(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

"Devocean's 43.97 wins a Contender boat in the Gasparilla Classic!"
GASPARILLA, FL
APRIL 4-6, 2003
By: Andrew Winburn

"We were ready to jump out and swim to the docks," said Scott Routh. Scott, the captain of Devocean, along with Mark Liberman and Brent Klein made the 115-mile run south on the second day. They ran into motor problems after bagging their winning 43.97. "We had one motor running so it was laboring more than usual. We were making every kind of adjustment we could think of to give us more time. It finally ran out of gas and we started to idle our way in on the other motor." The guys took every shortcut they could find and made it to the docks with just minutes to spare. The winning fish took a blue runner on top in roughly 71 feet of water. Mark caught the fish and Scott was on the gaff. "Thanks to Johan and Contender for making division 11 one of the top divisions on the trail," added Scott.

In The Rough has been fishing the same area for all of division 11. They made the 140-mile run once again and were able to pull out a 35.35 good enough for second place. "We kept fishing because we knew a 35 wasn't going to win the tournament. But we are happy with second overall and first place junior for Sarah Stephenson," said Keith Hall. The fish took a blue runner at 11am. Jeff Hall, David and RoseMary VanLent, and Jerry and Sarah Stephenson were with Keith on the 36 foot Contender/Yamaha. Mercury powered Desperado also made the long trip south. Bryan Wallace, Scott Wallace, and Charlie Dewire didn't have the best of luck on Saturday. Sunday didn't start out with the best of luck either. "We lost half of our bait but decided to go ahead and fish with what we had," said Bryan. That decision turned out to be the correct one. At 10am they hooked a king with a blue runner. A little before noon the blue runner in the prop wash was hit. This one would turnout to be a 34.52 good enough for third place. Scott fought the fish and Bryan stuck it in the bag.

"It was an awesome gaff. A Barracuda swam up so Dick tightened the drag. I hammered down trying to scare the Barracuda and put us right beside the fish. Dad dove under Dick and made a quick gaff before the Barracuda could get the king," Jack E. said of his father, Jack K. Thomas, and Dick Rudlaff. Smilin' Jack would take fourth place with that 33.59. They had a 20-pound fish on Saturday and noticed an area about 40 miles off of Naples that had a lot of activity. This is where the fourth place fish was taken with a blue runner on Sunday. King Pin crew Greg Samuel, Carl Carder and Billy Chilson checked out of Venice on Saturday. Their Contender ran 40 miles northwest. That spot had a good king bite for close to 2 hours. At 11am they were fighting a fish when Greg slung out another blue runner. Both fish ended up at the boat and they released the smaller one. The larger of the two fish, a 33.45, would round out the top five.

Class of 23 had perfect weather conditions for the entire weekend. Leading the pack was the 23 foot Mercury powered Minus One. Greg Campbell, Henry Colston, Tim Colvard and Rick Baruta ran 60 miles on Saturday with no luck. On Sunday they ran 30 miles south. Once again they had no luck. They cleared all of their lines and made a run about 40 miles from the check-in. At noon Tim caught the 29.75 fish that would give them their first ever 23 and under victory. "This is just the beginning for the Minus One team. Division 6 needs to watch out. We are going for the Mercury title," said Greg. Evan Kerstein and his father Harvey took second place in the 23 and under division with a 28.58. Gamefully Employed checked out of Venice and headed north both days. "There were other boats there on Saturday but no one had any luck. We decided to stick with our plan and head back there on Sunday," said Evan. Evan thanks Fisherman's World tackle shop for the support they give his fishing team.

 

"KEYS - THOMAS- HASSON TEAM GET THE BIG BUCKS IN SARASOTA ABOARD THE LAPERLA!"
SARASOTA, FL
MARCH 28-30, 2003
By: Jack Holmes

This tournament had all the makings of a best selling novel. Great promotion, weather, an uncle and his nephew fighting it out for first place, and a one one hundredths of a pound place finish. Add to that the small boats beating up on the big boys. Life is great!

In my opinion Randy Keys has always been a champion’s champion. When he teamed with Harry Thomas last year aboard the Yamaha powered Donzi, LaPerla, I knew this was a great combination. So much talent. This tournament Keith Thomas, was on board, another good fisherman, and Randy’s longtime fishing buddy and part of his National Championship team in ‘95, Jimmy Hasson. Add the fact that they were fishing home waters and you knew something was about to happen.

On day one we never saw the team at the scale, they rolled up a goose egg but Hasson’s nephew Brian Hasson fishing a 23’ Mercury powered Fountain scaled a 40.60 to take the Sertoma Kingfish Tournament lead aboard the Knot Me. “My uncle Jimmy taught me everything I know,” said the second place finisher and Class of 23 winner. “We fished the 90’ hole both days right by my uncle. Our big fish ate a blue runner in the prop wash.” Fishing the Knot Me with Hasson was Billy Hasson and JJ Hoyle.

As fate would have it, on Sunday Harry Thomas set the hook on the winning 41.85 pounder just 45 minutes after they arrived at the hole. “She ate a blue runner on the surface,” said Keys after pictures and scaling the fish.

Weather may have been a factor for the little boats on Sunday as a late cold front moved in after great weather on Saturday. Most anglers who weighed on Sunday said that seas built to 8’, rained and got really cold.

The third place boat, Devocean, caught their third place fish on Saturday, a 37.53. ”We want to thank Randy Keys who turned us on to the 90’ hole,” said the angler on the nice fish, Mark Lieberman. “We caught our king on a surface trolled blue runner, said team captain Scott Routh. That fish moved the team into division 11’s Top Spot.

The second Class of 23 boat in the top five was Eric Gyurkovic’s Outer Limits. They were like Keys, going fish less on Saturday but made up a lot of ground on Sunday scaling a 35.13. “Because of the weather we hid under the Sky Way Bridge,” said the angler Patrick Armstrong. “It hit our last bait, a cigar minnow, on a long flat line at 2 PM.” They won fourth place in the tournament but by only one one hundredths of a pound.

Jim and David Ingalls fish a Sea Craft in the Class of 23 and weighed the biggest fish they’ve ever caught in competition on Saturday, a 35.12. “We had no idea where to fish but got some good advice from the Zalud brothers,” said Jim. “We fished in 48 feet of water off Englewood. The king ate a goggle eye which we brought over from the east coast on the surface.” This team is really coming together and will qualify for the Nationals. They’ve got a real shot at victory if they just keep working hard. They were third in Class of 23 and fifth in the overall tournament. Fifth out of 94 boats is nothing to sneeze at. They also moved into a tie for first in the division with Eric Smith’s Comfortably Numb.

John Carter’s Get N Some earned sixth in the tournament with a 34.30. His 92 points in the division should give him a ride to the big show.

Bounty Hunter had a good tournament finishing seventh with a 33.58. This Island Runner team captained by Michael Carter has certainly earned every thing they’ve got. They are industrious, and proved to all that they’re here to stay. They’ll go to the big dance with a fourth place 107 points and one event to go.

JR. Baker’s Humdinger now has a two fish aggregate of 54 points thanks to a 31.22 ninth place finish here in Sarasota. A 25 pounder in Gasprilla should give them a berth in the Nationals but there’s a lot of teams sitting right there with Baker. The final event will truly be make or break time on Florida’s west coast.

David VanLent’s In The Rough will finish close to the top in this division. The former Top Angler of the Year has one of the best teams in fishing today. Keith hall, Jeff Hall, Jerry Stephenson, and Rose VanLent. Rose won top lady in the tournament, Sarah Stephenson won top junior, and the team finished tenth.

This has proven to be one of the best divisions now in the country. You can fish early, qualify early, and get prepared for the task at hand. The prizes haven’t been too shabby either, three boat, motor, and trailer packages, plus a new Dodge truck. It pays to fish the south west coast of Florida plus look at the great fish that have been caught.

Congratulations to the Sarasota Sertoma Club for another great event!

Final Standings

1. LAPERLA 41.85 Donzi .... Yamaha Randy Keys Harry Thomas Keith Thomas Jimmy Hasson 2. KNOT ME 40.60 Fountain ... Mercury Brian Hasson Billy Hasson JJ Hoyle 3. DEVOCEAN 37.53 Yellowfin .... Mercury Scott Routh Mark Liberman Brent Kline 4. OUTER LIMITS 35.13 Chris Craft Erik Gyurkovic 5. INSPIRATION 35.12 Sea Craft ... Evinrude Jim Ingalls David Ingalls	6. GET N SOME 34.30 Contender .... Yamaha John Carter Mike Smith Jerry Orlando 7. BOUNTY HUNTER 33.58 Island Runner ... Mercury Mike Carter Chris Carter 8. Jay Bird 31.99 9. HUMDINGER 31.22 Hydra Sports ... Evinrude Jr. Baker Steve Deliache 10. IN THE ROUGH 31.19 Contender .... Yamaha Keith Hall David VanLent Rose VanLent Jerry Stephenson Jeff Hall Sarah Stephenson
CLASS OF 23 1. Knot Me 40.60 2. Outer Limits 35.13 3. Inspiration 35.12 TOP LADY: Rose VanLent .... In The Rough TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: Sarah Stephenson .... In The Rough

 

 

"DODGE PRESENTS THE FORT MYERS KING FLING: KING PIN'S 47.61 WINS THE DODGE PRESENTS THE FT. MYERS KING FLING!"
FT MYERS, FL
MARCH 21-23, 2003
By: Andrew Winburn

The weather was better on the first day of the Dodge presents the Fort Myers King Fling. King Pin captain Greg Samuel took full advantage of this. The 27 foot Yamaha powered Contender ran nearly 100 miles south with the bait that The Reel Won gave them the night before. "We gave them bait in Key West so I guess this was our payback," said Greg. They put one of those blue runners on the downrigger and it fell victim to a 47.61 king. Greg stuck the fish with the gaff after Carl fought it for 25 minutes. That winning fish gave them the top prize of a 20-foot Yamaha powered Key West boat. "We are part of the S.C.M. (The Sarasota Contender Mafia), there are seven or eight of us," said the captain. Watch out for this group of Contenders.

For the second tournament in a row, captain Scott Elliot and crew came to the dock with faces grinning. They looked up and said, "We got it." Scott, Jon Pearman, Ron Burdell and Marc Foerstemann were talking about the 99 pound aggregate that would eventually give Use of Proceeds the keys to a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi. The 43.91 pounder from day one of the Ft. Myers tournament gave them the second place spot on the tournament leader board for the day and would hold that spot. Use of Proceeds was lucky to have King Pin give them the location for their winning fish in Naples and fished along side them 100 miles south in 70 feet of water during the Ft. Myers tournament. "We lost out GPS 50 miles out and followed Greg Samuel the rest of the way. Mark caught our fish and we waited to follow someone back in," said Scott. The second place fish hit a blue runner on top.

Sake, the Mercury powered 32 Sea Craft, took third place with a 43.47. Neil and Veronica Nix found a spot with no other boats about 80 miles south and 85 feet deep on day one. About 10 am their reel sang and Veronica started her 30-minute fight. The fish took a blue runner, made a few short runs, and finally sank to the bottom. With a 43 in the boat they decided to fish a few spots on the way back to the scales and pick up some bait for day two. The husband and wife combo went back out the second day but didn't top that wonderful third place fish. Veronica took the first place lady angler spot by more than seven pounds.

If you didn't get to the hot spot down south before 9am on the second day then you missed the big king bite. Mark Maus and his Mercury Optimax powered Team Fountain Cabela's, got there at 8:45 and had a 41.30 hit a blue runner on top at 8:46. His teammate, Dennis Sergent, had a king on at the same time. It wasn't quite as big as the 41 so they released it. "If it wasn't over 40 pounds we weren't going to bring it in," said Mark. They bagged the 41.30 that would eventually give them the fourth place spot and continued to fish. The next three baits in the water were hit and the wire was bitten through. They kept fishing for that one big fish that would give them an aggregate for a new Dodge Ram but were satisfied with the fourth place finish. The storm of day two turned the ride of just over an hour and a half on the way to the spot into three and a half hours on the way back to the scale for the Mercury, Fountain, and Cabela's sponsored crew.

Fifth place fell to the 27 Conch Smilin' Jack. Captain Jack K. and Jack E. Thomas, and Dick Rudlaff were with all of the boats down south. Their 37.60 king took a ribbonfish down about 20 feet. "We could tell it was big. It took off harder than a 37," said Jack K. That fish made two good runs before they were able to bring her to the boat.

Class of 23 boats had a rough weekend. The Comfortably Numb II team made the best of the bad weather by bringing in a 36.05 good enough for tenth overall and first for the small boat division. Eric, wife Becky, and two juniors Jake and Justin Smith ran their Mercury powered boat 85 miles on the first day to claim that first place spot. "I put a blue runner out on the surface and within seconds the fish took it," said Eric. Jake took the rod and fought the fish the way he wanted to. It took him 55 minutes to bring the fish to the boat using very light drag. Jake and Justin were also the top Junior Anglers.

Second place for the 23 and under boats went to Billy Erney and Mark Gore on the Sea Fox. They weighed a 30.74 on the first day.

 

"USE OF PROCEEDS DOMINATES THE DODGE TRUCKS / NAPLES CONTENDER YAMAHA KINGFISH CLASSIC!"
NAPLES, FL
MARCH 7-9, 2003
By: Jack Holmes

Scott Elliott and teammates Jon Pearman, Marc Foerstemann, and Ron Berdell gathered around the Dodge Trucks / Naples Contender Yamaha Kingfish Classic scale as John Zalud read the digits. When 55.89 was announced all members began high fiving and hugging one another. That’s a big fish and not one easily beat in a tournament. When asked later if they were going to fish day two, Elliott replied, “We think we’ll sit on the dock.” They were right, the big girl held up, won the team a new 21’ Contender boat, Yamaha powered, and siting atop a bright aluminum Loadmaster Trailer and put them in the lead for a new Dodge Hemi truck. A good fish in the second Division 11 tournament in Fort Myers could get them a set of keys.

The Yamaha powered Contender, Use of Proceeds, made a 121 mile run to the south to an area they thought was holding fish. They had reservations after the first hour with no fish but then the big girl smacked a big blue runner on the surface in 93 feet of water. Ron Berdell grabbed the rod and the fight was on. After a 25 minute fight she rolled over and the point of a steel hook pierced her body. “As she came over the gunwale the gaff broke free. I put a bear hug on the fish and just fell backwards,” said Berdell. This was definitely their day.

The Smilin Jack team of Jack K. and Jack E. Thomas, Richard Rudlaff, and Zach Fischer may have been the hottest team on the water this weekend. With a pen full of frisky baits aboard their Yamaha powered Conch, the team ran south but not near as far as the Proceeds boat and fished only in 58 feet of water. “We had pre fished this area and felt real good,” said Thomas. We weeded thru some small fish then she hit a runner on the surface.” The fish went 49.25 to put them squarely into second. “We went right back to the same spot on Sunday and grabbed a 48.28,” he added. Two nearly fifty pounders in one event, now that’s real fishin!

Charles Taylor’s Fishin Finatic was bit with gremlins, but sometimes your misfortunes turn to gold. After the morning countdown, the team was with the pack running out when a motor shut down. “I didn’t know who to call but I phoned John Zalud and he sent me in the right direction,” said Taylor. “He hooked me up and by noon we were out the pass for the second time that day.” They knew they couldn’t run south so they just ran west. About 10 miles out they saw bait in the water and stopped. Five minutes after catching an 18 pounder their third place fish lit up the reel. To add to their unconventional day, the fish was fouled hooked in the belly and required the better part of an hour to bring the 47.69 pound fish to gaff. At the dock the excited team really thought they had a bigger fish but anytime you scale a high forty king you’ve really done well. Fishing on the Yamaha powered Contender team with Taylor was Kirk Bouffard, Jarrod Cothron, John Woods, Troy McGinnis, and Ashton Boyer. Ashton, a junior, was the events Top Junior Angler. Way to start the season Ashton!

David VanLent is one fisherman that everyone knows will be in the hunt in any event he enters. This weekend was no exception. Christening a new 36’ Contender, In The Rough, the team headed out the pass and pointed the bow south. “We ran 580 miles this whole weekend, “ explained Van Lent. On day one all’s they had to show for their efforts was a half of a good kingfish. Day two was another story. At 12:30 the real screamed and within a few minutes, with a 47.50 in their fish bag, they headed to the scale. Fourth place was theirs and they too were in the running for the Dodge Truck. On board was Keith hall, Rose Van Lent, Jerry Stephenson, mark Combs, and junior angler Tommy Stephenson who won second place junior. Rose, one of the SKA’s top lady anglers, won the tournaments top honors.

Scott Routh’s Devoclean was another team that had a weekend that should remain in their memory banks for many years to come. Both days the team of Mark Liberman and Brent Klein ran to the Tail End Buoy and caught good fish. On day one they scaled a 40 pounder then captured fifth place in the tournament on Sunday weighing a 47.25. They fish a Mercury powered Yellowfin.

With just 2 foot seas and beautiful 80 degree temperatures fishermen were able to run to just about anywhere they chose. To the south was the majority pick. Many others scaled good fish like Glenn Kiefer’s Contend With This, a 42.95 good for sixth.

Seventh, eighth, and ninth places all weighed fish in the 40 pound range. Greg Samuels King Pin had a 42.28 for seventh, Mike Carter’s Bounty Hunter had a 41 while ninth place, Brian Alstrom’s Hammer Em’s 41 pounder ended the 40 pound catch.

Randy Rochelle’s team aboard the Gotta Go Mahones won tenth with a 39.46.

Jay Burger’s J - Bird earned Class of 23 honors with a 34.12. This was his first tournament fishing SKA and got good advice from other fishermen, listened to them, went where they suggested, and came away a winner. His thanks go to the Fishin Finatic team. A big tip of the SKA to both teams for working together but isn’t this what fishing is all about?

Johan did an excellent job with this event. The Captain’s meeting was a big hit, the weigh in site was as good as any event we’ve ever been associated with and the spectator crowd enjoyed all the activities. This tournament will continue to grow, especially after seeing the leader board. If you want to catch big fish this is as good as it gets!

Final Standings

1. USE OF PROCEEDS 55.89 Contender ..... Yamaha Scott Elliott Jon Pearman Marc Foerstemann Ron Berdell 2. SMILIN JACK 49.25 Conch ..... Yamaha Jack K. Thomas Jack E. Thomas Richard Rudlaff Zach Fischer 3. FISHIN FINATIC 47.69 Contender ... Yamaha Charles Taylor Kirk Bouffard Jarrod Cothron John Woods Troy McGinnis Ashton Boyer 4. IN THE ROUGH 47.50 Contender ... Yamaha Keith Hall Dave VanLent Rose VanLent Jerry Stephenson Tommy Stephenson Mark Combs 5. DEVOCEAN 47.25 Yellowfin ... Mercury Scott Routh Mark Liberman Brent Klein 6. CONTEND WITH THIS 42.95 Contender ... Yamaha Glenn Kiefer Charles Kiefer 7. KING PIN 42.28 Contender ... Yamaha Greg Samuel Carl Carder Billy Chilson Bob Lail

8. BOUNTY HUNTER 41.25 Island Runner ... Mercury Mike Carter Chris Carter Norman Fortier 9. HAMMER EM 40.94 Contender .... Yamaha Brian Alstrom BJ Creadon Danny Baker Greg David 10. GOTTA GO MAHONES 39.46 Caravelle ... Mercury Randy Rochelle Jeff Newburg Erica Klevers Melissa Webb 11. SUREMARKER 38.46 Contender ... Yamaha Debora Blomster Carl Geist Travis Ormond 12. FOUNTAIN CABELAS 38.28 Fountain ... Mercury Mark Maus 13. FISH BOY 37.40 Fountain ... Mercury Geoffrey Everhart Paul McDuffee 14. .08 SEC 36.92 Contender ... Yamaha Joel Zalud John Zalud Jonathan Zalud 15. ZING POW 35.48 Contender ... Yamaha Matt Meister

CLASS OF 23 1. J - BIRD 34.12 Jay Burger TOP LADY: Rose Van Lent TOP JUNIOR ANGLER: Aston Boyer