DIVISION 4 WRAP UP
By: Jack Holmes

Todd Veal’s Yamaha powered Contender, Sea Ducer, led the large open field of boats in Georgia’s Division Four. He caught three fish in the 30 pound range to win the Division 10 points ahead of second place Rebecca Ann. The Veal family, Kelly, Jr’s Rhett and Dillon, along with Tom Whittingslow and Mitch Matthews caught a 30.15 at Halfmoon, a 37.44 winning king in Two Way, and a 31.18 in Golden Isles for a 98.77 aggregate. Kelly Veal won the Top Lady honors for the Division while Rhett and Dillon shared the title of top Junior Anglers. This is a true tribute to family fishing. Veal’s priorities and fish ethics are a real tribute to his character. Our hat’s off to him! We hope you smoke ‘em in Biloxi!

What can one say about the Rebecca Ann. Frank Strickland, Marty Rowland, and Rex O’Neal, teamed for what was one of the best performances this year on the Mercury Tournament Trail. They not only finished second in this division, but did the same thing in the toughest division on the trail, Florida’s Division 5, In Georgia they caught the wining fish in Halfmoon, 37.55 and Sapelo, 28.85, then caught a 22.46 in Golden Isles for a 88.86 aggregate. In Division 5 they had a three fish agg of 108.35 which means while they get credit for their Georgia finish they will qualify in 5. They also fish the pro’s and have a shot at qualifying in the top 25 there also. They are currently in 33rd place and totally missed one event. This is one of the best teams fishing today and will be a major threat in the Nationals.

Kenny Crawford had a great year also aboard his Crawfish. His team of Bill and Chris Bazemore and Doreen Lands earned third in Division 4 and eighth in Division 5. Doreen was on the second place boat in Division Eleven on the No Limit. Crawford will qualify in Division Four because of a higher standing. Their 87.65 aggregate consisted of a 21.35 caught in Sapelo, a 26.73 in Golden Isles, and a 39.57 in St. Mary’s. This team will now get ready for Biloxi and it they can keep their streak going can be in the hunt for National honors just like the Rebecca Ann. This just may be their year and you can bet they’ll be pulling out all the stops. Stevie Pipkin earned fourth aboard his Bad Influence, a Mercury powered Wellcraft. As he is the top Mercury powered boat in this class, he’ll get a freebie to the big show.

With Steve Anderson, Tony Carter, and Michael Fairman on board, the team caught a 26.85 in Sapelo, then nailed a 30.04 in St. Mary’s, and capped it off with a 28.86 at Golden Isles for a 86.11 agg. This team seems to be getting stronger as the season progresses, A strong finish in Biloxi is possible if the team stays focused. Pete Owens III, Darrell Thaw, Jason Varnadoe, and Jay and Taylor Thaw found themselves rounding out the top five in Division Four. Their Jet Lag, a Yamaha powered Contender, knows how to catch fish and is one of the most consistent teams in the south. This year they caught a 21 pounder in the season opener in Halfmoon, a 31.29 in St. Mary’s and a 33.20 at Golden Isles for a 85.49 agg. Biloxi here they come!

Austin Sapp’s Show-N-Tell finished sixth with a 70.9 aggregate. His team had a 25.05 in Halfmoon, added a 30.26 in Golden Isles, but only had a 15.59 in St. Mary’s. A bigger number there would have given the team a much better finish. It’s still a great season. A little strategy and help in Mississippi and they could be our next Champions.

Jimmy and Mamie Mason, a husband and wife fishing team, could be a whole lot better with a couple of sponsors. Jimmy has fished this division since we started in Georgia and has qualified just about every year. It’s time to recognize this great fishing team for what they are and give them some dollars to earn their just rewards. This year they earned seventh with a 69.81 aggregate. Wake up industry, they’re as good as it gets and can win it all with just a little help. Congrats on a great season!

Jeffrey Dunbar finished eighth aboard his Fish Dancer. His teams 69.42 aggregate should make both yamaha and Wellcraft very happy. Terry Adkins is going to Biloxi thanks to a 68.93 ninth place aggregate. he fishes the Triple Threat.
Roy Byrd got a tenth place finish this year aboard his Wild Injun. He’s a part of Team Donzi and while he’s qualified don’t be surprised if you don’t see his team finish in the top 25 in the Pro’s.

The entire Georgia contingent has been in the limelight before and if the one’s that have been to the upper Gulf before can help the newcomers, then there’s a better than good chance the trophy will sit on some mantle in Georgia late November. Good luck and congratulations to all the qualifiers!

ST. MARY'S KINGFISH CLASSIC
ST. MARY'S, GA
JULY 19-20, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

You haven't seen much of Ricky Raleigh lately. He told me that he wasbuilding a new house plus had business obligations so he was taking a hiatus. I think to show everyone he was still a top king fisherman and not to forget
his team, Victoria's Secret, he entered the St. Mary's Kingfish Classic. The one day event leaves little time to make mistakes so Raleigh and teammate Jim Harris, on advice from friends, headed for the Elton Grounds. They caught
five kings in the 20 pound range through the morning and into early afternoon. At 3 o'clock the winning king, a 46.89, hit a double pogy rig on the long line in 115 feet of water. "The weather got real nasty and we had to run through storms to make the weigh in," said Raleigh. "Our 36' Contender made it all too easy."

Raleigh and Harris won a 22' Mercury powered Triton complete with Loadmaster Trailer for their day's work. Their one fish pushed them into the top 15 in Division 4. Another fish at Golden Isles and they're goin' to Biloxi.

The second place boat was also Class of 23 boat, Broke Out. Kyle Williams, Scott Hickox, and Steve Daniels ran the team Hydra Sport boat to the Brunswick Banks which was a part of their game plan. After catching a couple of small kings right off the bat, at 8:30 their 44.66 hit a long trolled bally hoo on the surface. Williams explained, "We always troll bally hoo on the long line. It's worked. I wouldn't fish a tournament without using this great bait."

The Broke Out team won an Artic Cat ATV valued at $7,000. This fish also propelled the team into first place in their Division with an 81.54 three fish aggregate. Their closest competitor, Sea Scaper has 55.54 points. There is one tournament left in this Division, the re-scheduled Golden Isles.Kenny Crawford put his Yamaha powered Contender, Crawfish, back into the win column again, this weekend finishing third with a 39.57. He's having a
great season. Looks like he'll qualify in both Division 4, which he is now in 6th place, or Division 5 where he owns fifth place. With Bill Bazemore and Top Lady Angler Doreen Lands on board, they too ran to the Elton grounds. "We saw several boats there and watched as they caught fish," said Crawford. "Trying to make something happen, I put ribbonfish down, one at 55 feet, the other at 35 feet. Boom, we had a double header." Lands had one rod, Crawford the other. Sensing Crawford had the larger of the pair he instructed Lands to cut hers off. Fifteen minutes later she gaffed the bruiser and they were ready to come in.

Leeway was the fourth place tournament boat but their Class of 23 status earned them a higher payday. "We went to Amelia Island," said team captain Robbie Lee. With Warren Turner and Danny Lloyd on board the Yamaha powered Cobia, the team set up in 30 feet of water and deployed a spread of whiting. "This is the second nice fish we've caught on a whiting," said Lee returning to the water logged scale area. "I like this bait and will continue to use it. " They caught their king at 11:30. This is their first fish of the season however they are now in fifth place in the Division. They need one more event.

Rounding out the top five was Terry Sellers Sea Scaper, another Class of 23 boat. Sellers told us he went to the Sapelo Live Bottom where he and team members Jason Ogden, and Alvin Dezern have been catching kings for several weeks. "We were in 50 feet of water when the 32.25 pounder hit a pogy on the downrigger, 25 feet down," said the proud captain. They fished for a few more minutes but decided to get their fish to the scales.

Terry Adkin's St. Mary's Kingfish Classic was a huge success. Terry is to be congratulated. His work with the Georgia CCA, and other fishing endeavors including tournaments, earns him accolades and respect from the fishing
fraternity. The SKA is proud to be a partner with Terry in fishing conservation issues and tournament execution. You the man, Terry!

Final Standings

GOLDEN ISLE KINGFISH CLASSIC
ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, GA
JUNE 22-24, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

Sam Britt watched as others weighed nice fish on the first day of the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic. He only had a king that barely made the ten pound minimum, but being the pro he is, he readied himself for day two. “We fished the Savannah Ships Channel,” said Britt after he scaled the tournament’s biggest fish, a 41.76. “It’s an area I usually fish and have caught some big fish there.” Kevin Hannon caught the bruiser along with the help of teammates Kevin Barker and Perry Hodge. They used a ribbonfish trolled 18 feet below the surface in 40 foot of water. “We had her in the boat by 9:30 and that’s when I knew we had a shot at the Contender boat.” They did, beating out Rodney James’s Overtime by a half pound. They got to hook up a new 23’, Yamaha powered Contender boat with a Loadmaster Trailer after all the festivities.

Rodney James was the man on Friday. He scaled a 41.13 late in the day to bump a non member with a 40.76 out of the lead—even got his name in the local newspaper. Like so many tournaments, you sit there in the lead hoping no one will have a bigger fish, but it does happen. “We’re real proud of our fish,” said the second place captain. “We got her in the boat at 4:15 PM, then had to scramble to make the five o’clock deadline.” James and his partner, Brian Rowe, made it with six minutes to spare.

Jimmy and Mamie Mason have been members of the SKA since its inception. A nicer couple you will never meet. And they’re good fisher people. “This is the biggest fish I’ve ever caught,” said Mamie as she stood on the stage shaking like a leaf while camera flashes went off. Jimmy put her on the fish, fishing the popular Gray’s Reef. “He had just told me to get ready to move. We hadn’t had a bite,” explained Mamie. “We were bringing lines in when the last line went off.” There were lots of boats in the area but the two veterans knew this was a good fish and went to work. At the scales they moved into fourth with a 37.68. Mamie was the top lady angler in the largest tournament in Georgia.

Marc Collins found a 36 pounder to earn the tournament’s fifth place. His team of Jr. Baker, William Fawcett, and Scott Hudspeth fishing the 27 foot Hydra Sports, Chase-N-Kings, can give a sigh of relief, then pack their bags. They’re going to Biloxi thanks to this fish. Like the Masons, they too found their king at Gray’s Reef and hooked up about the same time, 1:30. They finished twelfth in the Division and even have some spending money thanks to this event.

What could have been the smallest boat in the tournament, turned out to be a giant in fishing prowess. Justin Bjorneby had to substitute a boat to make the tournament so he got a 20 foot Sailfish. With it he bagged a 35.63 on day one to earn third on day one, then dropped to sixth on day two as other boats had bigger fish. With Scott Outhwaite and Spec Thompson aboard the Cut Off, the fish also moved the team into a Division 4 second place finish. Justin is a Yamaha mechanic and works for Coastal Outdoor and Marine.

Marc Covington, Dooly Miller, and Wes Partin earned seventh place with a 35.10 aboard the Hooked Up while Dee DeLaGal’s 34 pounder claimed eighth. He fishes the Shagnasty with Bobby Thompson.

Pete Owens and Darrell Thaw teamed to earn ninth aboard the Jet Lag with a 33 pounder while Bill Butler came from Louisiana to earn tenth also with a 33 on his Crawgator.

The Golden Isles Kingfish Classic along with the SKA made a monumental decision in the spring to postpone the tournament due to bad weather. It was the right move and applauded by the vast majority of anglers. The new dates in August proved to be a great weekend for fishing. The tournament lived up to its reputation of truly being the best and largest in Georgia. Kudos for all the hard work.

Final Standings

TWO WAY SPORTFISHING CLUB KMT
BRUNSWICK, GA
MAY 31- JUNE 2, 2002
By: SKA

There's two kinds of fishermen, the hard core and the family fishermen. Everyone knows how I admire the guys who run and gun, the hotshots that always seem to find a spot of the big board. But my real admiration goes out to the family who fishes hard together. Todd Veal has such a family."You know any tournament you fish is a crap shoot," said the proud father as he accepted the two Way Tournaments top prize, a Wellcraft boat. "My game plan was to run out to 160 feet and set up. We fished for an hour with no luck. I saw two commercial boats working a ledge so we moved over." It was the right move however it wasn't until they put out their last bait, a cigar minnow, on the surface about 150 feet back, that enticed their 37 pound winning king. "Thanks to my wife Kelly and our two sons, Dillon and Rhett, we made it happen," said Todd beaming. The boy's were the tournaments top juniors. The family fishes a Yamaha powered Contender called the Sea Ducer.

Veal is also in second place in the Division with 67.59 points but he has only two fish. It now looks like it will be a race to the finish between Veal and Frank Strickland's Rebecca Ann who won the first two tournaments in this Division.
Jeffrey and Nancy Dunbar's Yamaha powered Wellcraft, Fish Dancer, earned second place with a 25.27. 'We got a good report about where some fish were," said the Captain. "We caught some fish in the high teens so we just stayed put." their fish ate a ribbonfish off the downrigger trolled 50 feet down. They were extremely grateful to the anglers who gave them the good tip.

Cut Off weighed a 24.37 to earn third place honors. "We covered a lot of water," said Justin Bjorneby, the captain of the Johnson powered Sailfish. "We kept catching small fish so we kept on moving. our fish finally came from 65' feet of water." The 24 pounder ate a blue runner on the surface. "Fishing was not good so when we caught this fish we decided to get to the scales," said Scott Outhwaite, Bjornebys partner.

A 24.18 became the fourth place fish and also the largest caught by a Class of 23 boat. Shellin Out, captained by Tim Tarrer, fished the beach and found no fish. "We then ran to the spot we fished last week," he explained. "The M1R1 Tower had a lot of bait around it. Our king ate a Boston mackerel trolled thirty feet down on the downrigger. Conrad Lau put the Whopper Stopper into the fifth spot. The Team Wellcraft angler found a 23 pounder. It should have helped the team figure out what they wanted to do for the big Pro Tournament held out of Golden Isles two weeks later. Fish local waters, run to the south, or try their luck off of Hilton Head or the Savannah ship channel.

Charles Getsinger, while trying to qualify in Division Four, has the same decisions to make for the big Pro event. He earned sixth place in this tournament but still has to figure out the waters before the event. Charles is leading the Class of 23 in this Division in his Yamaha powered Palmetto. Terry Adkins leads the Division with a 66.93 point, three fish aggregate, after three events in his boat Triple Threat. He finished eighth in this tournament.

One thing's for sure, the remaining two events in this Division should be barn burners. If the events are produced as good as the Two Way, the fishermen will have little to complain about, except maybe the fishing.

Final Standings

SAPELO OPEN KING MACKEREL TOURNAMENT
SHELLMAN BLUFF , GA
MAY 24-26, 2002
By: SKA

For the second tournament in as many weeks, Frank Strickland and his Rebecca Ann crew won the tournament. "Same O, Same O, said Strickland after weighing his 28.85. "We really went to the same spot as last week but fishing was really slow. It wasn't till the afternoon before our fish hit a ribbonfish 15 feet below the surface. We had heard that fishing was slow up and down the coast so we took a chance and headed for the scales. Fishing with Strickland was Marty Roland, Gilbert Durrance, and Rex O'Neal. First place in the tournament was a beautiful 19 foot Century with Yamaha power and a Loadmaster Trailer.

The Bad Influence, a Mercury powered Wellcraft, earned second with a 26.85. "Our game plan was to run south to Canaveral," said team Captain, Stevie Pipkin. "We had no fish for the first hour or so , I decided then to put a ribbonfish on the downrigger. "That did the trick. They were fishing in 120 feet of water and the bait was dragged 80 feet below the surface. "We couldn't have done it without the good information we got from John Lee and Shawn and Ed Mecchella from the Fish Fever," he added. His team consists of Steve Anderson and Michael Fairman.

The Show-n-Tell also ran to the south, off Jacksonville. "Talk about luck!" said Austin Sapp, the third place Captain. "We were fishing in 115 feet of water and caught some small fish however every one of them were eaten by barracuda. So we moved one half mile and that's where we got a good hit."The 25.05 king ate a blue runner trolled on the surface. "As the fish came to the boat a 60 pound barracuda tried to get our fish. It missed!" explained Sapp. With Sapp was Chris Moore, Parrick Sapp, and Greg Sapp.The top Class of 23 boat was the Hooked Up Captained by Mark Covington. "We decided to run where we knew there was very good bait," he said. They fished the R5. "We only caught two fish all day but the 22.85 was good enough for the 23 win." Covington fishes a Mercury powered Pro Line with Wes Partain and Dooley Miller.

Jason Carter's Hot Lick finished second, Class of 23, with a 13.20 while Bob Wedincamp's Inside Out earned third with a 12.60. Kenny Crawford and Doreen Lands have fished the Crawfish for as long as I can remember. I also know that if there's money to be won, they're usually in the hunt and this tournament was no exception. They placed their Contender into fifth with a 21.35 and missed fourth place and top lady honors by just two tenths of a pound to a non member.

Bad Latitude, a Mercury powered Wellcraft with Frank Burns, Mike Thomas, and John Temple onboard, earned sixth with a 19.25. In fact the remaining four place catches were also in the teens. Can't really figure this one out. Bad weather all week, right up till fishing time. Full moon and no fish. It just didn't happen in Georgia, it happened everywhere. Swansboro had no fish and these guys, 250 of them ran, ran, and ran. In Alabama they had a non sanctioned tournament and a 28 won that one too. Never seen it this bad or a weekend that produced so few fish.

Angie Line earned seventh with a 18.95 while the Gullah Gal found ninth place on the leaderboard with a 18.65. The Sapelo Son rounded out the top ten with a 16.55.

Taylor Thaw won Top Junior honors.David Wallace and his crew once again did a great job. David worried all week over the weather but it calmed enough to get in a super tournament. Congrats David!

Final Standings

HALFMOON SPORTFISH CLUB KINGFISH KLASH
MIDWAY, GA
MAY 17-19, 2002
By: SKA

Frank Strickland and Marty Rowland have been fishing buddies for a long time. They work extremely well together and have adorned leader boards in North Florida and Georgia for years. They started off Division Four with a bang this year, placing first in the Halfmoon Tournament with a 37.55 and did it with adverse conditions. It was rough!

"We fished south of the border," said Strickland who fishes his Yellowfin, Rebecca Ann also with Rex O'Neal and who caught their winning king. "We had her in the boat by 8:15. It then took us 6 hours to run back to the scales." They caught their fish on a pogy trolled on the surface. "We thru the net one time and had all the bait we needed," said Rowland. "Roy Byrd came an hour and a half after us and had a hard time catching bait. Sea conditions were really rough. "This is the first tournament of the year for their new Yamaha powered Yellowfin.

Backlash finished second however never came to the awards nor took his fish out of his bag for a picture so we really have no information on where or how they bagged the second place fish.

Terry Adkins, Robbie and Tim Cheek, fishing Adkins Mercury Powered Ranger, Triple Threat, found their third place fish around 11 o'clock then ran for the scales. "Seas were 5 to 8 feet so after fighting to find good bait till after 8:30 when this fish came in we were ready to call it a day," said Adkins. They were fishing Georgia waters and caught their 32.15 with a
ribbonfish. 'We normally pull five lines, two with ribbonfish and three with live pogys," Adkins explained. He is also the Tournament Director for the big Division Four event in St. Mary's July 19th and 20th.

Todd Veal and Mitch Matthews ran the SeaDucer into fourth place with a 30.15. "We fished Florida waters, actually we were about 120 miles from the scale," said Veal after weighing his king. "We had a hard time with bait, seas were rough, just a real tough day on the water but it worked out ok." They were fishing in 90 feet of water and reported that it was an easy fish. At 11 am they headed the big Contender north. "I have only one regret,"added Veal. "We have a junior angler and I elected not to fish him because of the weather. It was rough but not rough enough to exclude him." Fifth place fell to a non member.

The Double J finished sixth with J.T. Gregory, Bob Barnett, Rusty Rogers, and Bill Blount on board. "We took a wave over the bow this morning going out and lost everything in the back of the boat," said Gregory. Their 25.95 will
make up some of the loss especially in Division points.Former SKA owner Sid Steverson got back on the water and together with Gary Ryals, Andy Colson, and Robby Murray caught a 24.70 and earned seventh aboard the Dealer's Choice.

Reggie Woods Rockin Reel won eighth place with a 22.50 while Walt Rogers'Laid Back earned ninth with a 21.90. Fish Dancer, who also fished Florida waters earned tenth with a 21.35.

Once again the Halfmoon team came thru with another great tournament but like most of our events this season, weather again reared it's ugly head. But that's fishing! We're proud to be associated with such a dedicated group.

Final Standings