DIVISION 5 WRAP UP
By: Jack Holmes

OVERALL
Sandy Smith only needed a 12 pound fish to capture the lead in Division 5, the SKA's largest Division. After day one, that climbed to 25 pounds when Frank Strickland's Rebecca Ann scaled a 40 pound king to move into the lead. Both teams run Yellowfin boats. It was then that Strickland did something you rarely hear about anymore. He gave Smith his numbers where he caught the 40 in hopes that he too would end up atop the leader board. Smith found a 28.30 and with 38.80 caught at the Kingbuster and a 43.90 he bagged in the Greater Jacksonville he posted a 111 point aggregate. Almost 3 pounds better than Strickland. Smith fishes with Wylie Nagler and Anthony Guettler.

The Rebecca Ann with Strickland, Marty Rowland, and Frank Strickland Jr, are having a great season and still have a great chance of winning Division 4. They are in fourth place with a two fish aggregate of 66.4 points. They just need a 26 pounder.

Strickland caught a 33.05 in the TFC, a 34.5 in Fernandina, and their big fish, a 40.80, in the Ancient City for a 108.35 three fish aggregate. The Purple Haze, a Yamaha powered Contender with Randy Cox, Doug Myers, and Roy Cox on board posted the third best score in the North Florida Division, 95.25. They bagged a 26.40 at the KingBuster, a 31.15 in the Greater Jacksonville, and capped their trip to Biloxi with a 37.70 in Ancient City. It was truly a great year for the team. Now they need to get to Biloxi and do some pre-fishing.

Al Cumbie had the lead going into the last tournament, but due to mechanical difficulties couldn't scale a fish to help the cause. He had a 21.45 drop fish too. His 94.05 aggregate earned him fourth. Fishing with Cumbie on his Fountain, Channel Master, was Ron Newbern. I'm sure he's disappointed but the way he's been fishing with just a little luck you could see his team in the top slot at the Nationals. Russ Russell rounded out the open division's top five. His Credit Line team of Hobart Joost and Jimmy Shoal earned 91 points which included a 26.55 at the TFC, a 33.45 in Jacksonville, then sealed their finish with a 31 in Ancient City. Russ also fishes with Dave Workman Jr. in the Pros so he'll have to figure out whether he'll fish Credit Line in the Nationals or fish with Dave. He's talented enough to win it all so my money's on the Credit Line as his choice.

Wayne Scarborough Jr. and Ty Petway make a great team. They earned sixth with a 89.2 point aggregate aboard the Pet Peeve and will be at the big show. Wayne runs a Mercury powered Contender.

Matt Pitman continues to do well, qualifying again aboard his Mercury powered Fountain, Blue Thunder. This year seventh in the Division with an 88.70 aggregate. With a team loaded with talent, Danny Casino, Steve Aprile, and Jeff Brychta, they are poised to win it all in Biloxi.

The same with Kenny Crawford and his Crawfish, a Yamaha powered Contender. In fact, Kenny earned eighth place in Division five and is in sixth place in Division four. It truly has been a great year for this excellent angler. Doreen Lands, who fishes with Crawford is the Top Lady Angler for the Division. They had a 87.9 agg. Helping Kenny and Doreen earn their honors were Bill and Chris Bazemore, also very accomplished anglers.

Bill Fogg ran his Yamaha powered Angler, Total Anarchy into ninth place. He fishes with Clayton Kirkmyer and Jeff Anderson and had an 87.5 agg. I know, who's Bill Fogg? Well, you'd better pay attention. Their biggest fish was a 32.40 caught in the Kingbuster. If the team can learn the waters quick in the upper Gulf, you may be speaking his name a lot. This team is for real and they know all the tricks. This is my dark horse pick.

The Ultimate Approval rounded out the Division's top ten. Christopher Cone, son of past National Champion Wayne Cone who fishes with captain Jeff Parsons and Ted Petit, won the Top Junior Angler honors. The team had a three fish agg of 86.10 pounds.

It took an 82.35 point aggregate to make the top 15. As several of these finishers are fishing Division four and on the Yamaha Pro tour some of the top finishers may be purged because of other finishes. Stay tuned; it ain't over yet.

CLASS OF 23
Steve Donaldson and his Sea Strike team put three nice kings on the scale to top this year's Class of 23 Division Five. What's even more impressive is that this is an 18 footer powered by Yamaha. Donaldson and Chris D caught a 21 at the Kingbuster, nailed a 37.95 in the Fernandina tournament, then wrapped it up with a 35.05 in Jacksonville for a 94 pound aggregate. This is a top team who has the desire to win, so you better fish hard or get ready to lose. There is no such thing as "can't" in their vocabulary.

Lee Ward's The Leeward didn't have a prayer of qualifying, that is until Ancient City where they bagged a 50.70 to jump them into second place with an 89.95 aggregate.

They had a 21 in Fernandina and an 18 in Jacksonville. It just goes to show you, you never give up. They run a 20 foot Hydra Sports with Johnson power. Richard Tipping may be one of the best small boat fishermen in the country. He always seems to be around the fish and the money. This year he qualified his Grady White, Papa Joe, third. Fishing with Tim and Ryan Pugh and Jerry McLean he had a 20.20 in the TFC, a 40.95 in Fernandina, and ended it in Ancient City with a 28.40. That's an 89.55 pound agg, just .40 out of second. Talk about close! Justin Bohannon's Red Bone team caught a 43 pounder at Jacksonville to help clinch his team's fourth place finish. The 21 foot Hydra Sports team added a 24.60 at the TFC and a 16.6 at Fernandina for an 84.3 point finish. The team consists of Corbett Bohannon and Jayne Bennett. You really don't hear much about this team except when you look at the leader board, there they are. Everyone better pay attention to them, if you don't, they're going to smoke ya!

Snatch Um's Tyler, Ben, and Billy Patterson, had an 82.65 pound aggregate to round out the division's top five. They had a 31 at Fernandina, a 29.25 in Jacksonville, and a 22.40 in Ancient City. This Jacksonville Florida Yamaha powered Contender team always fishes hard. Look for them close to the top in the Nationals if they don't win it all.

James Laidler Jr's Valley Pa Troll, a 22 foot Sea Strike earned sixth with an 81.3 aggregate while Steve Riley's Steve's Seafood captured seventh with 81.25 points. It too is a Sea Strike boat. Both are powered by Yamaha.

Richard Darlington and his Prop Wash earned eighth and will be given credit for his accomplishment, but because of his winning the Class of 23 in Division 11 his slot will purged to allow another to attend the Nationals. Richard also is in fifteenth place in Division 4 and has a chance to be recognized there as well. Remember he's the guy that put his Yamaha powered Contender into the Greater Jacksonville's top aggregate slot and won a new Toyota truck. This team is fishing extremely well!

Robert Bishop has been fishing his Fishbuster in SKA events for as long as I can remember. And he wins! This year he finished ninth with a 78.55 agg and Tim Short's Key West called Fishing Dixie rounded out the top ten with 77.6 points.
Rocky Warpool's Take It Deep gets a ride to Biloxi also, finishing eleventh.

"Leeward's 50.70... Best at Ancient City"
ST. AUGUSTINE , FL
JULY 26-28, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

On day one of the Ancient City KMT in St. Augustine, Florida, I was standing on the city marina's municipal docks as the early boats arrived for weigh in. Most know early boats usually mean big fish. There were two non members and Frank Strickland's Rebecca Ann. Frank, Frank Jr., and Marty Rowland had yet another good fish and after watching the three boats weigh and you know who I was pulling for, Frank was on top with a 40.8. They pulled into a slip and watched as others slowly came trickling in.

The Knot Home captained by Steve slid up to the dock with one that looked equal to Frank's, but missed the mark by a half pound. The 23 foot Wellcraft team would end up fourth right behind Frank, however they were elated because this was their first 40 in tournament competition. They fished the Elton bottom. A few minutes later a 20 foot Hydra Sports slid up to the dock. It was the Leeward, Lee Ward's boat. The team managed to lift a stud of a fish off the boat and Lynn and Rod Hatfield moved up the walkway both holding an end of the fish. I hollered at Frank and Marty, "this one's bigger!" It was, a 50.70 that shattered the tournament record.

Lynn and Rod usually fish on Conrad Lau's boat, the Whopper Stopper. This tournament however, Conrad was letting the Barely Legal team use the boat in an effort to qualify. So when a call came from Ward, the Hatfields jumped at it although they would now be on a 20-footer as opposed to the 32' Wellcraft. The Leeward ran out 27 miles to over 100 feet of water. At 8:30 they hooked up to a big shark or at least that's what they thought it was. "After the shark, we found all our pogies in the well had died but three," explained Lynn Hatfield. For the second time that morning they put lines out. "She hit one of those pogies 60 feet down and screamed the line," Hatfield added. For over 30 minutes they tried to get the prize winner to the boat, but it stayed just out of gaff range. Soon it was over but Rod honestly thought the fish was a forty. Little did he know it would top the 50 pound mark.

Ward and the team won a Key West center console boat for their work.With two 40's and a 50 on the scale I believe it took the wind out of most people's sails. Sunday proved to be very slow, however the biggest fishÑa 44.60 caught by a non membeÑended up in second.

The Purple Haze caught the second biggest fish on Sunday, a 37.70 to capture sixth. Randy Cox, Doug Myers, and Roy Cox make up the team. That fish was all the team needed to move into third place in the Division. Sixth place money wasn't bad, but to go from seventh to third in the Division is really significant. They were the highest placing Contender in the division.

Mike Dousman's Reel Grinder was having a very bad season however a seventh place finish that hosted almost 300 boats speaks highly for this team. The 36.50 king moved the 21 foot Contender team from obscurity to 22nd in the Division. Considering how bad fishing has been this season that's a good job.Take It Deep is another of the Class of 23 boats that did real well in the tournament. Their 36.40 earned them an eighth place finish and slid them into eleventh place. They're going to Biloxi! Rocky Warpool and Louis Terrell, get your SeaCraft ready.

Stressless, a 25 foot Hydra Sports rounded out the top ten with a 34.40. With John Crumrie, Vance Goode, and Mark Poore on board they bagged their king in 100 feet of water using a ribbonfish trolled 65 feet below the surface. They ran east to clean water.

The Ancient City Gamefish Association did a great job of putting this tournament together and enhancing their benefactor, Ronald McDonald House. Carl Pecora who has been instrumental in getting this event to its present status is stepping down, however all they have to do now is follow the pattern and everything will go like clockwork. Congratulations Carl, you did a great job.

Final Standings

22ND ANNUAL BELLSOUTH GREATER JACKSONVILLE KMT
JACKSONVILLE, FL
JULY 8-13, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

I saw Tom Rady's Contender, the Barely Legal, on the hook in front of the weigh station when I arrived at Sister's Creek Marina for the first day's weigh in of the Greater Jacksonville King Mackerel Tournament. Whenever you see a boat on the hook or tied up to the dock, you automatically assume that they have a good fish. There were eight other boats doing the same thing.I can only imagine what was going through the minds of crew members Paul Chaus, Mark Titus, and Andy Seeker, waiting for the 3 o'clock signal to bring the fish to the scales. They knew they had a once-in-a-ifetime fish but until she was on the scale, their job was not complete.

Going up the ramp, Tom hollered to me, "She registered 57 on my scale." It wasn't long before the electronic scoreboard flashed 55.20. Rady and crew had a king bigger than any king ever weighed at this tournament. Florida Senator Jim King, the tournament's announcer, proclaimed "It's a new record, the Barely Legal has just won $20,000."

The tournament's first record was held by SKA member Paul Hanson, 50.20, caught in '81. SKA member and trustee Mike Youngblood caught a 50.70 in 1986 to claim the title. It wasn't broken till '99 when Sandy Smith weighed a
52.55. The very next year Ross Vilardo bagged a 53.30. The SKA record for Florida is 64.60 so we know there are bigger fish awaiting an angler's bait but for now the record is all Rady's and maybe he can hold it for as long as Youngblood.

The team now had to fish day two, maybe just to keep their minds off what was at stake, maybe to just pass time, but fish they did. About two o'clock they came in with nothing worth weighing, got the boat put up, cleaned up and came to the tournament site to await the final outcome. A little after six, tournament officials proclaimed the tournament had come to an end. Rady and team just won a new 32' Evinrude powered Wellcraft boat complete with a custom aluminum Loadmaster Trailer worth $120,000, $20,000 for their break the record, plus who knows how much in the TWT. What a week!"There is someone we really two people we need to thank," said the proud Captain.

"Our Contender was sold but the new owner said we could use it one more time, just for this tournament. Then there's Darrin Carter, captain of the Gotcha. When our big fish hit it ran right for Darrin's boat. I hollered at him and he cut his lines for us. Without both of these guys we wouldn't be enjoying our victory."

The Barely Legal ran 90 miles north. "I just had a hunch that the fish were moving north," said Rady. They were fishing 15 miles off the beach in 65 feet of water. Rady hooked up about 10:45, enticing the big girl with a live pogy and a secret weapon he picked up from C & H Lures. At eleven the crew was high fiving. "There were 20 boats around us," added Rady. "They must have thought we were nuts the way we were carrying on."

Sandy Smith from the Gatorbait pushed his Mercury powered Yellowfin to the south as he has done in every north Florida tournament he has fished this year. He came back to the scales Friday afternoon with the tournaments second place fish, a 43.90. "It's worked for me all season," said the Fort Pierce captain. "I know it's a gamble. We've done it many, many times and it just didn't pay off but this year I've been lucky."

Smith was runner-up for Angler of the Year last year and really is pushing himself this year. It's working. His second place finish in the GJKMT just won him and his team a 29 foot Evinrude powered Wellcraft Scarab Sport and Loadmaster trailer valued at over $100,000.

The tournament's third place in big fish fell to Justin Bohannon's Hydra Sports, Redbone. Together with Corbett Bohannon and Jayne Bennett, the team bagged a 34.65 on day one and was in a position to capture the aggregate side
if they could find a medium size fish the next day. They did better than that, nailing a 43 pounder. The third place victory earned the team a 21 foot Evinrude powered Wellcraft Fisherman with a Loadmaster Trailer. SKA members won the top three prizes in the big fish division. In the remainder of the 25 places paid, SKA members won ten more places, that's
almost 50% of the places. Georgia's Ken Murray won 7th place with his Backlash (37.65) while the Maggart clan came from south Florida with their Monza, Hog Jaw, to earn eighth (37.55). Al Cumbie's Channel Master rounded out the top ten with a nice 36.70.

Moving over to the aggregate side SKA members again dominated, especially at the top of the leader board where the expensive prizes are.Prop Wash's Richard Darlington and Lynn Cline are having a banner year. They won the Class of 23 in Division 11 earlier in the year and now won the aggregate division in the biggest king mackerel tournament of the season.The Yulee Florida couple weighed a 39.80 on the first day, ran back to the same area on day two, and caught a 30.55 for a 70.35 agg. They were fishing 60miles north of the Fernandina inlet in their 23 foot Contender. "We've been
fishing since July fourth," explained Darlington. "I had pretty much figured out where there were some fish." Like Rady, they too were fishing in 65 feet of water and were using live pogys. Richard told me that his first fish came after he lost a good one, had a second fish run at another boat, however due to their poor sportsmanship in not cutting or raising their lines, they lost another good one. "It was frustrating, but it still worked out."Darlington, Cline, and Henry Wheeler got to go on stage Saturday night and accept the keys to a new Toyota Tacoma truck with a 90 horse Evinrude sitting in the bed for their efforts.

Todd Veal's Sea Ducer, another Yamaha powered Contender, earned second place aggregate with a 67.15. The team of Veal, Tom Wittingslow, Mitch Matthews, and Wylder Williams caught a 34.75 on day one and a 22.40 on the second day.Fourth and fifth place each received Bombardier Quest ATV's valued at around $7,000 each. Russ Russell, fishing the Credit Line out of Jacksonville, earned fourth with a 63.75 while Robbie Bishop's Fishbuster was fifth with a 59.45.

After SKA members took the first five slots, they went on to add another nine places or a total of 14 in this division. The GJKMT really is an event. The committee members, directors, and Executive Director Mike Wheeler, made us feel right at home. We're really proud to be a part of their tournament.FYI. This year's tournament drew 974 boats. Of those, 268 registered for SKA points. There were at least another 30 to 40 SKA members who did not register because this is the only tournament they fish in this division. 912 boats checked out the first day, 885 on day two.

Final Standings

NSFA/FBHS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
JUNE 27-30, 2002
By: SKA

Second place in the Fernandina KMT is the only aggregate that counts in the top twenty. It's hard enough to put one good fish on the dock but the Cannady clan, Andy, Mark, Tommy, and Wes found a way to get two good fish to bite and take top SKA honors in the tournament. You guessed it, the winner caught a 42 but was not a member. Oh well, that's a lot to leave on the table.

Team Pro Star caught a 32 pounder on Friday but knew that if they were going to stay in the good money bracket they needed to move. "We heard of a good bite at Gray's Reef ," said Andy. "We caught five dinks, then all three of our lines went off at once. We thought we'd struck gold but it turned out to be three cobia." Their 28 pounder ate just a few minutes later sitting in 61 feet of water. It ate a double pogy rig. They had a 60.5 aggregate total and second place locked not to mention some great SKA points.

Richard Tipping always seems to good at this tournament. This year he and his team, Tim Pugh, Ryan Pugh, and Jerry McClain ran the Papa Joe out to the TW. After going fish less on Friday they knew they had to go to work. "We set up in 90 feet of water and after about a half an hour the long line with a pogy on it went off to the races," said an excited Tipping. "It only took us forty minutes and we had her in the boat and on our way to the scales." Their 40.95 bumped a non member from third to fourth. Richard and his crew had a much needed payday. "I haven't done much this season, this will really come in handy," he added but I thought, "Richard's capable of winning any event he and his team enters." They also won the Class of 23 money.

The Sea Strike Fishing Team, captained by Steve Donaldson, fishes a 19 foot Sea Strike and gets it to do what the big boats do, run and catch fish. "The crew was sick on Friday so we only got to fish on Saturday," said the fifth place captain. "We got some good information about the Red Tops area off St. Augustine, so we made the run." They trolled a ribbonfish 20 feet below the surface to get their 37.95 to bite. Donaldson also earned third place money in the Class of 23.The Vital Sign, a Mercury powered Donzi, earned sixth place with a 37.90. "We had no fish on Friday so we ran to the Nassau bottom on Saturday but there were no fish there either," said John Warren, the captain of the boat. "So we started to move around the same area. We were in 65 feet of water when she hit a pogy on the surface. After she came in the boat we high fived one another then took off for the scales." Fishing on the team is James Schulte and Colen Armstrong.

The Gravy Train caught a 37.65 to earn seventh. After putting a goose egg on in their fishing ledger they consulted a friend who said, "Go to Gray's Reef." Henry Bishop, Bob Injaychock, Lee Rodenberry, and Henry Bishop IV headed their Yamaha powered Contender to the reef where they found their fish in 55 feet of water. It ate a pogy on a long line.

Chris Cathey caught a real nice king on his boat, the Last Minute, but just as he gaffed the fish a hungry barracuda had other ideas for the king. With nasty teeth marks slicing through the skin and flesh of the king the tournament said, no way. A hard pill to swallow when vital qualifying points are at stake, unfortunately the 37 pounder was disqualified.

Timothy Sisler and Devitt Mizell earned eighth aboard the Reel Phetish, a Yamaha powered Hydra Sports. The team caught a 36.05.

The Frank and Marty show continued, this week earning ninth for the Rebecca Ann. The team caught a 34.50 while Curtis and Luke Gowen rounded out the top ten for the Twisted Leader with a 33.05.

Doreen Lands won the Top Lady honors with a 28.45 caught aboard Kenny Crawford's Crawfish. Jacob Darsey was the tournaments Top Junior. He fishes on Lowell Breeding's P.K. Mistake and caught a 28.85.

Chuck Tuell, his wife Bonnie, and his team from the sport fishing club really have built a first class event. I remember when we looked at one another and said we've got a lot of work to do when we had a sixty boat field. Now they're up to 270 boats and still climbing. This tournament deserves some industry sponsor dollars and I think Chuck can now get the job done. He was thinking of retiring but I can honestly tell him and Bonnie, don't do it. When we reach 400 boats you can head for the rocking chair but not until! Good job team.

Final Standings

TOURNAMENT FISHERMAN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL
JUNE 14-16, 2002
By: SKA

If you fished way to the south, like Canaveral, or the Red Tops off St. Augustine you had a shot at some money. At least that's where the top dogs went.

Rocky McKindles and Ray Washington found the biggest fish of this years Tournament Fisherman's Championship by running to Canaveral. It's a long run and a huge gamble. You may spend more time on the props than wetting a line but when it pays off, it pays off big. "We didn't catch a fish worth weighing on Saturday, so with information given to us by Russ and Rusty Russell and Mitch and Chuck Livingonce we headed our Contender south," said McKindles. The Bugs Munny were in 70 feet of water when the big girl ate a pogy on the surface. Then it was time to crank the Yamaha's and head for Beach Marine in Jacksonville to weigh their 37 pounder.

Rebecca Ann has had a honey hole all season and it's given them two wins and a few other places. They too ran to the south. "We've been blessed with this spot all season," said the Captain Frank Strickland. "We've also done real well with ribbon fish too. This one ate a ribbon 30 foot down in 45 feet of water." The second place team had a 33.05 but second place was a two day agg prize, so the 33 coupled to the 21.90 they bagged the first day gave them 54.95 pounds. nice two days of fishing.

The Sea Snake went to the Red Tops just like last year. They found a 35.60 to capture third place honors. "We found a lot of bait working in this area and knew there would be a good fish somewhere," said Steve Thompson, the Mercury powered Pro Line's captain. Their fish also ate a ribbon fish 24 feet below the surface. Fishing with Thompson was George Bowser.

Vernon Rice's Attitude, a Yamaha powered Angler, also choose the Red Top's again after gleaning some information. "We had no fish the first day but ran to the Red Tops second day and found a 31.85," explained Rice. With Steve Wood and David Rice onboard the trio put out a spread of baits only to find it was also the ribbon fish that enticed the king to eat. Their bait was 30 feet below the surface. for their efforts, fourth place.

Crews-N-II-Outboards went just south of the Red Tops to a number they've been fishing for years with good success. The captain, Jim Crews, and also the Jacksonville representative for Grady White boats, was the only boat in the tournaments top five that struck a pogy trolled on the surface. his fish tipped the scales at 31.85 good for fifth place.

It took a 28 pound fish to earn a top ten berth. As slow as fishing has been along the First Coast this was respectable.

The Mighty Mouse, with Darren Lovett behind the helm, made a respectable showing for his Hydra Sports team weighing a 30.20 which placed them in 6th place.

Wound Tight's 30.20 was the same as the Mouse's however he lost a slot, finishing seventh on time. This is still a great outing for the Mulligan family and their Mercury powered Donzi.

Inside Choice led a field of 20 pounders finishing eighth. Paul Dozier's 29.50 was a good points fish for the Division but when you consider he finished in the top ten from a field of 190 boats it takes on great significance.

Darin Carter's Gotcha earned ninth with a 28.50 while Joe Betencourt's Flying Button rounded out the top ten with a 28.10.With this being the second tournament in Division five you can bet game plans are flying out the window and new strategies formed. The winners here can heave a sigh of relief, they've earned good points.

Final Standings

DONZI/MERCURY KINGBUSTER 400 CLASSIC
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL
JUNE 6-8, 2002
By: SKA

Division five has to be the toughest division on the SKA's Mercury Tournament Trail. Especially when you factor in the fact that this division has more members competing than any other single division. Now add the fact that you have two tremendous events, the Kingbuster Classic 400 and the Greater Jacksonville King Mackerel Tournament and you'll come to the same conclusion. To win any of the events is an accomplishment but when you consider all the facts winning or qualifying from this division is a feat few will ever attain.

How would you like to start off your season winning the Kingbuster and putting a 40 pounder on your side of the ledger? A boat named Legs did just that only they're not members so the winner in our eyes was Kevin Hardison aboard the Blue Lines from Jacksonville. now here's another kicker, Blue Lines is a 20' Cobia. Pretty work Kevin.

"We finished 41st place last year so we started pre fishing on Tuesday,"said the second place winner, and new owner of a Sweet 16 Donzi. "We lost a 40 on Tuesday and really tried a lot of spots," The team fished north of the inlet, caught their 39.70 in the first hour of the tournament, then caught two more smaller fish, but the fish shut down for the rest of the day. "We didn't know how big it was till it popped up. It really was a lazy fish. We had plenty of bait. The king hit a pogy off the downrigger trolled 15 feet down, Hardison added. It's a great way to start the season and there's four more events. Now they need a 30, then a twenty and they've got a chance at the title, a real chance.

Sandy Smith ran his Mercury powered 36' Yellowfin, Gator Bait, south both days and struck pay dirt on Saturday weighing a 38.80, checking in with just four minutes to spare. "Our king hit at 2 o'clock, it nailed a ribbonfish on the downrigger, "said the third place finisher. "We were ready to call it a day but you know last minute fish. We pickedup right away and headed north." Crew member Wylie Nagler, builder of Yellowfins, said his newest model, the 36 footer performed better than expected. Smith is a past winner of the Greater Jacksonville Tournament and runner up in the Yamaha Pro Series last year.

Jimmy Adelsperger's Jaw Breaker earned fourth place with a 38.50. "We fished Ponce Inlet all morning but no fish. At 1:30 we ran to Matansas,"said Adelsperger. "The king hit a pogy rig with two finger mullet in 46 feet of water." It was their only bite all day.

Channel Master rounded out the top five with a 35.90. Captain Al Cumbie fished south of the Gate Station on A1A in 38 to 40' of water. "We started fishing at 6:56 putting both outriggers out first. As we were putting the downrigger out the fish hooked up, said Cumbie. They had caught bait the day earlier therefore getting lines in the water early. According to this team, Blue Lines saw them fighting their fish and stopped there. meaning the second place and fifth place fish were caught in the same area.

In To It also caught their fish on the first day. "We got bait first then ran to the Red Tops," said Wayne Warren. "We weren't there more than five minutes and we had her on. " Their 35.40 earned sixth. "We saw the fish jump and crash the bait and I shouted, she's the one," said teammate Steve Proctor. "It was one of the best days we've had in twenty years. We caught 14 fish that morning." The entire crew wanted to thank River Marine and Mercury Outboards for all their support.

A non member caught the seventh place fish.Joseph Brown's Harpoon earned eighth place and Top Junior Angler honors for Sean Brown. This three generation fishing team caught their king on the first day at 11 am and had a twenty minute fight on their hands.

Ken Dellane's King Pin earned ninth place with a 33.70 while Leroy Kinlaw's Wanda's Diamonds ran to 137 feet of water to find a 32.80 good for 10th place. Junior anglers Stevie Dellane off the King Pin and Michael Pate from the Diamonds boat earned second and third place SKA junior angler honors.Out of the top twenty places in the tournament, only two places fell to non members.

A lot of points were earned as 50th place was a 22.20. As usual, the Kingbuster Classic 400 went off without a hitch. It's truly the premiere KMT on the eastern seaboard and a crown jewel of the SKA's Mercury Tournament Trail.

The Kingmaster Classic 400 is sponsored by Mercury Outboards, Donzi Boats, Loadmaster Trailers, Penn Reels, and a whole host of others.

Final Standings