right now." In addition to the lifted boating restrictions, the FAA just lifted its flight restriction which was a 10-mile radius surrounding the power plant.

FISHING REPORT: Good news and bad news here as well. East winds and tropical rain systems have clouded water conditions along the beaches and around the Fort Pierce, Sebastian and St. Lucie Inlets creating a difficult situation for boats hunting bait or kingfish activity. Pre-fishing endeavors are limited and non-productive due to 6-8 foot seas and dirty water.

There is a proliferation of Spanish mackerel around the inlets and a few blue runners can be caught inside the inlets. No word on ribbonfish. Greenies, cigar minnows, and goggle-eyes have been hard to come by, but with nationals coming, some of the better bait fishermen will locate them. Commercial bait boats will probably stage inside the Fort Pierce inlet as well for those that have the cash.

WELCOME ATMOSPHERE: The community of Fort Pierce is literally abuzz with the pending arrival of the SKA National Championships. Everyone in the fishing community is excited about your coming here, so introduce yourselves and make allies with the locals. Some may be able to give you some valuable info.

Gas prices have dropped recently (not as cheap as some as your hometowns, but good for us at $1.15/gal), and the local media is on board to promote and support your event. Anglers looking for advance info and fishing reports can find them online at www.tcpalm.com, the website for the Tribune (Fort Pierce) and the Stuart News. Follow the link to Water’s Edge for recent reports and articles pertaining to kingfishing’s biggest event.
Family members who will not be able to make the trip can follow the action daily at this website. We all look forward to seeing you.

 

"Streaker" Leads Day One at The National Championship and "TampaBayAngler.com" Tops Class Of 23
November 30, 2001
By: Ed Killer

FORT PIERCE, FL- The assembled fleet of 299 fishing teams knew coming in that it would be tough fishing during Friday’s opening day of action in the 2001 Southern Kingfish Association / Mercury Tournament Trail National Championships. That given, even eternal pessimist could not have predicted the low number of boats to report to the first day’s weigh-in.

Still, for as many as two dozen boats in the organization’s largest national championship tournament to date, the glass is half full and the top prize is well within reach.Sitting in the driver’s seat is the husband-wife team aboard Streaker, a 25-foot Yamaha-powered Contender. Paulette and Roger Walker of Jacksonville hung a 39.10-pound king mackerel on the scale Friday to take control of the leader board as the tournament swings into its final day today.

Blessed by an early bite, the pair were patiently waiting at the dock at Fort Pierce City Marina when the scales opened at 2 p.m. "That fish hit the first bait in the water," explained Roger. "I had put out ribbonfish and turned to get another out when the reel went off."Paulette grabbed the rod as fast as she could and began to wind. Not 15 minutes later, she brought the fish within Roger’s gaffing range, and the big smoker was hauled into the fish bag.

According to the Walkers, they were fishing "to the south, but not too far" in water of a secret depth. They reportedly went to sea via the Fort Pierce Inlet. Details of catches from many anglers were scarce since the national championships is a two-day aggregate weight contest. Teams are allowed to weigh one kingfish per day."It felt great to get out there and finally fish," said a smiling Paulette. "We’ve been in town since Monday, but it’s been too rough for us to get out. Basically, we sat in a motel room for three days."

A midweek ground swell kicked up by Hurricane Olga combined with easterly winds to 15 knots turned waters south of Cape Canaveral into a sloppy mess. Dirty, rough water also impacted the supply of live bait like blue runners which were not easily located by anglers leading up to the start of the tournament. Meanwhile, a powerful full moon shut down the availability of goggle-eye."Our goal now is to catch another fish - any fish - to go with the one we have," Roger said.

The Walkers have fished Fort Pierce with SKA events several times and placed fourth overall in the 1998 SKA National Championships held here. That year, the Walkers found a 41-pounder and added a 31-pounder for 72 pounds overall. With one day to go, they are already over halfway to that mark.Tampa Bay Angler.com delighted the sizable crowd at the weigh-in with their slab that went 38.19 pounds, good enough to lead the hotly-contested 23 and Under class for anglers that prefer to fish boats of 23 feet and less.

John McLay, Brent Gaskill and Lynn Zerkle landed the lunker late in the day before piling in a 30-mile run, racing to make the designated check-in point at the South Bridge by 4 p.m. "He hit a big blue runner and took off 200 yards," said Zerkle of Clearwater. "We ran the boat right up on the fish, boated him in less than
five minutes, and we were off."Zerkle steered the 23 SeaCraft over what Gulf of Mexico fishermen call "good live bottom" to find the prize. They had blue runners despite having trouble finding bait on their own.

"I’m sorry to say we had to ante up $100 per dozen for our blue runners," he said.Warbird’s Capt. Rob Roberts of Sarasota put wife Joyce Roberts onto a good fish to stand second in the overall length class at 35.55 pounds. Roberts and crew are attending their first national championships after a solid run through SKA’s Division 6 that fishes out of Sarasota and St. Petersburg. Warbird is a Yamaha-powered 31-foot Yellowfin.

Shock Wave led by Mark Lee of Galveston, Texas sheepishly weighed a 35.27-pounder thinking their fish was a little on the small side. Compared to kings in the 50 and 60-pound range caught with regularity where Lee hails from, these fish may seem small, but Lee and crew stand third since it is all relative."This is the first time I’ve ever fished in the Atlantic Ocean," said Lee, fishing in his second championship after three years as an SKA member. In total, 10 fish over 30 pounds were caught in what is shaping up as somewhat of a down week for quality kingfish.

Mark Rumph and Andy Nettles on Solid Surface out of Charleston, SC boated a 34.16pound king - their only king bite of the day - aboard their Palmetto.Port St. Lucie’s Offshore Warrior sits fifth with 32.95 pounds one slot ahead of former national champion Randy Keys of La Perla (31.93) and four slots ahead of The Chase (26.80), 2001 Anglers of the Year.

Carolina Adventure (34.22) with North Carolina’s Jerry Dilsaver and Allocated Time (33.42) led by captain Rod Westenbroek of St. Petersburg are well within striking distance in the 23 and Under class. Phoenix of Fort Pierce, with Gary McNabb, Nick Shaughnessy and RJ Hamilton are the division’s top local entry with 20.65 pounds in seventh.Fishing finishes today with check-in at 3 p.m. sharp.

Check-out will take place at 6:30 a.m. Weigh-in will take place at the Fort Pierce City Marina and is free and open to the public. Scales open at 1 p.m. Boats must be beyond the South Bridge by 3 p.m. in order to weigh fish.For more and daily reports check www.tcpalm.com follow links to Water's Edge.

Final Standings: DAY 1

TOP TEN - OVERALL LENGTH CLASS 1. 39.10, Streaker, Roger Walker, Jacksonville, Fla. 2. 35.55, War Bird, Rob Roberts, Sarasota 3. 35.27, Shock Wave, Mark Lee, Galveston, Texas 4. 34.16, Solid Surface, Andy Nettles, Charleston, SC 5. 32.95, Offshore Warrior, Tom Kenney, Port St. Lucie 6. 31.93, La Perla, Randy Keys, St. Petersburg 7. 30.73, Second Chanze, John Lewis, Morehead City, NC 8. 28.78, Kill-N-Me, Howard Poe, Ocean Isle, NC 9. 26.80, The Chase, Chris Chase, Stanfield, Mich. 10. 26.52, Reel Screamer, Chad Sanders, Morehead City, NC

TOP TEN - 23 FEET AND UNDER CLASS 1. 38.19, Tampa Bay Angler.Com, Lynn Zerkle, Clearwater 2. 34.22, Carolina Adventure, Jerry Dilsaver, Ocean Isle, NC 3. 33.42, Allocated Time, Rod Westenbroek, St. Petersburg 4. 28.75, Yellowbird, Vernon Bonnell, St. Petersburg 5. 25.55, Knot Home, Steve Sencal, St. Augustine 6. 23.57, Hit N Run, Mike Landreth, Garner, NC. 7. 20.65, Phoenix, RJ Hamilton, Fort Pierce 8. 19.92, Stealth Fighter, Randy Crews, Raleigh, NC 9. 19.75, Traveller, Bob Johnson, Asheville, NC. 10. 19.66, Miss Leigh Anne, Jeff Aycock, Alpharetta, Ga.

 

"Carolina Adventure" & Offshore Warrior Top the 2001 National Championship
December 3, 2001
By:Ed Killer

FORT PIERCE, FL- After two days on the water and 299 boats in the fleet, sweet redemption and home field advantage characterized the winners of the 2001 Mercury Tournament Trail National Championships.

Carolina Adventure, the 23 Ken Craft/Mercury piloted by Ocean Isle, NC’s Jerry Dilsaver, Richard Denning, and Bob Black, collected 74.22 pounds of cash-colored king mackerel to blow away the field in the 23 and Under Class and win its top prize: a 23 Palmetto/twin Mercury 150s/Loadmaster trailer touted at $63,000.

Offshore Warrior’s Tom Kenney, brother-in-law Tom Oien, Tim Kellagher, and Rob Carlin celebrated the inconceivable culmination of their rookie campaign on the Mercury Tournament Trail in front of the home crowd with a champagne shower and an impromptu dip in the waters of weigh-in host Fort Pierce City Marina. Fishing from a Yamaha-powered 29 Angler, the foursome weighed 66.0 pounds of kingfish to edge out runners-up Roger and Paulette Walker of Jacksonville by a mere 0.54 pounds, and third place finisher Solid Surface by 0.58 pounds.Carolina Adventure’s win makes up for a bittersweet end to Dilsaver’s national championship bid back in 1993.

"We had the lead after the first day of fishing in the 1992 championship that fished in St. Petersburg in April of ‘93," he said. "But on the second day of fishing, we couldn’t find a decent fish. This makes up for that."As for Offshore Warrior, a seventh place finish in Division 10 enabled the locally well-known Kenney the opportunity to enjoy home cooking in the biggest tournament of his career.

"I worked hard for a month prior to this tournament trying to stay on top of the big kingfish," he said. "Some of those rougher days, it was tough to find fish, and then the week of the tournament, the bait disappeared. All we had were about a dozen silver mullet each day caught by my cousin and a couple of blue runners Friday."Both of Offshore Warrior’s fish nabbed their 14-inch select mullet, the second day’s taking one in the prop wash as it was being put into the water. Kellagher had the boat in 80 feet of water, a stone’s throw on the outside of the dozen or so boats fishing the neighborhood known as The Zoo south of Jupiter Inlet.

The Walkers, aboard their 25 Contender, Streaker, led off the first day of action with a day’s-best 39.1-pound king and had good action on day two, but a 26.36-pounder was the best in the bag. The Walkers improved on their fourth-place finish in the 1998 National Championships also held in Fort Pierce, but fell just short of their ultimate goal. "The first day, we had a rough start, but made up for it with our fish," explained Paulette Walker. "The second day, Roger picked up 18 goggle-eyes from a bait man, and we had plenty of action."Solid Surface with Andy Nettles, Mike Rumph, and crew also benefited from a good opening day fish of 34.16 pounds. Saturday’s 31.26 moved them up a slot from fourth to third overall.

A mid-week ground swell generated by far-off Hurricane Olga swirled up what is traditionally a beach fishery along the shores of this part of Florida. An easterly wind also chopped up seas a bit, so the majority of teams that elected to head for points south ran the ICW 20 miles to the next outlet to sea, the St. Lucie Inlet off Stuart. Most of the quality fish weighed each day were pulled from hard bottom and natural reef in 60 to 80 feet of water in within five miles of the Jupiter Inlet.

At least three of those fish topped 40 pounds including the event’s heaviest slab, Marishie C/Hardcore’s 42.5 pounder, unfortunately the only fish Mobile, Ala.’s Mark Conner and Jay Doole could put on the board. "I wish we caught that fish (on day one)," Conner said. Even so, the big one put Hardcore in fifth in the Class.Ambitious, a Fort Pierce entry that Yamaha Pro Tour teams may know, found a 40.16 that ate a ribbonfish in 40 feet of water north of the Jupiter Inlet. "We had some sharks and cudas, plus a 30-pounder," reported Geoff Quatraro who fishes the 31 Contender with the boat’s owners Mark Malizia and Dorothy Riley. A teenager on Friday gave them 53.88 and seventh place.

After coming in during the earlier part of Saturday’s weigh-in, Offshore Warrior had to sweat out leader board changes for over an hour. With 40-pounders lurking close by, boats with good first day fish such as Shock Wave (35.27), La Perla (31.93), Second Chanze (30.73), and The Chase (26.80) could not be counted out until they opened their fish bags Saturday.

Carolina Adventure began Saturday almost four pounds behind TampaBayAngler.com and waited cautiously to see if the day one 23 and Under leaders could muster a decent fish."We had a shot at a good fish, but were unable to get him," said TampaBayAngler.com’s Lynn Zirkle. North Carloina's Mike Landreth led Hit N Run to a 27.43-pound fish lifting his team from sixth in the standings up to second. Bounty Hunter’s Saturday fish pulled them from outside the top 10 all the way to third.

Two crowds approaching 1,000 onlookers assembled under sunny warm skies each day to cheer on the successful fleet. There was no doubt that throughout the city of Fort Pierce, the SKA’s qualifying teams were a welcome arrival, and will be next time the SKA returns to Fort Pierce.Proceeds from the sale of the donated kingfish have been earmarked for the Coastal Conservation Association and the Children’s Home Society of the United States.

Final Standings: DAY 2

OVERALL LENGTH 1. 66.0 pounds, Offshore Warrior, Tom Kenney, Port St. Lucie, 23 Donzi, twin Mercury outboards, Loadmaster trailer, $70,000 approx. retail 2. 65.46, Streaker, Roger Walker, Jacksonville, 21 Wellcraft, Mercurys, Loadmaster trailer 3. 65.42, Solid Surface, Andy Nettles, 20 Maycraft, Mercury, Loadmaster 4. 60.3, La Perla, Randy Keys, St. Petersburg, 17 Pro Line, Mercury, Loadmaster 5. 55.98, Team Donzi, Ken Upton, Greenville, NC, 19 Sea Pro, Mercury, Loadmaster 6. 55.50, Kill-N-Me, Howard Poe, St. Simon’s Island, Ga., $10,200 cash and prizes 7. 53.88, Ambitious, Mark Malizia, Fort Pierce, $8700 cash and prizes 8. 53.67, Reel Time, Kirk Wharf, Raleigh, NC, $5900 cash and prizes 9. 52.00, Mega Bite, Robert Dawson, St. Petersburg, $5600 cash and prizes 10. 51.73, King Pin, Greg Samuel, Daytona Beach, $4900 cash and prizes Paid cash and prizes to 40th place

23 AND UNDER CLASS 1. 74.22, Carolina Adventure, Jerry Dilsaver, Ocean Isle Beach, NC, 23 Palmetto, Mercury, Loadmaster trailer, $63,000 approx. retail 2. 51.0, Hit-N-Run, Mike Landreth, Garner, NC, 19 Ken Craft, Mercury, Loadmaster trailer 3. 48.03, Bounty Hunter, Darren Taylor, Galveston, Texas, 17 Aquasport, Mercury, Loadmaster 4. 45.67, Traveller, Bob Johnson, Asheville, NC, $5200 cash and prizes 5. 42.5, Marishie C/Hardcore, Mark Conner, Mobile, Ala., $3200 Paid cash and prizes to 25th place