SHELLMAN BLUFF, GEORGIA-Eric Branch, Jon Pearman, Brad Walker, and Taylor Branch delivered the knockout with the Right Hook's 30.52 pounder and captured the 24th Annual Sapelo Open. "We pre-fished the area and couldn't buy a fish so we decided to make the big run," explained Branch before accepting his team's first place prize of a Mercury powered Sea Chaser boat complete with a custom aluminum Loadmaster Trailer.

"We ran 110 miles to the south and set up in 85 feet of water. We caught about a half dozen of small fish then at eleven o'clock a blue runner on the surface got hit and we had 30 pounder in the boat shortly. We put her in the bag and headed for the scales hoping for a top three finish." They got their victory but thanks to Taylor Branch, the team's junior angler who caught the king, they got to watch him go up on stage and collect his own junior angler award. The team fishes a Yamaha powered Contender.

Marc Collins believed he could save gas, stay home, and still put a respectable king on the scale. He was right. "We went to Gray's Reef where we found several small kings," said Collins who has been a perennial qualifier over the years aboard his Chase N' Kings, a Yamaha powered Hydra Sports. "At 2:30 a king ate the pogy off the downrigger and my wife Karen grabbed the rod." The king went 30.35, good for second place, and Mark did save a lot of fuel costs. Karen won top lady honors for the event. Scott Hudspeth is also an important part of the team.

Michael Woolard's Blue Ribbon team captured third on the strength of a 25.21, the only fish they saw in the whole tournament. Fishing with Neal Anderson, who caught the fish, Richie Deloach, and Walt Rogers, Woolard told me that they fished a spot with good local knowledge and ended up 25 miles south of the scale. "We were fishing in 55 feet of water when our king hit a blue runner on a long flat line," Woolard added. It was a good start for the Division.

The Reel Wild with Johnny Wildes at the helm, captured first place honors for the Class of 23 with a nice 25.56. The team of Joey Wildes, Brock Music, and Taite Crews made a 75 mile run south where they caught several small kings really not worth weighing. It was early afternoon before they got the strike they were looking for. "We were in 75 feet of water when our fish hit a pogy on the surface," said the excited captain. They fish a Yamaha powered Contender and thank Coastal Outdoors for all their help. This is the same team who won the Class of 23 in Division Four last year, and could easily repeat their accomplishment.

Never ever count Wendell Harper out. His Free Spooling adorns leader boards in most events he fishes. This weekend it was fifth for his 23.18 he caught with JJ Jacob's. "We were not doing well so we ran to Gray's Reef," sad Harper. At two o'clock they hooked up their king that hit a pogy in the prop wash. They were fishing in 58 feet of water.

Clifton Deloach let Daphne Zeigler set the hook on a 21-pounder and she got it to the boat in no time to earn The Fox team second place honors this weekend. "We ran 21 miles southeast of the scales," said the Captain who failed to make the cut last year. "We're trying hard and this fish will help." They had bagged five small kings when the winning king hit a long lined pogy. They were fishing in 55 feet of water.

Third place honors fell to Stan Kane's Team Key Largo who bagged a 19.98 while Jimmy Stanfield's Daybreak nabbed fourth with a 19.3. Cal Lang's Kingseeker placed a 16.80 on the scale to earn fifth place honors. Mike Baymiller's The Who? took sixth place on the strength of a 22.89 while Todd Veal put his sons Rhett and Dillon and Tom Whittingslow son Pete on a 17.90 fishing his Seaducer to earn eighth place honors.

It's tough to find kings in Georgia this early in the season but the caliber of competition continues to grow giving the edge to the fishermen. If they're there, the better fishermen will rise to the top. Good job to all who participated and congratulations to all the tournament volunteers who put on a whale of a show. The captain's meeting was staged at Jim Armstrong's Cooper's Point development. Most that were there agreed that Jim and his partners did an excellent job of building the gated community. If you didn't take the tour you need to give it the once over. It looks like a nice place to live and investment opportunity.

MIDWAY, GEORGIA—Lee and Harvey Way came up from Bunnell, Florida and had to deal with taking their Team Young Guns Hydra Sports home along with their 22’ Rhino Bay Boss they won for taming the 8th Annual Halfmoon Kingfish Klash. They also moved into second place in the Division Four’s Open Class with just one fish. “We pre-fished and found some good fish south,” said an exuberant Lee Way who had just scored their first win since joining the SKA in 2001. “We ran south, had good baits, but decided to put out a ribbonfish on the downrigger ten feet down. We were in 30 feet of water when at 8:45 our big girl hit. Had her in the bag by 9:15 and we were on our way to the scale.” At the Halfmoon Marina the scales read 44.75, five pounds better than anything else scaled this day. This team is also in second place, open class, in Division Ten with just one event left.

Todd Veal is capable of winning any tournament he enters. Is he serious? Absolutely, but he gets more satisfaction in seeing his boys Dillon or Rhett or his wife Kelly reel in a good fish. He epitomizes what SKA competition is all about. This weekend he ran south where the fish were reported to be but only found cold water. At 11 am he told his fishing partner Tom Whittingslow to pick them up, he was going north. “We ran back to Gray’s Reef and at 2:30 our second place king ate a cigar minnow on our long line,” said the proud Captain explaining that it was Kelly who picked up the rod and battled the king. “We were in 60 feet of water and had her in the bag at 3:05.” The king tipped the scales at 39.50. Kelly also won top lady honors while Rhett and Dillon shared in the top junior angler honors.

A 31.75 caught on Randy Walker’s Bad Habit earned third. It was the only king Walker, Julian Weston who caught the fish, and Frank Denmark would see all day. “We’re from the north so we ran back to Hilton Head waters. We put out a good spread of baits in 33 feet of water and waited,” said the Captain after weighing his fish. “At 2:30 she hit a blue runner in the prop wash. Twenty minutes later we headed for the scales with a very good feeling.” They are now fourth in the Division standings.

Pete Owens and Darrell Thaw usually find a spot on the Georgia tournaments leaderboards. This weekend was no exception. Fishing the Jet Lag, a Yamaha powered Contender, Captain Owens explained, “we had good baits and a few spots to fish but it was slow. We ended up at the J-Buoy in 62 feet of water when at 3 o’clock our fish ate a cigar minnow on a long line.” With the 26.75 pound king in the bag they headed for the scales. Another weekend, another check, and a lock on eighth place in Division 4.

Fifth, sixth, and seventh place in the tournament also picked Class of 23 money. Jason Carter fishing his ProLine, Suicide Kings, smacked a 26.70 to take the Class of 23 honors and 5th in the overall event. Fishing with Cole Morris, Jane Spence, Dustin Cathey, and Matt Price the team moved 30 miles east to a pre-fished area. “We were in 55 feet of water but had to wait till 2:30 for the bite to come,” said Carter who also experienced his first ever win. The bite seemed to be turned on at about 2:30 regardless of where you were and Carter explained, “The king ate a pogy on the long line and we had it in by 2:50 and up and running.” This moved them into a top ten standing in Division Four.

Sixth place in the tournament and second in Class of 23 went to Stan Kane, Tim James, Jason Christner, and Brant Harrell fishing Team Key Largo. “We had a good fish last week so we went back to the same spot,” said Team Captain Stan Kane. “At 11 am we were 60 miles east of the scale in 100 feet of water. Our fish hit a pogy 45 feet down on the downrigger. Jason was on her right away and made short work of the fight.” They continued to fish but couldn’t better their weight.

The final spot in Class of 23 and seventh in event was Clifton DeLoach’s The Fox who also now finds his team on top of the Division’s Class of 23 with 46.58 points. One more good fish and they can start to look for accommodations in Biloxi.

Derek Meadows won eighth place money for his Reel Runner but missed Class of 23 money by a little over a half a pound. He is now in third place in the standings.

Frank Strickland and Marty Rowland put the Team Yellowfin into ninth place while Ellis Phillips Double Gobble, another Class of 23 competitor, rounded out the top ten with a 24.90.

BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA- Every once and a while king fishermen get a break from the weather. More often than not, despite whatever the meteorologists promise, come tournament day, the skies turn gray, the winds pick up and the seas grow angry. For this one-day tournament however, the skies over coastal Georgia were clear and blue. The seas were calm with one to twos and the air only moved when you cleared lines and throttled up. If you had the legs to run you could go as far as your fuel could carry you. With that said, it seems that at the Two Way tournament there was just about only one way to go-destination Gray's Reef.

The 75.5 pound monster caught by Joe Bell a couple of weeks previous to the tournament made it the place to be. O Reel E, you think. Well that is the name of Glen Edward's 21 foot Contender that found the winning fish. He and his crew, Ty Swindell and Scotty Rodgers were in 60 feet of water when their 36.77 king slammed a pogy on the longest of their flat lines. "After the word got out about the 75 pounder caught on Gray's Reef, we and 150 other boats were there." said Edwards. This was their third tournament so it turned out to be kind of a personal trifecta for the team seeing as it was their biggest fish, the first win and their first year in the S.K.A. Congratulations to this 23 and under team. Keep draggin' lines and we will be looking for you at the scales in the future.

The second place fish caught by Michael Woolard and his team Richie Deloach, Neal Anderson, and Walt Rogers on the Blue Ribbon, surprisingly enough, came from the waters over Gray's Reef. It was not until 2:00 in the afternoon that their 36.50 king was teased to the surface by a blue runner dancing franticly under a kite. It was their only fish of the day but it was definitely good enough to finish high on the leaderboard and up their divisional aggregate.

Pete Owen's Contender, Jet Lag, was definitely not lagging behind. He and his crew Darrell Thaw and junior angler Taylor Thaw had their third place 34.67 king hooked up at 8:30 in the morning. The mid 30s fish hit a pogy on a long flat line at Gray's Reef and was the biggest of the four kings they caught that day. Taylor won junior angler and after three tournaments, with only one fish weighed he is in eighth place. With two more tournaments to fish he still has a shot at winning top junior angler for division 4.

Captain Buddy Harrison of the 23 foot Makeka J and his crew Kasey Harrison and Matt Colson compete in the S.K.A.'s overall class however under local tournament rules they also qualified for the 23 and under class. This allowed their 34.59 lb. king to take first place in the Class of 23. The long line and pogy combination paid off for them as well and yielded their biggest king in a tournament to date.

The second place team in the 23 and under was Three And Out. Captain Scott Goodwin tried his luck at Grays early, then picked up and ran his 23 Contender to the J buoy. By two o'clock in the afternoon and With a 30 mile run to the scale, Goodwin had a nice king in the bag. His king hammered a pogy in the prop wash.

Captain Johnny Wildes of the Reel Wild and his team Taite Crews and Joey Wildes captured third place in the 23's With a 27.78 king.

Get Reel, the 31 foot Yamaha powered Yellowfin, got creative and ran to the St. Simon's shipping channel. Captain Lee McCurdy and his team Dennis Dowdy and Stephanie McCurdy found their fourth place fish in 45 feet of water. Working the entire water column with a variety of flat lines and the downriggers dropped and dragging the 33.50 lb. kingfish hit the deepest downrigger just off the bottom. A pogy, once again was the bait of choice. Stephanie won top lady angler with her fish and with only two fish weighed she in third place for the division. The next two tournaments will tell the tale.

Greg Slayton's team on the 35 foot Donzi, Tenacious, finished sixth place with a 29.08 pounder, while the Dealers Choice team captained by Sid Steverson took eighth with a 28.44 lb. king. Ninth place went to the Knot Sure, a 25 foot Contender, captained by Sanford Carter Jr. and the field was rounded out with the Chill Factor captained by Mark Gerrald. The 22 foot Angler finished tenth with a 27.50 lb. kingfish. They are now in seventh place with a 40 lb. aggregate in the 23 and Under standings. Reel Wild leads the board with 53.34 lbs, and The Fox holds in second place with 46.58. Team Key Largo is in third place with 46.53 lbs.

With only 23 lbs. and change separating the 15th position from the first place position and with no boats having weighed three fish yet, this division is completely wide open from top to bottom. Time will tell whether and where the fish will rise and which team will prevail.

With kingfish weighed and recorded in three tournaments, it is a fairly tight leaderboard for the overall in Division 4. As of the Two Way Tournament, there are only two boats in the top 20, Sea Ducer with 71.19lbs and Makeka J with 62.53 lbs. that have weighed three fish. The Blue Ribbon team is in third place with 61.71 lbs. and Jet-Lag, once again, is not lagging behind, with a 61.42 two fish aggregate. Team Young Guns, a boat out of Florida, is in sixth with 54.15.Right now Hooked Up is in twentieth place with 30.80 and their boat like many others is only one good fish from the top of the board.

Whatever the discrepancy between what the weatherman predicts and Mother Nature delivers, we will see who is rigged and ready. With two tournaments left to fish and kings yet to swing at the scales, the bid for the top 20 places for the Nationals is still wide open. You've gotta go to know.

Weeks of perfect planning came to a screeching halt for the St. Mary's Kingfish Classic tournament director Terry Adkins when NOAA posted a late week report calling for strong Northeast winds and high seas for the first weekend of August off of the Georgia coast. We were really hoping to get our numbers up near the 200 boat mark for the 2004 event. It is a very feasible goal, but the weather just didn't allow for it to happen, explained Adkins. Tournament rules would not change and anglers happily accepted a one day lull to see if the small craft advisory would be removed for the following day. The Captain's Meeting and meal went on as planned and registration was also reopened on Saturday afternoon as fishing teams gathered under the tournament tent to discuss the weather situation. The call was made to fish on Sunday. While some boats boasted that waves reached the nine foot mark, NOAA reported four to six footers and posted that it was a fishable day.

The local Rotary Club manned the St. Mary's waterfront park on Sunday hanging sponsor banners and placing the first place 225 Mercury outboard near the stage and then proceeded to listen to the talk on the radio. There were reports of a few fish being caught but most boats called in that the day was slow until SKA field manager John Zalud got a phone call from the Team Young Guns captain Lee Way. Their 25 foot Hydra Sports made its way to the dock and sat tied up for nearly an hour waiting for the scale to open at 3pm. Lee, Sebastian Butarelli and Harvey Way would eventually claim the first place spot on the leader board and a Mercury outboard and cash prize worth over $24,000 for their 38.67.

We almost didn't fish today, said the first place captain. My phone rang at 4:30 am and another fishing team was telling me that it was a fish day. Team Young Guns took their time getting ready and eventually made it to a well known spot about five miles north of St. Augustine called the Captain's House. At 10:30 their long lined ribbon fish fell victim to the winning 38 pound king. We made the right decision. It was common knowledge that several great fish have come from that area this year. Bait was stacked up, and we saw a few fish sky, Lee told the crowd at the awards. This is Team Young Guns second top finish this season and proves once again that they are a solid fishing team.

Eric Roberts, Bill Baldwin and Paul Killebrew on the 27 Contender called Commocean watched the weather and made the decision to fish the Canaveral inlet. That weather system seemed to stall, and we felt that our best chance at a good points fish was to go as far south as possible. It was a long run back to St. Mary's but was well worth the time as our points fish landed us second place, said Eric. Like the first place fish, the 19.68 that took second struck the surfaced long line at 10:30. The guys packed up and put the fish on the scale after a five hour run North.

Third place went to a non SKA boat called the Knot Workin. Their 17.08 pound fish was caught 60 miles North of St. Marys at 10:30, and it should also be noted that Knot Workin is a Class of 23 boat fishing in conditions that some big boats complained about.

The Right Hook, a 31 Contender captained by Eric Branch, took fourth place. Eric, along with Chris Arnold, stumbled across their 13.56 pound fish after loading up with pogies. After we finally found bait, we were feeding out a line right outside the inlet when that fish hit the bait 15 feet from the boat, said Eric. Their first bait in the water was good enough for the fourth and final spot on the leader board.

With a prize structure guaranteeing that every dollar collected from each entry fee would be paid out to the top 15 boats and top 5 Class of 23, Blue Water Promotions had an easy decision to make when the scale closed with only four fish being weighed. There was no question as to what to do. It was a fishable day and only four boats were able to catch a fish. Many boats decided to sit on the hill and left the tournament wide open for the boats fishing. We took every penny that was advertised and divided it out accordingly between the four boats, said tournament director Terry Adkins.

Blue Water Promotions and the Rotary Club of Camden County did an excellent job of organizing and running the St. Mary's Kingfish Classic. Hopefully the seas will be flat and the fish will bite during the 2005 event.

FISH MEISTER'S 45.18 TOPS GOLDEN ISLES
KINGFISH CLASSIC LEADERBOARD!

August 19-21, 2004
by Jack Holmes

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA-Dean Spatholt came down to fish the Yamaha Pro Tour from Calabash, North Carolina and ended up winning the final event in the Southern Kingfish Association's Division Four. He took second in the Pro's also. Dean, David Haynes, and Greg Spatholt, fishing the Yamaha powered Contender, Fish Meister, put the hook out at Gray's Reef and like most of the competitors crossed his fingers. While the leaderboard from the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic certainly looks good, it didn't reflect the fact the only 60 teams on Friday and about 40 on Sunday weighed fish. That's out of 240 boats. Fishing after a hurricane passed just offshore of St. Simons Island a week earlier and a high pressure ridge that settled in made fishing as tough as it gets. "The conditions looked great and bait was easy to find," said Dean, "but it was tough." Gray's Reef has been the hot spot all season for good kings.

On the first day of the event, Dean scaled a 45 pounder to lead the field by over five pounds. "We were sitting right next to Dean when he hooked up," said Stacy Wester. "Dean got a good one and we found zip, but that's fishing." The team won a 21' Contender boat, Yamaha powered, and a custom aluminum Loadmaster Trailer.

Ernie Diloreti and Mark Drolshagen, fishing the Donna's Worry probably had their best event ever. They scaled a 39.49 to earn second place in the tournament plus picked up the thirty grand for the Pro win. Diloreti hails from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and fishes Division Three and the Yamaha Pro Tour. "We caught a 25 pounder on Friday and went back looking for the big fish on Saturday. Fishing was tough but we managed to pull out a good one," Diloreti explained.

Joe Lewis from Jacksonville caught a 37.53 on the Wet Dream to earn third and best of the Class of 23 boats.

Mark Maus had some hurricane damage and had to skip the Pro event but sent the boat and his team and they rewarded him with a fourth place, 36.60 pound king. Jacksonville's Trip Fletcher is the Fountain/ Mercury/ Cabela's team's co-captain and fishes with Jason and Cristina Hodge plus his wife Kim. "We bagged that king on Friday but couldn't come close on Saturday. We had second place but just couldn't hold it but I'll take fourth any day," said Fletcher who kept the Fountain/ Mercury team in the hunt in the pros.

Rick Stankiewiez, Stacy Williams, and Jack and Paula Wells put their pro team Donzi, Latitudes, into fifth place with a 35.74. They were one of the top boats weighing kings on Saturday. Stankiewiez, from Middleburg, Florida fishes the Pro Tour along with another 15 events each year.

Only three teams finished in the top ten that weren't fishing the Pro event. Last year it was just the opposite. Things just seem to have a way of balancing out. Todd Veal, who's had a great season fishing with his family, Kelly, Rhett and Dillon, and Tom Whittingslow and Mitch Matthews on the Sea Ducer in Division Four, earned eighth place in the tournament with a 33.77 and earned a second place finish in the Division. Rhett and Dillon won Top Junior Angler honors in the event. This may have been one of the best tournaments they've fished. "We had three sailfish on at the same time," said Dillon. Rhett jumped in to say, "It was awesome, they were going all over the place." The Veal youngsters are well on their way to becoming two of the best junior anglers in the country.

Kenny Crawford found tenth on the strength of a 33.60. His Crawfish team of Chris and Bill Bazemore and Doreen Lands found the king on day one.

Jason Carter's Suicide King earned third in the Class of 23 with a 27.64 and Ellis Phillip's Double Gobble earned fourth with a 24 pounder. Scott Paul's Reel Satisfaction picked up fifth with a 23.70.

As usual, the Golden Isles event came off without a hitch. It's what we expect and what we get. Congratulations to the committee who work hard to ensure the success of the event.

Final Standings

1. FISH MEISTER 45.18

Contender ... Yamaha

Dean Spatholt

David Haynes

Greg Spatholt

2. DONNA'S WORRY 39.49

Contender ... Mercury

Ernie Diloreti

Mark Drolshagen

3. WET DREAM 37.53

4. FOUNTAIN MERCURY 36.60

Fountain ... Mercury

Trip Fletcher

Kim Fletcher

Jason Hodge

Christina Hodge

5. LATITUDES 35.74

Donzi ... Mercury

Rick Stankiewiez

Stacy Williams

Jack Wells

Paula Wells

6. SEAFOOD KITCHEN 34.54

7. WILD TURKEY 34.27

Wellcraft ... Evinrude

Rick Smith

Tony Thaw

Carl Alexander

Jimmy Mancil

8. SEA DUCER 33.77

Contender ... Yamaha

Todd Veal

Kelly Veal

Rhett Dillon

Dillon Veal

Tom Whittingslow

Mitch Matthews

9. THE CHASE 33.72

Donzi .... Mercury

Chris Chase

Charlie Lyons

Jan Chase

10. CRAWFISH 33.60

Contender ... Yamaha

Kenny Crawford

Chris Bazemore

Bill Bazemore

Doreen Lands

11. Green Machine 31.40

12. Valhalla 30.80

13. HIGH DEFINITION 29.03

Palmetto ... Yamaha

Brian Bailey

Brian Bailey Jr.

Richard Bruette

14. VAMOOSE 28.97

Donzi ... Mercury

Randy Crabtree

Roy Boone

Chad Branch

Rick Henley

15. IRRIGATOR 28.94

Contender ... Yamaha

Mark Hoxie

Jim Sheffield

Johnny Bittle

Rodney Rogers

16. Sea Saw 28.79

17. TEAM DONZI 28.44

Donzi ... Mercury

Ken Upton

Dan Upton

Jack Wood

Doug Cappelmann

18. GATORBAIT 27.85

Yellowfin ... Mercury

Matt Pitman

Anthony Guettler

Todd Hendrickson

19. THE WHO? 27.83

Fountain ... Mercury

Mike Baymiller

Lee Southland

Kim Baymiller

20. DEALERS CHOICE 27.76

Contender ... Yamaha

Sid Steverson

Don Woods

CLASS OF 23:

1. WET DREAM 37.53

2. Valhalla 30.80

3. SUICIDE KINGS 27.64

Pro Line ... Yamaha

Jason Carter

Dustin Cathey

Matt Price

Cole Morris

Jane Spence

4. DOUBLE GOBBLE 24.14

Hydra Sports ... Yamaha

Ellis Phillips

Mark Lewis

Elliot Phillips

Larry Phillips

5. REEL SATISFACTION 23.70

Sport Craft ... Yamaha

Scott Paul

Nathan Rebuck

Joshua Sale