(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

GALVESTON YACHT BASIN KMT
GALVESTON, TX
AUGUST 9-11, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

David Kennedy slammed the door on the entire field of boats in the American Rodsmiths King of Kings Classic at one 1:00 on the first day of the event when his team members pulled a 46 pounder over the gunwale. Fishing on Steve Cole’s new 36 foot Yamaha powered Contender, teammates Goldie Teltschick and Jim Hampton knew they had a good fish as the entire field, like them, were wallowing in unusually high seas. “We ran about 65 to 70 miles and decided that was enough,” explained Cole just before he collected the $10,000 top prize. “We already had a high 30s king in the box when this big girl hit a hardtail on the surface. This fish moved the team into fifth place in the division with 107.44 points with just one event left.

Darrin Taylor captains the 23 foot Triton, Insta-Gator. On this trip he also caught the second place fish, a 44.05. “We pre-fished and eliminated a lot of spots,” said Taylor. “It was rough but we still ran 90 miles to a spot we usually fish.” Fishing in 200 feet of water, their king ate a hardtail on the surface at 3:00. According to his teammates, Avery Wallace and Brad Taylor, this was their best finish ever. They now lead the Class of 23 division by almost 40 points over their nearest rival. You could say they have it all wrapped up.

The Texas Contender earned third placewith the event’s final fish in the 40’s, a 42.80. Brett Donnahoe, team captain, finds his team, Brian Gaudin and Danny Atchison, in second place in the division with this fish. Not bad when you consider that this king was in the boat by 11 o’clock on day one of the event. “We only ran out to 70 feet,” explained Donnahoe. “We had found fish here pre-fishing and we really didn’t want to run any further in the rough seas.” The king ate a hardtail on the surface.

Jay Gubert and Robert Bernal, fishing the Job Site, had the fourth place fish on Saturday, a 38.20 but got bumped to fifth when Jose Reyes Jr’s Papotonic scaled a 38.73 on Sunday. But ounces count dearly in this sport.
“We only weighed a 24 on Saturday and knew we had to go,” said an excited Reyes as he explained to me how his boat got its name. “We ran to a spot we’d fished before about 60 miles offshore. The king ate a hardtail on the surface at 9:30.” Reyes went on to explain how the fish kept running and running. “It ran 12 times; I thought it would never give up.” Fishing with Reyes was Nathan Reagan, Matthew Becktol,Ruben Olivares, Aaron Reagan, Bill Platt, and Mark Bledsoe.

Corey Cook was the hero of the day aboard the Job Site when he played his king to gaff. “It was mid morning when she hit a hardtail on the surface,” said Gubert, the captain of the Mercury powered Baja. “It was a new spot we found in only 45 feet of water.” This was their first fish of the season in tournament competition but another fish like this one and they could qualify.

Hunter Childress, fishing with his mom and dad on the Rig Rat, caught the biggest king of his career, a 35.41, and earned the team seventh place plus top junior honors for himself. The sixth grade student was fishing in 54 feet of water and used a blue runner rigged by his dad, Bob, and brought her to the side of the boat in only ten minutes.

Kevin Deerman’s Gringo earned sixth place with a 36 pounder while Larry White’s Reel Screemer earned eighth with a 34.96.

American Rodsmiths offered a $100,000 cash prize to anyone breaking the SKA Texas record in this tournament. While everyone thought it could be broken, and it certainly can, it didn’t happen this weekend. But that’s a great prize and incentive. The American Rodsmiths team returned 100% of the entry fees plus kicked in some extra dollars. Then they fed the field at the captain’s meeting plus had free beer. It was a great social atmosphere around the Galveston Yacht Basin pool and everyone I talked to thought the tournament was a huge success. Now if we just could do something about the weather!

Final Standings

1. MAVERICK 46.33 Contender ... Yamaha Steve Cole David Kennedy Goldie Teltschick Jim Hampton 2. INSTA-GATOR 44.05 Triton .... Yamaha Darrin Taylor Avery Wallace Brad Taylor 3. TEXAS CONTENDER 42.80 Contender ... Yamaha Brett Donnahoe Brian Gaudin Danny Atchison 4. PAPOTANIC 38.73 Contender .... Yamaha Jose Reyes Jr. Nathan Reagan Matthew Becktol Ruben Olivares Aaron Reagan Bill Platt Mark Bledsoe 5. JOBSITE 38.20 Baja .... Mercury Jay Gubert Robert Bernal 6. GRINGO 36.00 Contender ... Yamaha Kevin Deerman Cliff Mountain Ken Yarbrough 7. RIG RAT 35.41 Trophy .... Mercury Bob Childress Cheri Childress Hunter Childress

8. REEL SCREAMER 34.96 Century .... Yamaha Larry White Mark Zapalac Jerry Gattis 9. SHOCKWAVE 34.81 Contender ... Yamaha Mark Lee Greg Horacefield David Horacefield Michelle Bergeron Paul Horacefield 10. BIG BITE 33.89 Contender ... Johnson Glenn Cook Jamie Flanagan Gregg Cruthirda 11. FORCE 10 33.15 Trophy .... Mercury Chris Machacek Terry Pool 12. FREEBIRD 31.93 Mako ... Yamaha Chris Zube Mike Zube Nelson Sucarichi 13. EASY COME EASY GO 31.39 James Howell Casey Cundieff Marc Foster John Gardner 14. FULL TILT 31.22 Donzi ... Mercury Rob Dunagan Bob Dunagan Ralph Frazier Chip Underwood 15. SEA KING BLUE 31.11 Contender ....Yamaha Randy King Collin King Clayton King Debbie King

CLASS OF 23: Insta-Gator TOP LADY ANGLER: Michelle Bergeron TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: Hunter Childress

 

FREEPORT KINGFISH CLASSIC
"The Stars & Bars Fly High in Freeport"
FREEPORT, TX
JULY 19-21, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

Conditions were great as the fleet blasted out of the Freeport Jetties on the first day of the Freeport Kingfish Classic. Carl Christoph and fishing partner Rusty Walla aimed their Contender "Stars & Bars" Northeast to make the sixty-mile run to one of their tried and true fishing holes. Along with them were their sons Chris Christoph and Nathan Walla, who were excited about spending the day fishing with their dads. Carl and the boys had found a few kings in the area while pre-fishing Thursday and hoped that the fish would still be around. They caught several small fish slow trolling hardtails on the surface. About noon Rusty landed a fish that would weigh in the forty-pound range. Everyone was ready to make the run home to the weigh-in but Rusty said that they had three or four baits left so why not put them out for a few minutes before they headed South. Fifteen minutes later their winning 51.22 pound Kingfish was in their fish bag. The rest is history. The fishwould also give Chris and Nathan the first place Junior Angler Prizes. Carl credits their win to all the help he had received Thursday from Steve Cunningham and his crew at Contender Boats. He had a problem with one of his fuel pick ups and Steve went out of his way to make sure that they would be able to fish on Saturday.

Bruce Fuselier's "Outcast" finished second with a fine 44.70-pound fish, the largest king caught on Sunday. He said that they ran 120 miles offshore and had their baits in the water for about fifteen minutes when the big king ate a live runner trolled on the surface. They put the fish in the boat, loaded up their gear and made the run back to the marina to weigh the fish.

Glenn Cook and Greg Cruthirds on the American Rodsmith/Texas Marine Contender "Big Bite" caught a 35.87 pound king mackerel on Saturday, only to back it up with a beautiful 43.90lb fish they caught trolling a big blue runner sixty miles offshore in a crowd of boats Sunday to take third place by one tenth of a pound over Randy King's Yamaha powered Contender the "Sea King Blue". Randy, Collin King, Clayton King and Nick Nicholes weighed in their 4th place winning 43.80-pound kingfish on Saturday.

Fifth place, for a 41.89lb king, went to the "Shockwave" captained by Mark Lee. "We were slow trolling hard tails on top in about 160 feet of water, 55 miles south of the inlet, early in the day when the our big fish ate a bait rigged with a purple Kingbuster." Said Lee. "There were kings in the air every way you looked. We caught tons of fish but none bigger than the first one." Mark was fishing with Greg, David, and Paul Horacefield and Top Lady Angler Winner Michelle Bergeron
Port Aransas winner "Yellowfin" with John Dusek, Pat Varga, Craig Williams, Jason Braman and Heather Niles on board, weighted in a 39.68-pound fish to take home the 6th place check. Close behind with a 39.57 pounder for 7th was the "Maverick" a Contender captained by Steven Cole. James Howell and the crew of the "Easy Come, Easy Go" finished 8th with a very respectable 38.98 pound kingfish.

In 9th place with a 38.07 pound fish, was the 23' and Under winner the "Insta-Gator", a Yamaha powered Triton Captained by Darrin Taylor with Avery Wallace and Danyel Dewitt on board and 10th place was won by Albert Vrazel and his crew of the "Lured Away" with a 37.43lb fish.

The one thing I found out on my first visit to a tournament in Division 8 is that the guys and gals from Texas are deadly serious about learning how to find and catch big kingfish. The competition here is getting tougher every tournament. They may be the new guys on the block but they learn quickly and they will do whatever it takes to make it to the winner's circle. The division race is and will continue to be a hard fought battle to determine who will represent the Great State of Texas at the Nationals. Watch Out! These boys are on a mission to win in Biloxi.

Final Standings

1. STARS & BARS 51.22 Contender/Yamaha Carl Christoph Rusty Walla Chris Christoph Nathan Walla 2. OUTCAST 44.70 Marlin/Evinrude Brice Fuselier Chris McSwain John Macias Bryan Burleson Tyler Fuselier 3. BIG BITE 43.90 Contender/Johnson Glenn Cook Greg Cruthirds 4. SEA KING BLUE 43.80 Contender/Yamaha Randy King Collin King Clayton King Nick Nicholes 5. SHOCKWAVE 41.89 Contender/Yamaha Mark Lee Greg Horcefield David Horacefield Paul Horacefield Michelle Bergeron	6. YELLOWFIN 39.68 Yellowfin/Yamaha John Dusek Par Varga Craig Williams Jason Braman Heather Niles 7. MAVERICK 39.57 Contender/Yamaha Steve Cole David Kennedy Goldie Teltschick James Hampton 8. EASY COME EASY GO 38.98 Contender/Yamaha James Howell Casey Cundieff Marc Foster John Gardner 9. INSTA-GATOR 38.07 Triton/Yamaha Darrin Taylor Avery Wallace Danyel Dewitt 10. LURED AWAY 37.43 Contender/Yamaha Albert Vrazel Gary Talley Butch Hemmi Mark Machala
CLASS OF 23: Darrin Taylor 38.07lbs INSTA-GATOR Triton/Yamaha Ken Fisher 35.91lbs ROUGH RIDER Donzi/Mercury Joe Gilleland 34.06lbs PREDATOR Sea Pro/Mercury
TOP LADY ANGLER: 1st - Michelle Bergeron SHOCKWAVE 2nd - Heather Niles YELLOWFIN 3rd - Jennifer Grainer REEL HARD
TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: 1st - Chris Christoph STARS & BARS 2nd - Tyler Fuselier OUTCAST 3rd - Tom Pappas GRAY GOAT

 

TEXAS KINGFISH CLASSIC- CLASS OF 23
TIKI ISLAND - GALVESTON, TX
postponed due to inclement weather to a later date

Darrin Taylor and his Insta-Gator team of Avery Wallace and Brad Taylor did what no other Class of 23 team has done in Texas in the six year history of the SKA—posted the largest three fish aggregate for all boats fishing the division, 125.45. The Yamaha powered Triton team caught a 43.33 in Port Aransas, caught their smallest fish, a 38.07 in Freeport, then caught their biggest fish in the American Rodsmiths event, a 44.05. This is a major accomplishment for this team and proves that the Class of 23 can fish alongside the bigger boats. This same scenario was played out in Division 7 this year also when Cecil Capps did it for the second time.

Family Attraction, also a 23’ Triton, but Mercury powered, earned second place with a 104.12 three fish aggregate. Clifford McCrummen is the team Captain with Jason Long, Allen Rosser, Tre McCrummen, and Jennifer Long making up the team members. They started out the season bagging a money fish, 47.76, at Port Aransas, then added a 30.17 in American Rodsmiths, and wound up the season at Teakwood with a 26.19.

Joe Gilleland’s Predator, a 23’ Mercury powered Sea Pro, earned third in the Division with 86.33 points. With Kevin Foster, Anthony Ledford, and Steve Ross on board, they bagged a 28.11 in Port A, a 34.06 in Freeport, and a 24.16 in the season ender on Tiki Island.

Reeligion, a 23’ Contender, earned fourth. Mike Hartman, Pat Jordan, and Dennis Harding combined for a 78.69 total. They caught a 20.56 in Freeport, a 18.57 at American Rodsmiths, and a 39.56 in the Texas Marine Classic. Joe Kruizenga’s Lil’ Kruizer rounded out the top five. Joe fishes a 22’ Pro Sports with Danny Graham, Mike Snodgrass, and Roger Schwartz. They caught a 38.85 in Port A, a 18.41 in Freeport, and nailed a 20.15 in Galveston for a 77.41 aggregate.

Kevin Jamison’s Fisher of Men earned sixth with a 76.62 aggregate while Pat Thomas earned seventh for the Katie Lynn with 71.83 points. Johnny Benkenstein Jr. had an eighth place finish aboard the Johnny B with 68.27 points. Mike Phegley found his Gold In The Fish’s Mouth in ninth with 66.72 points and Don Miller’s Op’s Boat rounded out the top ten with 63.94 pounds. I didn’t comment on each of these fine teams because I believe that any one of these teams can win the Nationals. While Mississippi waters is not home to these anglers, they certainly have experience in Gulf fishing. The secret is to now work together. Instead of having an individual game plan, they should have a ten boat plan with one goal—bring the trophy home to Texas. If they do this, the trophy and title will belong to one of them! Congratulations on a great season; the Class of 23 rules.

 

TEXAS KINGFISH CLASSIC- MARINE YELLOWFIN
TIKI ISLAND - GALVESTON, TX
postponed due to inclement weather to a later date

Team Yellowfin earned the right to be number one in the Open Division in Texas after posting a three fish aggregate of 121.87. John Dusek’s Yamaha powered 31 foot Yellowfin team also caught the second largest fish in the season opener in Port Aransas, a 50.29. Then they added a 39.68 in Freeport and a 31.90 in the Texas Marine Classic. This team of Jason Brannan, Pat Varga, Heather Niles, and Craig Williams, made their mark this year and certainly should be a force to reckoned with in any event they enter. Heather walked away with top Lady honors also. If they can get some information from other Yellowfin owners at the Nationals they could pull off a really big win and come back to Texas with the title and a new Mercury powered 32’ Dakota boat.

The smallest Contender in a large fleet of Contenders fishing Division 8 walked away with second place honors. Brett Donnahoe’s 25 footer just missed winning it all by one pound. His team of Brian Gaudin and Danny Atchison showed great consistency, posting a 30.14 in Port Aransas, then scaling a 42.80 in the American Rodsmiths tournament, and winding up their season with a 38.93 at Teakwood Marina with a 120.87 aggregate.

Steve Cole’s Maverick has struck fear in Texas tournaments for as long as the SKA has been in Texas, and rightfully so. He’s the man to beat. This year his team of Vernon “Goldie” Teltschick, Jim Hampton, Taylor Teltschick, and David Kennedy made another stellar performance with a 39.57 in Freeport, a 46.33 in Galveston, and a 34.12 at Tiki Island for a 120.02 third place aggregate. His 36 foot Yamaha powered Contender should be among the front runners at this year’s Nationals. I really expect no less.

Brice Fuselier’s Evinrude powered 35 foot Marlin wound up in fourth with 118.23 points. His team of Chris McSwain, Brian Keen, Don Williams, Tyler Fuselier, John Macias, and Bryan Burlesen all helped to scale a 41.65 at Port A, a 44.70 in Freeport, and a 31.88 at the season ender.

When you look at the top four places, then add in fifth place’s 118.16, you will see that less than four pounds separated first from fifth place; that’s as tight as it gets. Stars and Bars, a 31 foot Yamaha powered Contender earned fifth thanks to a winning 51.22 pound king in Freeport. Then they scaled a 31.05 in the Texas Marine Classic and a 35.89 in Port A. What a great season. On the team is Carl Christoph, Nicole Christoph, Chris Christoph, and Rusty Walla. Chris Christoph is the Division’s Top Youth Angler.

Albert Vrazel’s Lured Away walked away with a big win at the Texas Marine Classic and used their winning 45 pounder to earn the team sixth place divisional honors with a 116.89 aggregate.

Mark Lee had two forty pounders on their side of the ledger to help them earn seventh place honors on his 36 foot Yamaha powered Contender, Shockwave. Larry White earned a berth to the Nationals aboard his Yamaha powered Century, Reel Screamer. his team compiled a 111.91 aggregate while the eighth place boat had a 107.18 aggregate. Eighth was Jose Reyes Jr’s Papotanic, a 36 foot Yamaha powered Contender.

Ninth place fell to Easy Come, Easy Go captained by James Howell. His team put up a three fish aggregate of 105.24 points aboard the 27 foot, Yamaha powered Contender. Glenn Cook’s Big Bite, a 25 foot Contender rounded out the top ten with 100.43 points.

It should be noted that Chris Vanos, Martin Kowis, and John Delapp Sr., fishing the Reel Deal, a Mercury powered 35 foot Wellcraft, share in the Top Senior awards for the division as well as qualifying for the Nationals in eleventh.
This group of fishermen have matured over the last three years. I will be real surprised if this isn’t the year Texas crowns a National Champion. Any one of the Texas contingent is capable of doing it and I know many are planning pre-fishing trips. It will pay off. They’re all up to the task.

 

TEXAS KINGFISH CLASSIC
TIKI ISLAND - GALVESTON, TX
postponed due to inclement weather to a later date
By: Jack Holmes

Albert Vrazel, Mark Machala, and Gary Hervey teamed to put their 27’ Yamaha powered Contender, Lured Away, into the winner’s circle with a 45.32 pound king mackerel caught on the first day of the Texas Marine Kingfish Classic.
The event, held out of Teakwood Marina on Tiki Island, was originally scheduled for the last weekend in June but was postponed due to inclement weather, according to tournament director Al Dwarshus. While the sun shone, anglers reported that seas kicked up to four to five feet even though the weather service predicted virtually calm seas all weekend.

The Lured Away ran 97 miles east of Galveston to fish in 100 feet of water. “It was our first bait in the water,” said team leader, Albert Vrazel. “It was an area we’ve wanted to fish and finally got there.” They stopped on an underwater wreck and indicated that as they began to move off the wreck the king followed them. “She burned off three quarters of the 20 pound test spool,” Machala explained. “When she came over the gunwale, the hooks fell out of her mouth. We were lucky!” They were rewarded with the keys to a 23 foot Yamaha powered Contender and a McClain aluminum tandem trailer presented by Robert Stokes of Texas Marine and Marty Bistrong, Vice President of Contender Boats.

Second place was won by one of the SKA’s Class of 23 boats, Reeligion, with Mike Hartman and Dennis Harding on board. They bagged a 39.56 pounder on the second day fishing 33 miles off Galveston in 60 feet of water on a top trolled ribbonfish. “This was an area we planned on fishing,” said Hartman, who was the angler. “The weather helped us make the decision.” Just a bit of trivia, they bought and were fishing in the Contender boat that was won in the tournament last year, and they won the final divisional tournament last year, on the last day.

Brett Donnahoe earned third place with a 38.93 pounder caught aboard his Texas Contender. “We were on our way back in when we stopped on this spot we have,” said Donnahow who fishes with Brian Gaudin and Danny Atchison. “There were three shrimp boats in the area and the water looked real good.” When therir king hit, you guessed it, the fish ran right to the shrimpers. “It went under their boat but we got her out. Then she headed for the rig,” Brian Gaudin, the angler, explained. “I tightened the drag as tight as I could and finally turned the fish. Never put so much pressure on a king before.” They had another incident when a barracuda took the bait, ran, came back to the boat and jumped in the boat just missing a crew member’s head.

Papotonic’s Jose Reyes decided to go 60 miles offshore to try and win the event. They caught a 36.74 on day two to earn fourth and also qualified for the Nationals. “We went one way on day one, and another way on Sunday,” said Reyes after he got back to dry land. “We lost a good one the first day, but knew if we hung in there we’d get a good fish.” Marc Bledsoe caught the fish at 12:35 after a 20-minute fight. On board was Nathan Regan, Bill Platt, and Ruben Olivares.
The Easy Come, Easy Go rounded out the top five with a 34.87. James Howell, Casey Cundieff, Marc Foster, and John Gardner caught theirs 70 miles from Galveston using a hardtail on the surface. “We caught a couple in the mid 20s, then the big one hit,” said Mark Foster, the angler. “It ate a hardtail on the surface.”
The second place Class of 23 boat also won the tournament’s sixth place. Kevin Jameson’s Fisher of Men nailed a 34 pounder.

Thanks to the fine staff at Teakwood Marina, tournament Director Al Dwarshus, and Texas Marine, this is truly the premiere event on the Texas coast.

Final Standings

1. LURED AWAY 45.32 Contender ... Yamaha Albert Vrazel Mark Machala Gary Hervey 2. REELIGION 39.56 Contender ... Yamaha Mike Hartman Dennis Harding 3. TEXAS CONTENDER 38.93 Contender .... Yamaha Brett Donnahoe Brian Gaudin Danny Atchison 4. PAPOTANIC 36.74 Contender ... Yamaha Jose Reyes Nathan Reagan Bill Platt Marc Bledsoe Ruben Olivares 5. EASY COME, EASY GO 34.87 James Howell Casey Cundieff Marc Foster John Gardner	6. FISHER OF MEN 34.35 Wellcraft ... Evinrude Kevin Jamison Steve McSwain Steve Wisneski 7. MAVERICK 34.12 Contender ... Yamaha Steve Cole David Kennedy Goldie Teltschick Taylor Teltschick James Hampton 8. NO NAME / SCOTT PETERSON 33.25 9. TEAM YELLOWFIN 31.90 Yellowfin .... Yamaha John Dusek Pat Varga Jason Brannan Heather Niles 10. OUTCAST 31.88 Marlin ... Evinrude Brice Fuselier Chris McSwain Tyler Fuselier John Macias Brian Keen
CLASS OF 23 1. REELIGION 39.56 2. FISHER OF MEN 34.35 3. JOHNNY B 28.88
TOP LADY ANGLER: Heather Niles ..... Team Yellowfin	TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: Taylor Teltschick ....... Maverick

 

 

ISLAND MOORING PORT ARANSAS MARINA KMT
"Yellowfin Bags a 50.....Wins Port Aransas KMT"
ARANSAS PASS, TX
JUNE 7-9, 2002
By: Jack Holmes

With near perfect weather, John Thomas Dusek checked out at the Island Moorings Marina and headed out the Port Aransas Pass in pursuit of the biggest king mackerel he could find. He ran his big Yamaha powered Yellowfin to waters 45 miles from his earlier start. "We fished the rigs pre fishing Friday but really found no fish," explained Dusek just before he received the winners check. "Water clarity and the right color change was what we were looking for." Early afternoon they found the winning fish in 140 feet of water using a trolled hardtail on the surface." What was really amazing is that they also had a second king nearly the same size. After weighing their 50.29 they asked to take their fish to another marina to have them certified for the CCA Star Tournament, a summer long event that allows anglers to catch their fish anytime and have it weighed at a designated weigh station. Dusek fish captured the one and two slot in the king mackerel division. Fishing with Dusek was Pat Varga, Jason Brannan and Heather Niles who won the tournaments Top Lady Angler honors.

Clifford McCrummen's Family Attraction,a Class of 23 competitor, struck pay dirt on the tournaments first day with a 47.76. The American Rodsmith sponsored team could have sat on the hill the second day of the event when the weather changed and kicked the seas up to 5 to 8's, something that most of the competitors decided to do, but they were hard at it. "It wasn't pretty out there but we still looked for a bigger fish," explained the Captain. Allen Rosser is the teams Junior Angler and won the top slot while McCrummen racked up second in the tournament.

Even with the horrific sea conditions two nice fish did come to the scale on Sunday. Brian Fuslier's Outcast nabbed a 41.65 to earn sixth while Larry White pulled a 41.29 off his Reel Screamer to earn seventh. Capital Marine and Wellcraft Marine added drama to the event by offering a $100,000 prize to the team that broke the Texas state record for kingfish.
The 71 pound record remains intact.

Mark Hubbard found the leader boards third slot with a 46 pounder. "We fished blue runners but couldn't find a fish," said the Coco Mialjo captain. "We switched to ribbonfish. As soon as the bait hit the water the fish hit."They were fishing 26 miles from the scale in 120 feet of water. Michael Pedrotti and Corbin Plumlee earned second place junior honors. Team Outrage found a 44.35. Captain Toby White accepted fourth place honors while Darrin Taylor's Insta - Gator, a Class of 23 competitor, rounded out the top five with a 43.33.

The eastern Texas teams once again dominated the event. They've perfected their skills and I believe can compete with the best of them on the circuit today. Several Port A participants weighed fish but should have dominated the event because of local knowledge. Like their eastern competitors, finding, catching, and perfecting the skills to make the leader board takes time. It just may be the toughest fishing they've ever done but now they've got another year to get ready for next years event. My money's on them. Time will tell.

Final Standings

1. YELLOWFIN 50.29 Yellowfin ... Yamaha John Thomas Dusek Pat Varga Jason Brannan Heather Niles 2. FAMILY ATTRACTION 47.76 Triton ... Mercury Clifford Mc Crummen Jason Long Allen Rosser Louis Dehaes 3. COCO MIALJO 46.07 Grady White .... OMC Mark Hubbard Mike Pedrotti Corbin Plumlee Michael Pedrotti 4. TEAM OUTRAGE 44.35 Contender ... Yamaha Toby White 5. INSTA - GATOR 43.33 Blazer ..... Yamaha Darrin Taylor Avery Wallace Brad Taylor	6. OUTCAST 41.65 Marlin ... Evinrude Brice Fuselier Chris McSwain Brian Keen Don Williams 7. REEL SCREAMER 41.29 Century .... Yamaha Larry White Mark Zapalac Jerry Gattis 8. SHOCKWAVE 40.02 Contender .... Yamaha Mark Lee Greg Horacefield Michelle Bergeron David Horacefield Paul Horacefield 9. TEXAS CONTENDER 39.14 Contender ... Yamaha Brett Donnahoe Brian Gaudin 10. LIL' KRUIZER 38.85 Pro Sports ... Mercury John Kruizenga Donny Graham Roger Schwartz Mike Snodgrass
CLASS OF 23 1. FAMILY ATTRACTION 47.76 2. LIL' KRUIZER 38.85 3. WHO'S YOUR DADDY 32.10
TOP LADY ANGLER: Heather Niles	TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: Allen Rosser