(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

Miami Pro Gets Fish'd In
Ed Killer
March 19, 2001

Miami Beach, FL—Greg Holmes, Fred Rourk, and Ronald Crowe picked a good time to come out on top.

The Myrtle Beach, SC-based fishing team aboard Fish’d In - a brand new out of the box 31-foot Contender with twin 225 h.p Yamaha outboards - spent Friday and Saturday in the fish. Their ability to locate a few decent king mackerel earned the trio its first ever tournament win, $30,000 cash, and the season opening victory on the 2001 Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour.

Fish’d In bested a field of 94 pro teams with a 35.0-pound kingfish caught Friday followed by a 23.1-pound Saturday-caught fish. The combined weight was enough to lift the third-year pros into the event’s top slot with 58.1 pounds, less than two pounds ahead of runner-up Gotcha out of Jacksonville.

Holmes was piloting a new Contender he just took possession of a week earlier.

“The fishing was kind of slow, but we found a little action about 97 miles north of here,” Holmes said. “We started off of Stuart, and when we had no bites we slid south a bit to a place called the Zoo off Jupiter.”

“We saw a fish skyrocket in some bait, and later we had the 35-pounder,” he said of Friday’s action. “Because of that, we had to go back (Saturday).”

Day One leaders No Mercy with Homestead’s Steve Cunningham were unable to locate another king Saturday and nearly slipped out of the standings. The pro event paid out to 20th place.

The pro event finale coincided with the fourth annual Greater Miami King Mackerel Tournament, an open event that drew a competition fleet of 145 boats. This event featured a 21-foot Contender with Yamaha ouboard and Loadmaster trailer as its top prize paid to the boat that catches the heaviest kingfish Saturday or Sunday.

The fleet will have its work cut out for it trying to come up with a fish bigger than Gatorbait’s 46.3-pounder caught by Fort Pierce anglers Sandy Smith, Anthony Guettler and Jacksonville’s Matt Pitman. Smith also was sea-testing a new boat and found his fish despite not having any electronics, or even a compass.

But his risk of running from Miami to Wabasso to find a big kingfish paid off big time.

“We don’t have any of our rigging yet,” said Smith of his 34-foot Yellowfin with twin Mercury 300s “In fact. I just got the boat the day before yesterday.”

“We couldn’t find a fish Friday so we decided to run to where we knew there were a few. We called a contact of mine who said they were at one spot Friday and when we got there, and didn’t find any. I called him back and he said the fish moved 15 miles further north.”

While fishing about a mile offshore south of Sebastian Inlet, Smith receievd a call from his wife Karen, who was eager to see the new boat. As he trolled closer to shore , one of the rods went off with the big smoker attached.

Gotcha, another Yamaha-powered 31 Contender, had a 28.0-pounder on day one and was able to add a 28.2-pound fish Saturday to collect runner-up honors and $10,000. Capt. Darren Carter’s strategy took him to the Pickle Reef both days where he found fish on the advice of Cunningham and Vamoose’s Randy Crabtree.

Final Standings
two day aggregate weight

1. 58.1 pounds, Fish’d In, Greg Holmes, Myrtle Beach, $30,000 2. 56.2, Gotcha, Darren Carter, Jacksonville, FL, $15,000 3. 55.6, The Chase, Chris Chase, Stanfield, Michigan, $10,000 4. 53.3, Big Bite, Sam Britt, Hilton Head, SC, $8,000 5. 50.5, Hannon’s Cannon, Kevin Hannon, Seminole, FL, $7,000	6. 48.6, Team Duprez, Donald Workman, Jax, FL, $6,000 7. 48.3, Warrior, LA Denzer, Valdosta, GA, $5,000 8. 48.3, RXCape, Dan Abshire, Gulf Breeze, FL $4,000 9. 47.8, My Three Sons, Terry Grantham, Florence, SC $3,000 10. 46.9, Vamoose, Randy Crabtree, Jacksonville, FL $2,000

WILMINGTON PRO GETS KING SIZED
Contender and Yamaha Go Two for Two in the Pros
By Sam White
June 23, 2001

Contender and Yamaha Go Two for Two in the Pros by Sam White WILMINGTON, NC--As the remnants of Hurricane Allison passed through eastern North Carolina, over ninety pro teams prepared themselves and their machines for the coming two days of tournament fishing during the Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament. Rumors of large kings well to the south circulated among the crowds gathered for the captain's meetings, while others felt that the bigger fish would be found closer to the weigh in site at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside.

Marcus Kennedy's Kwazar boat would be the first to weigh in on Day One, scaling a respectable 36.4 pound kingfish. "We had some minor problems with our motors, so we thought it best to head on in with this fish," Marcus said. They would be in first place, at least until Rick Ryan's King Size pulled into the dock. When I asked if they had a good fish aboard, teammate Joel Wood simply nodded in the affirmative. I was ready with the camera when they hoisted their big smoker for a quick photo or three, then they were off to the scales. Five minutes later, the team was elated to learn that they now had the leading fish in the tournament at 40.7 pounds. Kwazar would have to settle for second after the first day, but the aggregate format of the Pro Tour meant that any of the top teams still had a shot at the win on the second day of fishing. The King Size, a Yamaha-powered Contender, would return late on Day Two with yet another fish aboard. This one would only weigh 18.2 pounds but would be enough to give them the Pro Tour win. "We fished off Georgetown over a live bottom in 80 feet of water both days," Ryan reported. When asked why he chose that area, he said that teammate Joel Wood had caught some big kings there in the days prior to the Wilmington event. "It was a last minute effort today [on Day Two]," Ryan reported. "We just couldn't do better than an 18 pounder, so we had to come on in and hope it would be enough." And it was. He wanted to thank Yamaha, Contender, Tailwalker Marine and Magic Tilt for all their help during the season. Ryan also did a quick interview with the Kingmasters TV show, to air next season. "It's unusual that I actually get to catch the fish," he said, "but it's pretty nice to catch a winner for a change!"

Two time SKA Top Angler of the Year Clayton Kirby came to town at the helm of Fountain's newest center console, a huge triple Mercury-powered 37-footer, looking for enough points to keep him in the race for a third Top Angler title. He would not leave disappointed, putting 56.3 pounds on his side of the board in addition to winning second in the tournament. "We outran the fleet to the 6CR," Kirby said, "but could only manage about an 18-pounder, so we picked up and ran to the Not So Secret, then went offshore and that's where we picked up the 28.2 in 70 feet of water." Day Two found the Fountain Vengeance team running hard back to the same area where they missed their shot at a 25 pounder that came unglued at the boat. "Then we heard the bite was on in the river channel, and that's when we got the 28.1 at around 2:15 in the afternoon." That would be enough to land the team in the runner-up slot with a two fish aggregate of 56.3 pounds.

Gary and Elizabeth Unger teamed up with Denny and David Spence to fish aboard the In The Red during the Wilmington stop on the Pro Tour trail, and they would walk away with third place overall. They also run a Mercury-powered Fountain, and had prefished off Georgetown prior to the tournament. "We had caught some fish on the tideline," Unger said, "and so we ran back down there both days." Gary credited the Mercury 300 horsepower outboards for the speed to get to the bite quickly both days. Both fish hit naked pogies fished on the toplines aft of the red 31-footer, and Elizabeth Unger battled both fish to the boat each day. Marcus Kennedy's Kwazar would be eventually bumped into fourth place, only managing a 16.6 pound king on Day Two. "We went to the Jungle on the first day," Kennedy said, "and had only small fish. Max [Williams] was jigging bait from the bow all day, and he caught about a three pound Boston mackerel so I rigged it up on some heavy Gulf tackle and pitched it out. It wasn't out for five minutes before that big fish yesterday nailed it! I had him to the boat in about five or ten minutes." Their Day Two fish nailed a hardtail that Kennedy had brought all the way from Mobile, Alabama, again on heavy wire and larger-than-normal hooks the team normally reserves for the upper Gulf. They would wind up the Wilmington stop with an aggregate of 53.0 pounds. Robert Dawson captained the Mega Bite to the event's fifth place spot with an aggregate score of 48.6 pounds, putting yet another Mercury-powered Fountain in the tournament's top five spots. They were also one of the few teams that rebounded from Day One, with only a 16 pounder on the board from the start of the tournament. The team headed back to sea on Day Two with high expectations and were rewarded with a 32.6 pound kingfish that would literally catapult them from obscurity into fifth place overall.

The top seventy-five teams following the Golden Isles Pro Tour stop will continue on to fish in the last two events of this year's Tour, and it's still a wide open race for anyone to win. At stake is the most prestigious award in saltwater tournament sportfishing--the SKA's Top Angler of the Year.

Final Standings
(2-Day Aggregate Results, Ties Broken by Weight of Largest Fish)

1. KING SIZE.....................58.9 Contender/Yamaha Rick Ryan Joel Wood Bruce Gallup 2. FOUNTAIN VENGEANCE.............56.3 Fountain/Mercury Clayton Kirby Bryan Gillikin Rick Stoker Roger Brooks Stewart Jones Jennifer Kirby Leann Stoker 3. IN THE RED.........................53.9 Fountain/Mercury Gary Unger Elizabeth Unger Denny Spence David Spence 4. KWAZAR.....................53.0 Contender/Yamaha Marcus Kennedy Max Williams Steve Shook Jeff McCoy 5. MEGA BITE.......................48.6 Fountain/Mercury Robert Dawson Mike Whitman Brenda Whitman Erecia Whitman Linda Dawson 6. AMBITIOUS..............46.4 Contender/Yamaha Mark Malizia Geoff Quatraro Chris Blackwell Brent Bowman 7. MINING MY BIDNESS................42.8 Donzi/Mercury Chuck Permenter Patrick Bellamy Chris Blanton 8. BIG BAD WOLF.........................41.2 Contender/Yamaha Stacy Wester Al "Ditto" Wester Clay Walker 9. TIDELINE..............................40.9 Wellcraft/Yamaha Dieter Cardwell Mike Lundy 10. RAG TAG....................38.6 Contender/Yamaha Creighton Parker Geoff Persell Chris Burdson

11. HOOLIGAN...................36.0 Contender/Yamaha Joe Winslow David Haynes 12. FISH FEVER...................34.8 Wellcraft/Mercury Ed Mecchella Shawn Mecchella Jim Conway 13. INVICTA.........................34.8 Donzi/Mercury John Holley Jamie Fuller Tommy Swanson 14. GET REEL........................30.4 Century/Yamaha Lee McCurdy Dennis Dowdy Phillip Waters 15. THE CHASE......................30.4 Donzi/Mercury Chris Chase Jan Chase Tim Chase Rob Dunagan Chip Underwood 16. BIG BITE..........................29.7 Marlin/Yamaha Sam Britt Kevin Barker Gerry McGuire Gary Wetherington 17. CAROLINA CONTENDER.....................29.0 Contender/Yamaha Brant McMullan Barrett McMullan Amy McMullan Anne Cambell 18. WILD TURKEY...........................28.5 Wellcraft/Mercury Rick Smith Tony Thaw Trey Tait 19. GRAVY TRAIN......................28.3 Contender/Yamaha Henry Bishop Tony Harrison Frank DeLoach Johnny Jones 20. SAND PIPER............................28.0 Scotty Craft/Evinrude Fred Piper Dane Piper William Dowd

BIG BAD WOLF SCARES RECORD FLEET ON DAY ONE OF GOLDEN ISLES KINGFISH CLASSIC
By Ed Killer
June 23, 2001

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA. - Stacy and Ditto Wester of Wilmington, NC certainly know how to put the pressure on 270 of their "closest" friends. The Wester brothers put a 51.70-pound king mackerel on the scales during the Golden Isles Marina Kingfish Classic which could end up being worth almost $75,000 by the end of fishing Saturday.

The Westers, who fish the 27-foot Yamaha-powered Contender Big Bad Wolf, have enjoyed top 10 finishes in the Southern Kingfish Association's Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour since the series began in 1998. They hope Friday's big smoker will help propel them to a coveted SKA Angler of the Year by years' end.

The Golden Isles Kingfish Classic is the third of five stops on the lucrative Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour where elite teams of tournament king mackerel fishermen and women compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. On the pro tour, which is also sponsored by Contender Boats, Century Boats, Cobia Boats and Loadmaster Trailers, teams fish two days weighing one kingfish per day. Prizes are awarded based on the aggregate weight of two fish.

The pro division winner of the Golden Isles Classic will collect a check worth $30,000. Big Bad Wolf is among 90 pro boats in the fleet of 271, a record for the seventh annual Golden Isles Classic.

"We had that fish on for about an hour," explained Ditto Wester who batttled the big king successfully avoiding a crowd of other boats fishinng the same vicinity on Gray's Reef, about 35 miles out of St. Simon's Island Sound. "We were pretty nervous because we had caught a big barracuda earlier in the day and were afraid of a cut-off."

"Our biggest king in the four years we've fished this tournament was 35 pounds," said Stacy Wester. "This one hit a menhaden on a cork while we were anchored in 65 feet of water."

The event finishes Saturday. In conjunction with the two-fish aggregate-weight pro event, Golden Isles Marina is awarding a 27-foot Contender powered by Yamaha outboards for the heaviest fish caught during the weekend.

Final Standings: DAY 1

1. 51.70, Big Bad Wolf, Stacy Wester, Wilmington, NC 2. 34.02, Out to Lunch, Paul Hansen, Jacksonville, FL 3. 33.98, Rebecca Ann, Frank Strickland, Valdosta, Ga. 4. 30.37, Capt. Hook, David Hooks, Jr., Gause Landing, NC 5. 29.69, Mean C, Buddy Hucks, Pauly's Island, SC	6. 29.65, The Chase, Chris Chase, Stanfield, Mich. 7. 29.56, Fish'D In, Greg Holmes, Myrtle Beach, SC 8. 28.69, Gotcha, Darren Carter, Jacksonville, FL 9. 26.91, Hog Jaw, Jerry Maggart, Stuart, FL 10. 26.69, Wild Injun, Roy Byrd, Jacksonville, FL

BIG BAD WOLF GOLDEN AT GOLDEN ISLES KINGFISH CLASSIC
By Ed Killer
June 23, 2001

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA. - King mackerel tournament anglers around the country should be warned: the Big Bad Wolf will soon be coming to your port to huff and puff and blow down your leader board.

Stacy and Ditto Wester, fishing from their Yamaha-powered 31-foot Contender named Big Bad Wolf, demonstrated Friday and Saturday that sometimes the biggest rewards come in the smallest packages. One day after weighing a 51.70-pound kingfish, the heaviest king mackerel caught during the seventh annual Golden Isles Kingfish Classic hosted by Golden Isles Marina in St. Simons Island, Ga., it was the Wester brothers' unflattering 12.82-pound king that gave them enough aggregate weight to secure the team's first victory on the lucrativeYamaha Professional Kingfish Tour.

The Yamaha Pro Tour is sponsored by Contender Boats, Century Boats, Cobia Boats, Loadmaster Trailers and Yamaha Outboard Motors and is presented by the Southern Kingfish Association, America's largest saltwater fishing tournament organization with over 10,000 competition members between North Carolina and Texas.

"We set a goal at the beginning of the tournament season to win one of the five Yamaha Pro Tour events this year," explained Stacy Wester of Wilmington, NC. "This was just our second tournament in the new 31 Contender and so far so good."

Big Bad Wolf finished eighth overall during last weekend's Wilmington Pro Kingfish Tournament fished out of Wilmington, NC. In mid-March, the Westers and teammate Clay Walker began the year with a good start in the Miami Contender Kingfish Classic and have continued to climb the standings since then.

But Saturday's fish made for a little more drama than they were hoping for. Tournament rules forbid the weighing of any kingfish shorter in length than 36 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail. Big Bad Wolf's king barely made the cut as tournament official Amy Kidney carefully lined up the fish while Ditto Wester anxiously watched. When the fish was weighed, Wester breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was the only hit we had all day Saturday," said Ditto, of Raleigh, NC. "We fished right up until the last possible second trying to catch one bettter than that one."

Big Bad Wolf's 64.52 pounds narrowly outpaced Fish'D In's 61.05 pounds. Moments before Wester weighed his fish, Fred Rourk of Fish'D In put a 31.49-pound smoker king on the scale to take the lead - at least for a few minutes.

"We found some fish feeding off St. Catherine's Sound," said Rourk who fishes with Greg Holmes aboard a 31-foot Contender based in Myrtle Beach, SC. "There was a big school of Spanish mackerel and spinner sharks feeding on school of glass minnows. We hooked a few Spanish, and put a couple out as baits for our biggest king."

"When we got the fish to the boat, Greg reached out as far he could to gaff it," said Rourk. Fish'd In kicked off the year by winning the Yamaha Pro Tour opener in Miami. Including the Wilmington Pro win by the team on King Size, a Contender-built craft has won all three professional events. Both days, the Westers fished the popular spot known as Gray's Reef, a lively spot of bottom in 60 feet of water about 30 miles northeast of St. Simon's Sound. Most of the larger fish caught during the weekend came from the same area.

The Westers collect $30,000 cash as the top pro boat in St. Simons Island as well as the general tournament's top award of a 23-foot Contender powered by a 225 h.p. Yamaha outboard sitting on a Loadmaster trailer, a package worth $50,000. Fish'D In won $14,000 cash as the runner-up pro boat and an additional $7,000 as the Golden Isles runner-up for heaviest aggregate weight.

Backlash, a boat from nearby Brunswick, Ga., won third place overall and $5000 with a Saturday-caught 40.34-pound king. Hooker led by Fernandina Beach's David Bean was the top boat in the 23 and Under class with a 41.53-pound king. Bean and his team collected a new 200 h.p. Yamaha outboard for their efforts.

The next stop on the 91-boat Yamaha Pro Kingfish Tour is Georgetown, SC August 2-4.

Final Standings: DAY 2
(Two kingfish aggregate weight)

1. 64.52 pounds, Big Bad Wolf, Stacy Wester, NC, $30,000. 2. 61.05, Fish'D In, Greg Holmes, Myrtle Beach, SC, $14,000. 3. 57.29, Wild Injun, Roy Byrd, Jacksonville, FL, $10,000. 4. 53.67, Mean C, Buddy Hucks, Pawley's Island, SC, $8,000. 5. 53.00, The Chase, Chris Chase, Stanfield, Mich., $7,000.	6. 52.55, Attitude Adjuster, David Murphy, NC, $6,000. 7. 51.25, Gotcha, Darren Carter, Jacksonville, FL, $5,000. 8. 50.85, Rebecca Ann, Frank Strickland, $4000. 9. 48.60, Fish Fever, Ed Mecchella, St. Simons, Ga., $2000. 10. 46.91, Barely Legal, Tom Rady, Neptune Bch, FL, $1000.

 

YAMAHA PRO TOUR'S GEORGETOWN LEG FALLS TO CHASE TEAM
by Sam White
August 6, 2001

GEORGETOWN, SC--As the Yamaha Pro Tour rounded the bend in Georgetown, South Carolina, several teams charged for the lead in the points race for Top Angler of the Year, while others faltered and fell behind. One of those teams now leading the pack is headed up by one of the most unlikely candidates for the SKA's top honors. The husband and wife team of Chris and Jan Chase began fishing on the SKA's tournament trail just a few short years ago, and immediately found victory in two events on the west coast of Florida. However, the team had a longer than usual drive to any tournament in the Southeast, since they're based in Stanfield, Michigan! They joined the Pro ranks in order to try their hand, and have been on a roll ever since. For 2001, they joined forces with Rob Dunagan and Chip Underwood, adding years of experience to their team and expanding their knowledge of many fishing hotspots in the region. The teamwork and experience paid off with their first big win of the season and a lead in the points race for The Chase team. "Our new team is really clicking together, and it's great!" Chris Chase reported. "Here's a prime example--we lost a good fish today that bit through the wire right at the boat. Everyone was disappointed but there wasn't any yelling or screaming, we just went right back to the numbers, put the baits out and had another shot." A 23.77 pounder after the first day kept the team in contention, but they were looking to improve on their sixth place standing. Mike Kaminsky and Buddy Hucks both suggested that the Chases head for Edisto in hopes of finding a larger fish, so the team took their advice and ran for the spot at full throttle. Several smaller fish had them a bit discouraged, but Kaminsky, captain of the Loose Lucy, cautioned them to stay on the spot and wait for it to turn on. Their largest fish of the day, a 36.51 pounder, inhaled a toplined bluefish on #4 wire, eventually becoming entangled in the Loose Lucy's lines and downriggers. "Mike cut everything loose, even though he had a fish in the baits," Chris reported. Thirty minutes later, Jan had the fish within gaff range, and the Mercury-powered Donzi was off and running for the scales. They knew several other teams were in contention, but they held off several late charges to win over $30,000 as well as gain some valuable points. Chris also wanted to thank several sponsors, including Donzi, Mercury, Loadmaster Trailers, American Rodsmiths, Cannon Downriggers and the staff of Preferred Marine for keeping the team's outboards in top condition. "Mike Kaminsky and Buddy Hucks also deserve a lot of credit for helping us out in their home waters," Chase said later.

Hucks' Mean C team was also in the top ten after Day One, but with only a 23.20 to their credit, they knew that bigger and better things would have to happen on the second day for their team to move up in the standings. "Both our fish were caught first thing in the morning," Field Hucks reported. "The first one Dad caught on an eel down about 30 feet in 45 feet of water at the Georgetown Reef. The second one today was part of a double-header: we had a 35 and a 25 hit at the same time, and got 'em both in the boat." The team had elected to fish the Inshore Hole on the second day, using big mullet for bait in search of a winner. "We had the fish in the boat by 7:15," Field said. "Just a long run out and a few circles, and that was it." Eddie Cameron was able to drive the Yamaha-powered Contender 36 right up to the fish, where they persuaded it to join them aboard the boat with a well-placed gaff shot. The team spent the remainder of the day bouncing around a few spots before heading in to weigh their fish. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the top teams from Day One to see if they would retake the lead, but the leaders couldn't back up their good fish, leaving the way open for Chase and Hucks to finish one-two in the event.

Another rookie team that's been on fire this year is the Hannon's Cannon, captained by Kevin Hannon. They just took possession of a new Yamaha-powered Intrepid center console, replacing their walkaround Intrepid, and they haven't slowed down one bit since then. This team already had one win under their belts from the Greater Miami divisional tournament, and came to Georgetown hoping for a few more points to tack onto their Pro total. "We didn't even have time to prefish," Hannon reported. "We had to rely on friends like the Woithes on The Reel Won to help us." The Woithes pointed them in the direction of the Sapelo Live Bottom in order to find a couple good points fish. A 26.78 on Day One put them into fourth place, and they were able to back it up with a 27.8 on Day Two to wind up the weekend in third with 54.58 pounds. Now that's consistency! Paul Hanson's Out To Lunch team was in second place after the first day of fishing with a 30.96, but fell to fourth overall by the end of the weekend. A 23.36 still aided their cause in the overall points race, though. Dave Workman and Wendell Nolan rounded out the top five in Georgetown with a total aggregate of 49.58 pounds on the C&H Lures boat. Expect some great new products to be coming from C&H in the near future. Day One leader Wild Injun would finish up a disappointing sixth for the tournament, but their accumulated total of 45.88 pounds keeps them in the running for the fifth and final tournament of the year. The fleet has rounded the track, and now everyone is looking forward to the Tour's final stop in Biloxi, Mississippi. Anyone with a hot hand can deck over 100 pounds in two days' fishing, so it's really a wide open race for Top Angler of the Year. This is going to be a season to remember!

Final Standings:
(Two Day Aggregate, Largest Fish Each Day)

1. THE CHASE............60.28 Donzi/Mercury Chris Chase Jan Chase Stan Chase Rob Dunagan Chip Underwood 2. MEAN C........................57.77 Contender/Yamaha Buddy Hucks Field Hucks Eddie Cameron 3. HANNON'S CANNON.........54.58 Intrepid/Yamaha Kevin Hannon Manny Galvao Steve Rowley 4. OUT TO LUNCH.................54.32 Contender/Yamaha Paul Hanson Matt Matheson Shannon Armstrong 5. C&H LURES...................49.58 Donzi/Mercury Dave Workman, Jr. Wendell Nolan 6. WILD INJUN............................45.88 Donzi/Mercury Roy Byrd Ted Berkstresser Bear Croft 7. REBECCA ANN.........................42.47 Fountain/Yamaha Frank Strickland Tim Short Marty Rowland

8. CAROLINA CONTENDER.............42.26 Contender/Yamaha Brant McMullen Rube McMullen Amy McMullen 9. FOUNTAIN VENGEANCE....................42.02 Fountain/Mercury Clayton Kirby Rick Stoker LeAnn Stoker 10. BIG BAD WOLF...........................41.14 Contender/Yamaha Stacy Wester Ditto Wester Clay Walker 11. INVICTA.......................40.79 Donzi/Mercury John Holley Jamie Fuller Tommy Swanson 12. 1/2 LIT.......................40.06 Fountain/Mercury Mike Jones Don Potter Doug Potter 13. CAPT. HOOK.......................39.49 Contender/Mercury David Hooks, Jr. Preston Kendall 14. GOTCHA..............................39.20 Contender/Yamaha Darren Carter Jason Carter Jason English 15. HOOLIGAN....................39.10 Contender/Yamaha Joe Winslow Kirk Whorf Chad Sanders

 

KWAZAR LEADS DAY ONE ON THE FINAL LEG OF THE YAMAHA 2001 PRO TOUR
By: Sam White, SKA

BILOXI, MS- Marcus Kennedy’s Kwazar had to be the favorite going into the final leg of the 2001 Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. Kennedy and teammates Max Williams, Jeff McCoy and Steve Shook have already won a handful of tournaments so far this year--they’re known as the team to beat in the upper Gulf of Mexico, and they’re especially tough in Biloxi. And the Kwazar certainly didn’t disappoint the gathered spectators today. As Kennedy piloted the triple Yamaha-powered Contender 36 to the weigh-in dock at Point Cadet Marina, Shook was grinning from ear to ear and giving an enthusiastic thumbs up.

On the scales, their fish hit 52.4 pounds, giving the team the lead in the two day aggregate event. “We just need to go back tomorrow and catch another good fish,” Kennedy reported. The team fished about 35 miles southeast of Dauphin Island today, and had several other fish in the high forties either boated or released before the big boy came calling on a live blue runner. The Kwazar is home ported in Mobile, Alabama. At stake is a top prize of $30,000 in cash for the top professional team.

The Yamaha Pro Tour also determines which team will be named the SKA’s Top Angler of the Year, saltwater sportfishing’s most prestigious title. Chris and Jan Chase from Stanfield, Michigan held a slim lead going into the final leg of the Pro Tour in Biloxi, but were able to capitalize on the great fishing this area has to offer. They made the long trek offshore in five to seven foot seas aboard the triple Mercury-powered Donzi, The Chase. Appearing at the weigh in dock shortly after the scales opened at 3PM, the Chase team was able to scale a 50.80 pound king mackerel.

That fish would put them in second place for the tournament and also solidify their overall points lead in the 2001 Pro Tour standings. They fished an undisclosed location, but judging by the two large and very empty additional bladder tanks in the stern of their boat, they ran quite a distance from Biloxi to find their fish. The Chase team won the fourth tournament on the Pro Tour in Georgetown, SC and will be looking for that one more fish to give them Top Angler of the Year honors tomorrow.

A dark horse this year in the race for Angler of the Year is Sandy Smith and the Gatorbait team. Smith and teammate Matt Pitman were also able to catch one of those fifty plus pound kings earlier today. Their fish would weigh 50.10 pounds and be the third over fifty pounds weighed in. The Gatorbait, a 31-foot Yellowfin powered by twin Mercury 300X hp. outboards, is one of the fastest boats on the Pro Tour today. Smith and Pitman used the boat’s speed to run about 75 miles to the south of Biloxi in order to locate their school of big kingfish. “We caught ours with other boats around us, but then we kinda slipped away from the pack and headed on back to the dock,” Smith said.

He’s hoping to return to that area again tomorrow in order to find one more good fish that he needs in order to win the tournament, and to also have a shot at overtaking The Chase team in the Angler of the Year battle. But it’s certainly not assured for the team, either. In addition to the three fifty-plus pound fish, nine others over the forty pound mark hit the docks in Biloxi today.

Tomorrow marks the final day of the 2001 Pro Tour, so it all comes down to one last shot at that winner. The scales are open from 3-5PM Central time, so stay tuned.

Final Standings: DAY 1
Single Fish In Pounds

1. KWAZAR - Marcus Kennedy - Mobile, AL 52.40 2. THE CHASE - Chris Chase - Stanfield, MI 50.80 3. GATORBAIT - Sandy Smith - Ft. Pierce, FL 50.10 4. WHOPPER STOPPER - Patsy Stancil - Jax, FL 45.30 5. INTIMIDATOR - John Dasher,Sr. - Waycross, GA 43.10 6. BIG BITE - Sam Britt - Bluffton, SC 43.00 7. BIG BAD WOLF - Stacy Wester - Wilmington, NC 41.40 8. WILD INJUN - Roy Byrd - Fernandina, FL 40.80 9. THE REEL WON - Bob Woithe, Sr. - Palm Island, FL 40.70 10. OUT TO LUNCH - Paul Hansen - Jacksonville, FL 40.70

11. RAT PAK - Darren Ratley - N. Myrtle Beach, SC 40.40 12. BARELY LEGAL - Tom Rady - Jacksonville, FL 40.10 13. LOOSE LUCY - Mike Kaminsky - Charleston, SC 39.40 14. SNAP BEAN - Mike Causley - Homestead, FL 39.40 15. LIGHT LINE - Jim McSwain - Holden Beach, NC 39.40 16. MINING MY BIDNESS - Chuck Permenter, SC 38.90 17. IRRESISTIBLE - Bruce Rutledge - Jacksonville, FL 38.20 18. LA PERLA - Randy Keys - Madiera Bch, FL 37.70 19. FISH’D IN - Greg Holmes - Myrtle Beach, SC 37.40 20. JUST NATURAL - Richard Chapman, NC 37.40

 

KWAZAR TAKES BILOXI LEG OF PRO TOUR--THE CHASE TOPS PROFESSIONAL RANKINGS FOR
TOP ANGLER OF THE YEAR
By: Sam White, SKA

BILOXI, MS--There are several ways to describe the ending of the 2001 Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour in Biloxi: barnburner, down to the wire, a game of ounces, or heartbreaking loss depending on your point of view. After leading the Pro Tour tournament with a 52.40 on Day One, Mark Kennedy’s Kwazar was able to scale a 45.30 on the second day of the tournament for a total aggregate of 97.70 pounds and the win. For their efforts, Marcus and his team of Max Williams, Jeff McCoy and Steve Shook pocketed over $30,000. They also rose in the Pro Tour standings to finish fifth overall, coming from obscurity in the standings due to a lackluster season on the East Coast.

After weighing in their Day Two fish, I had the opportunity to ask Kennedy how many pounds of kingfish he’s had in his “lucky” big fish bag. He replied, “Somewhere in the neighborhood of a half-million dollars.” Lucky fishbag indeed.

However, the real battle royale was happening between Gatorbait’s Sandy Smith and Matt Pitman and The Chase team of Chris and Jan Chase, Chip Underwood and Rob Dunagan. Smith and Pitman had scaled a 50.10 on Day One to move up substantially in the Pro Tour rankings, while The Chase had nailed a 50.80 to stay in the lead for Top Anglers of the Year honors. However, the Gatorbait still had just six fish, so whatever they could manage on Day Two would be automatically added to their score.

The Chase was in the driver’s seat but Gatorbait would be the one to watch on Day Two. When Sandy and Matt appeared at the scales on the second day of the tournament, they also had another good fish aboard the Mercury-powered Yellowfin. Their 47.20 would be enough to move them into second place in the tournament behind the Kwazar, with a total aggregate of 97.30. More importantly, though, they had stolen the lead in the Top Angler of the Year race away from The Chase team with a total seven fish score of 222.85. After frantically calculating the math, it was decided that Chris and Jan would need better than a 26 pound fish to take the lead. But where were they?

As the minutes ticked by, we learned that they had checked in with a few minutes to spare, and that it was going to be very close. At the scales, Chris pulled out a fish from their bag and presented it to the weighmaster. The weight was called: 26.60 pounds. Again, calculators were frantically punched and figures entered.

The final score: The Chase had a total of 222.93 pounds, versus the Gatorbait with 222.85. Just eight one hundredths of a pound separated first from second, in the closest finish ever in Top Angler competition. The hundreds of gathered spectators were stunned for well over a minute before erupting into cheers as they clapped and roared their approval. The Chases were treated to a celebratory champagne shower, letting the moment sink in. This is what they had worked so hard to accomplish, and it was hard to believe it was all over. They would be the Top Anglers of the Year for 2001.

Final Standings: DAY 2
TOP TWENTY STANDINGS--BILOXI LEG OF THE YAMAHA PRO TOUR

1. KWAZAR MARCUS KENNEDY 52.40/45.30=97.70 2. GATORBAIT SANDY SMITH 50.10/47.20=97.30 3. CONTENDRESS DONNA GOWEN 34.80/49.80=84.60 4. CRAWGATOR BILL BUTLER 35.20/42.50=77.70 5. THE CHASE CHRIS CHASE 50.80/26.60=77.40 6. JUST NATURAL RICHARD CHAPMAN 37.40/39.30=76.70 7. FISH FEVER SHAWN MECCHELLA 30.50/44.60=75.10 8. LOOSE LUCY MIKE KAMINSKY 39.40/33.80=73.20 9. BIG BAD WOLF STACY WESTER 41.40/30.70=72.10 10. WILD INJUN ROY BYRD 40.80/28.50=69/30

11. WHOPPER STOPPER PATSY STANCIL 45.3/21.80=67.10 12. KINGBUSTER FRED HOYT 37.10/30.60=67.70 13. LA PERLA RANDY KEYS 37.70/29.20=66.90 14. INTIMIDATOR JOHN DASHER, SR. 43.10/22.80=65.90 15. OUT TO LUNCH PAUL HANSEN 40.70/25.00=65.70 16. BARELY LEGAL TOM RADY 40.10/23.60=63.70 17. FISH’D IN GREG HOLMES 37.40/25.20=62.60 18. THAT’S MY DOG FORREST TAYLOR 33.40/28.80=62.20 19. LIGHTLINE JIM MCSWAIN 39.40/21.80=61.20 20. EXTERMINADER RANDY NADER 32.50/28.00=60.50

 

Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour
World Championship

THURSDAY, OCT. 18

Gator's On The Pass, Treasure Island Florida

Registration Open From Noon Until 6PM
Cash Bar Opens at 6PM
Dinner Served at 7PM Upstairs in the Mahogany Room at Gator's
Captain's Meeting and Top Angler of the Year Awards at 8PM

FRIDAY, OCT. 19

Check Out Begins at 6:30AM at John's Pass
Scales Open: 2:30-4:30PM at Gator's
Boats Must Be Checked In by 4:30PM

SATURDAY, OCT. 20

Check Out Begins at 6:30AM at John's Pass
Scales Open: 3-4PM at Gator's
Awards: 6PM, Gator's On The Pass

NOTES:  Tournament open to the top 40 boats fishing the 2001 Pro Tour, plus
any past Top Anglers of the Year fishing the Pro Tour that did not finish in
the top 40. No entry fee, fishing for a total purse of $100,000

 

"LA PERLA" Leads Day one of the Yamaha World Championship in Treasure Island
October 19, 2001
By: Sam White, SKA

TREASURE ISLAND, FL--There could only be one word to describe the first day’s fishing in the 2001 Yamaha World Championship. Tough.

Randy Keys, Harry Thomas and the La Perla team took an early lead today, weighing in a very respectable 35.24 pound kingfish aboard their Yamaha-powered Donzi 32. Keys is a past SKA National Champion, and the La Perla is home ported right down the road in Maderia Beach, Florida. If the World Championship were to have a favorite this year, Keys would have to be one of them. His team chose to run about 40 miles north to a small live bottom area to boat their winner, returning to weigh their fish at the tournament headquarters at Gator’s On The Pass in John’s Pass.

“We were just real lucky to have a pretty good fish today,” Keys told the gathered crowd of spectators. “Now comes the hard part.” The “hard part” to which he was referring meant that the tournament has an aggregate format. The La Perla team needs another good king mackerel tomorrow to take home the World Championship’s top prize of over $30,000 in cash.

Donald Workman’s Team Duprez, another Mercury-powered Donzi, is currently second in the standings with a 27.54 pound kingfish. They also chose to fish well to the north, running along the beach to avoid the six foot swells offshore. Donzi president Mike Collins regularly fishes with Team Duprez, and he was very excited to be in the running for a win. “Our boats did really well today, and we’re all fired up and ready to go for tomorrow,” he said. Their fish fell for a medium blue runner fished deep on a Penn downrigger.

The Team Duprez is home ported in Jacksonville, Florida.Another Jacksonville boat, Paul Hansen’s Out To Lunch, held third place after the first day of the tournament. Hansen, fishing from a 27-foot Yamaha-powered Contender, boated a 26.04 pound fish. The Yamaha World Championship is open to the top forty boats fishing on the Yamaha Pro Tour. Just seventeen boats weighed in today, a testament to the tough fishing conditions here in Treasure Island. A recent cold front, combined with an invasion of red tide last week, is most likely responsible for the low catch today.

But tomorrow is another day. The teams will all head back out in hopes of finding a tournament winner at 6:30AM, and the weigh in will be open from 3PM until 4PM Saturday. The public is invited to come down to Gator’s On The Pass to check out the action during the weigh in. The winning team will be crowned the 2001 Yamaha World Champions, one of the top honors in the world of tournament sportfishing today.

Final Standings: DAY 1 YAMAHA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
TOP FIFTEEN STANDINGS--ONE DAY RESULTS

1. La Perla, Randy Keys, Madiera Beach FL, 35.24 2. Team Duprez, Donald Workman, Jacksonville FL, 27.54 3. Out To Lunch, Paul Hansen, Jacksonville, FL 26.04 4. RXCape, Dan Abshire, Pensacola FL, 24.82 5. Hannon’s Cannon, Kevin Hannon, Seminole FL, 24.28 6. Fish Fever, Ed Mecchella, St. Simons Island GA, 22.48 7. Capt’n Hook, David Hooks Jr., Gause Landing NC, 21.32

8. Fountain Vengeance, Clayton Kirby, Jax FL, 20.30 9. Ambitious, Mark Malizia, Ft. Pierce FL, 19.76 10. 1/2 Lit, Mike Jones, Wrightsville Beach NC, 18.96 11. Fish’d In, Greg Holmes, N. Myrtle Beach SC, 18.58 12. King Size, Rick Ryan, Pawley’s Island SC, 17.66 13. Exterminader, Randy Nader, Jacksonville FL, 15.94 14. King Buster, Fred Hoyt, Bluffton SC, 15.72 15. Crawgator, Bill Butler, Belle Chasse LA, 14.64

 

Yamaha World Championship falls to "Rag Tag" Team
October 20, 2001

By: Sam White, SKA

TREASURE ISLAND, FL--Creighton Parker and his Rag-Tag team from Pensacola, Florida ended up Day One of the Yamaha World Championship in the least favorable position.Dead last. Their 10.16 pound king mackerel on the first day of the tournament was the smallest fish weighed in by the 38 boat pro fleet, but in the first day of a two day aggregate tournament, you must weigh in whatever you manage to catch.

Don’t bother repeating that to Parker or his teammates, because they’ll tell you they’ve heard it before. But the boys on the Rag-Tag, a Yamaha-powered Contender 25, held their collective heads high, checked out on Day Two, and went fishing. The first bait in the water resulted in a smashing strike from a big kingfish, which they managed to boat after a short but eventful fishfight. “He hit the downrigger bait and proceeded to run laps around the boat,” Parker reported. “We had just cleared some Sargassum weed off the line and were putting the bait back out when the fish hit.” Twenty minutes passed before they were able to sink the gaff into the shoulder of a very respectable king that wound up weighing 39.14 pounds once on the scales at the tournament site at Gator’s On The Pass. That gave the team a two day, two fish aggregate score of 49.30 pounds and the win, worth over $30,000 in cash.

At just 23 years old, Parker is the youngest SKA captain to win a Pro event. The Rag-Tag is based in Pensacola, Florida.However, the Rag-Tag would sweat out the rest of the day waiting for the top boats from Day One to arrive.

First day frontrunner Randy Keys and the La Perla team were unable to back up their Day One fish, and eventually plummetted to eighth place overall with a zero on Day Two. Second place fell to one of the most consistent teams on the SKA tournament trail, and their consistency paid off this weekend. Ed Mecchella, fishing with his son Shawn and longtime partner Jim Conway, brought in a 22.28 pound fish today to add to his Day One score of 22.48, for a total of 44.76 pounds overall. They would finish in the runner up spot. Amazingly, they were also the number two boat in last year’s Yamaha World Championship. The St. SimonsIsland, Georgia based team fishes a Mercury-powered Wellcraft 32.

The younger Mecchella reported finding the fish off Egmont channel, fishing around anchored container ships. “The blue runners were there feeding on glass minnows, and the Spanish were feeding on the runners,” he said later. “We intended on just going there to catch bait but ended up boating both our tournament fish right there.”

Mike Jones and Dean Nichols put the Team Fountain boat 1/2 Lit into third place. Jones traveled in from Wrightsville Beach, NC to fish in this year’s Pro Championship, and he would not return home empty handed. A disappointing first day fish of just 18.96 pounds kept the team in the running, but they managed to return on Day Two with a 23.4 pound kingfish aboard their Mercury-powered Fountain 31. Both fish came from a small reef some 40 miles north of the tournament site at John’s Pass.

Paul Hansen’s Out to Lunch team nailed down fourth, followed by the 2001 Top Anglers of the Year, Chris and Jan Chase aboard The Chase in fifth. Although there can be just one winner in any tournament, every one of the 38 teams in this year’s tournament proved themselves to be the best, most professional teams fishing today on the Southern Kingfish Association’s Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. They’re all winners.

Final Standings: DAY 2 YAMAHA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
TOP FIFTEEN STANDINGS--TWO FISH AGGREGATE RESULTS

1. RAG TAG, Creighton Parker, Pensacola FL, 49.30 2. FISH FEVER, Ed Mecchella, St. Simons GA, 44.76 3. 1/2 LIT, Mike Jones, Wrightsville Beach NC, 42.36 4. OUT TO LUNCH, Paul Hansen, Jacksonville FL, 41. 08 5. THE CHASE, Chris Chase, Stanfield MI, 40.68 6. RXCAPE, Dan Abshire, Pensacola FL, 38.06 7. CRAWGATOR, Bill Butler, Belle Chasse LA, 37.96	8. LA PERLA, Randy Keys, Maderia Beach FL, 35.24 9. AMBITIOUS, Mark Malizia, Ft. Pierce FL, 34.24 10. KING BUSTER, Fred Hoyt, Bluffton SC, 33.70 11. FOUNTAIN VENGEANCE, Clayton Kirby, FL, 33.52 12. FISH’D IN, Greg Holmes, N. Myrtle Bch SC, 31.70 13. EXTERMINADER, Randy Nader, Jax FL, 29.98 14. BIG BITE, Sam Britt, Bluffton SC, 29.56 15. WILD TURKEY, Rick Smith, Darien GA, 28.98