(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

"McNab Joins SKA and Wins Canaveral"
PORT CANAVERAL, FL
JULY 11-13, 2003
By: Andrew Winburn

It pays to be a member of the SKA, just ask James McNab Jr., the winner of Rusty's Canaveral Kingfish Classic. "I was not a member of the SKA when I showed up to register for the tournament," explained the captain of Blondie. After some time at the trailer and small talk with a few of the guys James decided he would join, start to fish for points, and WIN! The plan worked to perfection for the 31 foot Yamaha powered Contender. With calm seas and a bright sun shining, James decided he would make the short run to a spot about 20 miles to the south of Canaveral and have all day to find a big fish. James has knowledge of the area and said, "This is a case of past experience. I knew there were going to be fish at that spot so it was just waiting for the bite to start." His Contender sat patiently until 2 pm of the first day of fishing when the pogy on the long line was eaten by the winning 39.60. Twenty minutes later the fish was in the bag and scale bound. That 39.60 was the ticket to a brand new 21 foot Contender, 150 horsepower Yamaha outboard and a Float-On trailer valued at over $40,000. What a way to start off with the SKA!

Tracy Steele's Mack Daddy took the second spot with a 36.80. Tracy did some homework in the week before the tournament and thought that his crew of Matt Reed, Mike Rule, Kevin Steele and Wayne Kern would find a nice fish down near Ft. Pierce. That plan did not work. "After some time I knew that we needed to head to the Pelican Flats," explained Tracy. Although the fishing was slow the move proved to be correct when the Blue Runner on the long flat line was taken. The fish smoked off a decent bit of line as Mike held the rod. He battled the fish into gaffing range and the 36 foot Yellowfin raced towards the scales. Kevin Steele was the top Junior angler.

Bottom Line, a 27 foot Contender, used the second day of fishing to claim the third tournament spot. Their 35.1 pound fish hit a pogy down 45 feet in 75 feet of water. "It was a true team effort," bragged Reid Macy. Along with Reid were Chet Chambers, Doug Pielli and Timmy Cook. "Tim did a great job of fighting that fish. It hit the bait late in the day so we knew this was our only chance of making the leaderboard," said Reid. Bottom Line fished an area about 40 miles south of the tournament site.

Fourth place went to Tailsnatcher with a 35.00. They are not SKA members. The only king that Mickey Miller's Miller Tyme was able to get to the boat on Saturday landed the team a fifth place finish. Doug Miller, Monty Peters, Anthony Guettler and Sandy Smith were on Miller Tyme with Mickey when they caught the 34.15. Miller Tyme fished in 55 feet of water about 40 miles to the south of Canaveral. Mickey was the angler. "Thanks to Sandy Smith for his help this weekend," added Mickey.

Top Class of 23 boat was Frank Abbate's Reel Runner, a Yamaha powered Sailfish. Frank prefished an area about 30 miles from the port and said, "We knew that there was going to be some fish in that area during the weekend. We were sitting in 80 feet of water when the double pogy in the prop wash was taken." Anthony Vargas took the rod and easily brought the 34.75 to the boat. With Frank and Anthony were Gino Butto, Kyle Lunden and Anthony Abbate. Anthony Abbate took second place Junior angler.

Bad To The Bone traveled all the way from North Carolina to fish the Canaveral tournament. Their dedication to the sport paid off with a 32.65 and second place Class of 23 finish. Ken Hudson, Kerry Gardner and Ernie Carson fished an area about 30 miles south of the port in 60 feet of water.

Top Junior was Kevin Steele on Mack Daddy and Susan Kaminsky was the top Lady.

 

"MIAMI'S BOAT CENTER FISHING TEAM BEST IN DAYTONA!"
DAYTONA, FL
MAY 9-10, 2003
By: Jack Holmes

I miss fishing! Before founding the SKA, my wife and I used to fish an average of 15 tournaments a year. Now we're relegated to enjoying our fishing through others. There are several times in a season that really excite me and bring back that competitive spirit. The opening tournament in a Division, the third event, and of course the final Divisional event that crowns the best. Such was the case in Daytona, the third event of Division 10 and I wasn't disappointed.

I suffered disappointment with the Haywired team who were the first to scale a king in Jim Scharfschwerdt's Daytona Kingfish Brawl, a one-day event out of Daytona Beach, Florida. They waited on anchor for half an hour before scales opened proclaiming they had a 40. It really looked like a 40 when they pulled it out of the bag but the electronic scale read 34.92. Rob Gagliardi, Dick Hennessy, Mike Dillard, Rick Wisner, and the angler on the fish, Andrew Russell, shrugged their shoulders and sighed, "At least it's a good points fish. " It was that, but later in the day the team would collect fourth place money, and Class of 23 first place honors. I was happy for them, but even more ecstatic when I got the new point standings. They moved from ninth place to second with 77.95 points in the Class of 23.

Imagine my excitement when the Boat Center Fishing Team slid up to the dock and hauled a 43.93 out of their fish bag. This is a first-year team on the circuit but the boat comes from Gary Lawson's Boat Center in Miami, who I sold ads to for years. It brings back great memories. Rick Maloney and his teammates Al Kennedy, Doug Sawyer, and Gerald Klein not only took the tournaments top prize, $10,000, but moved from 15th place in the standings to third. With 109 points they get to take the ride to stardom at this year's Nationals.

The Boat Center team fished 60 miles south of Daytona, off Canaveral in 60 feet of water. At 8:45 they dropped a ribbon down and the big girl couldn't resist a good meal. When asked why they chose this area I got, "We were told by friends that this was a good place to start."

Our 2001 National Champion, Tom Kenney, smacked a 40.75 aboard his Yamaha powered Angler, the Offshore Warrior, to earn second place honors. His team of Tim Kellagher, Tom Oien, and Tony Vercillo are certainly making a name for themselves in Florida waters. They made the long run from Daytona back to Fort Pierce where they too used a ribbonfish to entice their catch. Tom caught the king at two o'clock fishing in 40 feet of water. I savor their excitement when they get the news that they're solidly in first place with 124.56 points, 12 points ahead of Manny Gavao's Justin Time who finished twelfth with a 26.55. It really got me thinking, Galvao comes from Florida's west coast and has put forth a great effort fishing on the east coast, but how well would Kenney and his team fare in Galvao's home waters? Very interesting scenario. Couldn't you see a TV show built around these thoughts?

Third place fell to the Hook-N-Up with Robert Ward at the helm. Together with James Walukewicz, Charles Perry, and Anthony Brown, the Yamaha powered Pursuit headed south at 6am to Pelican Flats, about 60 miles, where most of the fish this weekend were caught. Fishing a blue runner spread in 85 feet of water, Rob set the hook on a 36-pounder at 9:30 and had her to the boat in precise order. What a difference it made to this team. On Friday they were in 30th place in the Division 10 standings but moved them to ninth and probably a ride to the Nationals. Isn't life great?

Ryan Rodeffer's Hell on Reels rounded out the top five with a 32.54. It was another of those great weekends, fifth in the tournament but from obscurity (35th place) to 15th in the Division and a real shot at qualifying. Jimmy Arnold, Mark Covington, Terry Loper, and WD Rodeffer, needed a bait in the water for only 30 minutes after making the 60-mile run south to get the strike they needed. They used a blue runner for bait.

Thomas Cowan and Drew Lewis came from Jacksonville, Florida using Don Combs new Mercury powered Fountain boat, C & H Lures, to scale a 32.50 and take sixth place winnings back north.

Stream Hunter's 30.87 earned Chris Lee eighth place honors and moved him close enough to the top 15 to have a real shot in the season Division Ten finale in Canaveral.

Joe Miller's Yellowfin, Miller Tyme, slid a 27.80 onto the scale for ninth place, but more important moved into fifth in points and probably a Nationals berth.

Side Job / Tail Chaser rounded out the top ten with a 27.73.

This may very well be one of the best Divisional finishes of the season. I need to check the schedule to see if I'm scheduled to be at this one. I really don't want to miss it. Congratulations to Jim S. for another great job in Daytona and to all the participants in Division Ten for making this year's contest as exciting for me as it must be for you.

 

"Rat Pack Wins Yellowfin/Mercury Kingfish Classic in Fort Pierce!"
FT. PIERCE, FL
APRIL 10-12, 2003
By: Ed Killer

Saturday night, Rat Pak tournament fishing team member Chris Blanton told a friend about the catch of the day. Blanton said, "I told him we had caught a 62.68 pound kingfish. And he said, "No you didn't, you caught a Yellowfin." Catching the heaviest kingfish of the weekend earned the Rat Pak team of Darren Ratley, Derrick Blanton and his brother Chris a 23 foot Yellowfin center console fishing boat, powered by a 225 h.p. Mercury outboard motor all riding on a Loadmaster aluminum trailer-a package worth More than $60,000 retail.

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, crew bested a fleet of 171 entries that vied for the boat, and a total purse of over $80,000 in prizes and cash. A large live bluefish secured the prize for the longtime Southern Kingfish Association Mercury Tournament Trail anglers.

"It was the only bait we had in the water Saturday," said Ratley, who said the huge smoker was the largest he had ever caught. "We fished an area off Jupiter in 70 feet of water." They double dipped by winning the Yamaha Pro Tour event also.

The tournament drew teams from eight states and across Florida and assembled one of the most impressive final leader boards anywhere. Following Rat Pak's huge smoker were four more kingfish that topped 50 pounds and one needed 40 pounds just to make the top 10.

Most of the fish on the final leader board were reportedly caught from a spot just south of Palm Beach Inlet to a spot just north of the Jupiter Inlet. At least two leader board fish were caught north of Fort Pierce Inlet. Manny Galvao was the first boat back to the scales on Saturday. Sitting aboard his Mercury powered Intrepid waiting for the scales to open he told a group of tournament officials, "We caught the fish and hung the scale on him right away. It bottomed the scale and was still on the deck of the boat. We knew it was big but we weren't sure." Zipping open his bag for everyone to see the king looked bigger than the 52.03 pounds it weighed on the scale. The Justin Time would capture third but moved into the Division lead a pound and a half ahead of John Crabb's Emmaline & Tackle.

Also coming to the scales just before they opened was former fishing partner of Galvao, Kevin Hannon also aboard an Intrepid, Hannon's Cannon. With Geoff Everhart and Paul McDuffee trading barbs with Galavo as to whom had bagged the larger king they too headed for the scales. After watching the 52-pounder come off the scale, weighmaster Bob Flocken hoisted theirs and read the scales-53.80, which would eventually hold up for second place. Jamie Chandler's Twin Bills, a sleek 32-foot Donzi powered by Mercury, also bagged a trophy. Duane Kelly and Robert Kelly helped haul the smoker to the scales and went to high fiving when the scale peaked at 50.72. This team moved into seventh in Division 10 standings, fourth in this event. One more mid-size fish and they're on their way to the Nationals. They've got two events to find that fish.

Former National Champion Tom Kenney fishing his Angler, Offshore Warrior, was on the plus side of a trophy fish, a 50.27. Fishing with Kenney was Tim Kellagher, Tom Oien, and Tony Vercillo. The team weighed its trophy on Saturday, earned fifth in the tournament, and, even though they get a by to the Championship, they're now fourth in the Division, just nine points out of the lead.

The top Class of 23 team was Mark Whitmire, Marc Odell, Bob Wiley, and John Bittle fishing Whitmire's 23' Yamaha powered Contender, Grinder. They scaled a 44.25 on the second day of the event. "We had gone north Sunday, and were running south on the way in when we saw a nervous pod of bait in 60 feet of water about six miles north of the inlet," he said. "We put out a couple of baits and had a big strike on a ribbonfish." Grinder now takes a commanding lead of 8 points with a two-fish aggregate in Division 10. The team has 74.48 points and should be able to scale another pounder before season's end. This is a good fishing team.

Chris Jonsson's Side Job earned seventh with a nice 44.09. Fishing aboard the Mercury powered Wellcraft with Jonsson was Ty Smith and Bryce Jonsson who captured the events Top Junior honors. Bill Oliver's T & B captured eighth with a 43.52. Berk Ellis and Gary Wieler fish the team.

Joseph Miller's Miller Tyme earned the leader boards ninth slot with a 42.91 while Emmaline & Tackles John Crabb rounded out the top ten with a 40.49.

This was one of the best leader boards of the season and once again proved if you want to bag big kings in the spring, Fort Pierce is the place. It took a 40 plus to make the top ten and 35 kings over 30 pounds were weighed. A spectacular performance!

 

"EMMALINE & TACKLE’S 49.99 BEST OF SKA BOATS IN KEY WEST!"
Record cold temperatures and rough seas doesn’t deter strong leader board!
KEY WEST, FL
JANUARY 24-26, 2003
By: Jack Holmes

The Florida Keys anglers are getting good at their king mackerel fishing. For the second year in a row a local captain dominated the leader board, The team aboard the Showtime caught a 50 pounder and was never challenged although many kings scaled on day two looked as if they could surpass the leader. It was close but no cigar.

The fishermen who ventured into the southern Florida Keys early in the week and found some good fish. However the weather report on Thursday encouraged locals to get out the winter clothes because the bitter cold northerners were experiencing were going to be felt soon. By Friday morning winds were above 20 mph and if you stayed out in the wind you would have felt like you were in New York.

By Saturday, the first day of the Hog’s Breath King Mackerel Tournament, sponsored by Evinrude Outboards, teams were trying to figure where to fish and stay out of the elements. The Showtime crew fished in 70 feet of water five miles west of Cosgrove on day one. For their efforts the team will receive a pair of 200 hp Evinrude Outboards.

John Crabb’s Emmaline & Tackle, a Yamaha powered Yellowfin, with National Champion team member Rob Dunagan, Shawn Woods, Tucker Thomas, John Philipof, and John Murdaugh onboard. The team ran to 90 feet of water where they deployed blue runners. As luck would have it Murdaugh, a rookie and new memb er of the SKA, picked up the rod and masterfully worked a 49.99 close enough for the stainless steel gaff to slip into it’s shoulder and over the gunwale. They placed second on day one and remained in that leader board spot thru the entire event.

Greg Samuel and Carl Carder thought they had the tournament winner when they pulled a mongo king from their bag for pictures on day two. Frankly, so did we! But the big fish was long but just didn’t have the girth to push the electronic scale past the 50 pound mark. It settled at 49.27 good for third place for the Yamaha powered Contender, Kingpin. “We hooked her using a blue runner on the long line,” said Carder. “We caught her from under the 08 Second boat and thanks to the Reel Won we got it to the boat”. They fished the Tail End Buoy.

Harry Thomas and past National Champion Randy Keys just keep getting stronger. This trip out they teamed with Steve Hayes and Keith Thomas to bag a 48.95 on day two and capture fourth. “Too bad this wasn’t a Pro event,” Keys told me at the awards ceremony. “We had a 41.96 on day one.” That was the best aggregate of any boat fishing this years event. The team fished the LaPerla.

Team X Stream’s 47.34, also caught on the second day, would round out the tournaments top five. After only scaling a 21 on the first day the team of Kelly Sisk, Nelson Railey, and Shannon and Justin Armstrong added Ashlie Ferguson to the team. Actually she was a part of the team but elected to stay dock side on day one due to the weather. She obviously was the good luck charm however, winning top lady honors. They caught their king on a ribbonfish 45’ down in 100 feet of water.

The Bandit won 6th place with a46.67. The Yamaha powered Contender team, sponsored by Rugged Shark shoes, caught their fish also on day two fishing in 100 feet of water. They used a blue runner on the downrigger. On board was Ron Mitchell, Nelson Railey, Jonathon Neal, and Jeff Sealey.

What a great way to start off Division Ten. The top boat of course was a 50 pounder, but after that if you wanted to make the top 14 you needed a king in the 40’s. That’s great fishing in anyone’s book. Factor in the ambiance and great night life Key West is famous for and you’ll be hard pressed to not have a great time.

The Class of 23 was dominated by SKA members. Leading the parade was Duane Zamonis’s Outaline, a Yamaha powered Grady White. He and Scott Lunden and Andrew Zamonis caught a 39.51 on the second day. They fished off Cosgrove in 80 feet of water. “We were limited to ribbons on day two, we we flat outta live bait,” said the Captain. “This one came trolling 35 feet below the surface.” The team picked up a great fish to start the season plus the $4,000 for the class win.

Rocky Tolla’s Halfway Gone did have the lead on day one with a 38.14 but dropped to second after the Outaline weighed in on day two. When you factor in what the 25 boat Class of 23 had to endure this weekend you have to salute all the competitors. It just wasn’t pretty. Sebastian Butarelli’s Off The Hook earned third place with a 36.06. Rick Maloney’s Boat Center Fishing Team captured seventh with a 46.34. Locals won eighth and ninth place. The Odyssea caught a 45.80 while the Spear One hammered a 45.37. Joe Whitte’s Swivel Lips rounded out the top 10 with a 45.32.

Chris Trosset earned Top Junior Angler honors fishing Ken Thompson’e Penn Boat / Team Freedom with a 41.25. The also finished 14th place.

This year’s event drew 147 boats, a new record for this tournament. I truly believe that with better weather we would have surpassed 175 boats. What a great place to start the season. Lee, Billy, and Cindy from Murray Marine, went out of their way to make this event better. From their great t rophies to a surprise cocktail party hosted at the Hampton Inn, anglers were impressed. Hog’s Breath was another story. Who does not like to let their hair down a little and Hog’s Breath of course is the anglers choice.

If you didn’t put this event on your docket to fish, you missed the boat. It’s great and you have the opportunity to start the season with a very positive note. Mark your calendars now!