T1: Kingbuster T2: NSFA T3: Boater's World T4: Bell South's Greater Jax T5: Ancient City
(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

FATHER, SON TEAM “HOOKED FOR REEL” DOMINATES THE KINGBUSTER 400!

June 10-12, 2004
by Jack Holmes

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA- David Howard fishes with his boys Adam and Corey in SKA North Florida events. That’s more important to him than winning an event. This weekend however he put the two together, winning the prestigious Kingbuster 400, watching his 15-yearold son Adam catch the once in a lifetime fish, and sharing with his boys an occasion they will remember for a lifetime.

The Hooked for Reel team who fish a Mercury powered Fountain ran south to Canaveral where they sat up about 12 miles offshore. “We didn’t find any fish there so Dad ran back in close to the beach,” explained 11-year-old Cory Howard. “We were using goggle eyes for bait and at 11:30 the big fish hit. We had just lost one. It bit right through the leader.” The Hooked for Reel was the first team back to the dock at the St. Augustine City Marina shortly after three. They took their time taking pictures with David telling everyone he thought it was a mid forties fish. The large spectator crowd roared to life as I announced the weight from weigh master Jim Blaylock, 51.20.

So what do you do, fish day two? Not the Howard's. They elected to stay home, Dad cutting the lawn and the boys going bass fishing. They didn’t even get to the tournament site till the weigh in was well over. At eight that evening the awards ceremony got under way but it really was an all Howard show. The boys got a lot of junior honors and Dad accepted the keys to a 23’ Mercury powered Fountain center console boat with a Loadmaster Trailer and a complete Furuno electronics package.

Cory sat down for the interview with me, explaining all the details just like a pro. I asked him what they were going to do with their prize boat and he said “Dad said we were going to sell both boats and get something big and new.” Most anglers who fish the trail have never had the opportunity to catch a 50+ pound king. Imagine the thrill a 15 year old experienced landing he fish. I have never seen a happier or prouder father. It was a great weekend! Jim and John Harrison and Karen Dickerson won the Kingbuster’s second place with a 38.70 and ended up with a spare Rolex watch. The Reelality team also ran south past Canaveral. “We didn’t find fish so we came back to Canaveral at noon,” said Jim who weighed a 24 pound king on Friday. “She hit a ribbon fish with a C & H Kingbuster ten feet below the surface at 2:15. We were in 50 feet of water and as soon as she came in the boat we pointed the Fountain north and put the hammer down on the Mercury’s.” The team won four Rolex watches and $ 2,000 for second place.

Joe Heath collected $ 2,000 plus a 200 hp Mercury outboard valued at over $12,000 for finishing third aboard his Mojo Working. He only had one fish on his side of the ledger last season but certainly made a statement in the Division’s opening event scaling a 37.30 caught on day one. The Jacksonville fisherman just needs one more good fish and he can count the days till Biloxi.

BJ and Devin Morris certainly had one of the smallest boats in the tournament, a 17 foot Cape Horn, but it didn’t make a difference this weekend with near flat seas. The Snafu team headed north to the Nassau Bottom on both days. Day one got them a 60+ pound sailfish fishing in 68 to 73 feet of water. “We were using both pogies and ribbonfish,” said BJ after arriving back at the weigh in dock before noon on Saturday. “This is a long fish and goes from one end of the bag to the other. We were south of Nassau at the Pablo Grounds when she hit at 9:30. Had in in the bag before 10:30 and on the way to the scales.” The scale read 37.20 good for fourth place honors.

Rounding out the top five is Paul Dozier’s Inside Chance. Dozier, David Graham, David Beam, and AJ Simonetta started fishing the Yellowfin at the Red Tops. “We had broke a motor the week earlier in Venice so I thought we’d just take it easy here. I really wanted to go to Fort Pierce,” said Dozier after he got his check and prizes. “We ran offshore at noon to 80 feet where we bagged a 65 pound wahoo. Then the king hit but she screamed off more line than the hoo; we thought it was another wahoo. It ate a pogy on the downrigger 50 feet down.” They fished Elton Grounds on Saturday but couldn’t improve on their 37 pounder. Fifth place out of 368 boats is nothing to sneeze at.

Mike Smith and Tom McKelvey’s Reel Gator picked up seventh place honors with a 34.40 while Jake Fulmer’s Jr’s Dream scaled a 30.10 to pick up eighth. Fishing with Fulmer was Ray Pasukiwski, Dave Lenhart, Shawn Tracy, and Fulmer’s son Noah.

Mike Reed and Gregg Howarter found the Triple Play in tenth place after scaling a 31.70

Tournament officials informed the crowd after the awards that they were working on implementing a Class of 23 division for the event next year. As expected the event went off without a hitch and paid 50 places with both cash and prizes.

Final Standings

FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA-Paul Massey won the SKA's most prestigious honor last year, Angler of the Year, with one team, and captured top honors in Division 5 with his family. He skipped the Kingbuster but came right back at the 22nd annual Nassau Sport Fishing Association's Kingfish Tournament and won the event with a 37.30. The big question is, can he repeat? "We fish the pros and I enjoy that level of competition and the guys I fish with," said Massey. "But fishing with my family means a lot and maybe we can get lucky and do well in this division again."

Massey, his daughter Emily, and son-in-law Grady Clark, set out for a 55 mile run to Gray's Reef. At 10:30 in 62 feet of water their first place 37 pounder hit a pogy on the downrigger 45 feet below the surface. Massey fought the fish, Emily ran the boat and won Top Lady Angler honors, and as Paul put it "Grady did a great job on his first ever gaffing of a king!" The team is on a roll again. Outrageous is a Mercury powered Yellowfin, you can't miss it, it's usually the one with the big fish.

In this tournament, second place is a two-fish aggregate and Russ Russell's Credit Line won it. Russell, Jimmy Sholar, and Rocky McKindles fished the D-Buoy both days. On day one they scaled a 32.62 which would have won the team fifth place. On day two at 12:30 they caught a 33.86. "At 12:45 she hit a large pogy on the shotgun line," explained Russell. "She weighed more than our first day's fish on our hand scale so we thought we had a shot." Their 66.48 agg was good for second and got them some needed points for the Division. Credit Line is a Yamaha powered Jupiter.

Team Optima Batteries, a Mercury powered Island Runner, captured third in the tournament with a 36.98 and moved into third place in the Division five standings. "We were at D-Buoy with a pack of boats and caught a few small kings," said the Captain Tommy Anderson. "We saw a nice chum slick the Wild Turkey put out and ran thru it and picked up our big king. It hit a pogy on a long flat line." Eric Faulk fought the fish with David Vining assisting. Optima Batteries has to be happy with their performance this season.

Richard Tipping's Papa Joe team caught a 36.28 to earn fourth. "We too made the 60 mile run to Gray's Reef and at ten o'clock we were rewarded," said the popular Captain. "She hit a long flat lined pogy. We fished for a bigger one but only picked up small ones." Tim Pugh caught the king with Waylon Townsen assisting. Tipping is fishing a new 33' Evinrude powered Palmetto this year.

Our National Champion team from last year was hard at it again. Rick Smith's Wild Turkey fished a hard bottom seven miles east of Gray's Reef after scoring a goose egg on day one. "We only had a small fish for our efforts but at 2:30 in fifty nine feet of water a pogy on a flat line got hit," said the Wellcraft sponsored Captain. "Twenty minutes later she was in the bag and we were on our way to the scales." With Smith was Carl Alexander, Jimmy Mancil, and Wayne Bennett.

Leroy Kinlaw moved to the top of the Class of 23 Division race with a Class win and a ninth place finish in the tournament. "We went with the pack to Gray's," said Kinlaw who gets help for his Wanda's Diamonds team from Penzoil." It was a late bite, two o'clock, when our king ate a ribbon fish in the prop wash. Carl Colee did a great job bringing the fish to the boat and it was an important fish for us, a 30.58."

Kinlaw placed in the Nationals last year and has but one goal, to get back to Biloxi, and this year his wife Wanda, who had to stay home and work last year, vows to be there.

Mike Price scaled his first tournament fish this season, a 27.66, and was rewarded with a second place finish in the Class of 23. Price fishes with Eric Prince who caught their fish on a Yamaha powered Bluewater. "With all the talk about Gray's Reef we made the run," said Price after picking up his check. "We stayed away from the pack and at 11:45 our pogy set 40 feet down on the rigger went off. Had her in the boat by noon." The team fished for a while then made their way to the scale.

Cory and Adam Howard made Top Junior Angler honors again fishing the Hooked For Reel. They scaled a 25 pounder.

Ray Dixon's High Cotton team scaled a 33.24 to put the Yamaha powered Contender team into sixth while Terry Johnson got on the board with a 32.26, good for seventh. He fishes the Final Strike, a Mercury powered Yellowfin.

Kenny Crawford's Crawfish took eighth place with a 31.82 and Jim Wilson's Gray Beard rounded out the top ten with a nice 29.04.

Once again the Nassau Sport Fishing Club put on a great event and from all the talk on the docks the anglers had a good weekend.

FOUL HOOKER BAGS A 46 POUNDER TO WIN THE
JACKSONVILLE BOATER’S WORLD TOURNAMENT!

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA—Richard Iwanicki and David Tennyson won the 2nd Annual Boater’s World Tournament of Champions co-sponsored by Salt Water Sportsman Magazine with a great 46.41 pounder. Richard and David recently purchased the Yellowfin boat he won the tournament in from Paul Massey who also helped the Foul Hooker find bait and the big king. “That boat really catches fish,” said Massey as he slid up to the dock in his new Yellowfin to weigh his 12th place 34.64. You may recall Massey and his team won Division 5 last year as well as Top Angler of the Year. “I’m very happy for David and Richard and I’m glad to see the boat still has magic,” added the Champion.

The Foul Hooker team caught their king on the second day of the tournament and was the first to weigh. “We had just put out our first spread of the morning and there she was,” said David. “We were fishing near Gray’s Reef in 58 feet of water using naked pogies on top and the downrigger. We hooked up, fought the fish, gaffed her and stuffed it right in the bag and never looked at it again till we took her out for a picture and to put on the scale.” The team won more than $16,000 dollars.

David is a local Subway franchise proprietor, where the SKA staff eats literally every day. He was gracious enough to help secure the Junior Angler awards for Division five from his stores and others in the area. This big fish should help him get to the Nationals for the second year in a row.

In this tournament there is no check out. It is done because at this time of the year it’s hit or miss as to whether there are king mackerel off Jacksonville. Usually they’re north or south of the area, so to keep it easier for the teams the policy was adopted. It certainly worked this weekend with the winner coming from Georgia waters and the second place king from way south.

“It was a long run but worth it,” said Greg Samuels, Captain of the Yamaha powered Contender, Kingpin. “We sat on the boat and waited for David to weigh first hoping ours was just a little bigger but we were just a pound shy.” Fishing with Carl Carder and Bill Chilson the team caught their 45 pounder at 8:30 using their 10/10 rule, ten feet down, ten feet back. “We were in a spot that has produced good kings over the years and it paid off again for us,” said Carder. When asked about the fight carder responded, “She did everything right and in 15 minutes we had her in the bag and was on the way to Jacksonville.”

Kingpin is already qualified in Division 11, fifth, and is going to also qualify in Division 10. When asked what they were going to do now that they had a good fish in Five, Samuel responded, “ Guess we’ll have to fish the last two events and see if we can’t do it here too.” In case you’re wondering, the team is very good.

Randy Nader’s Exterminader made the top slot on the leaderboard on day one with a 43.17. Nader was unavailable to fish because of a funeral however Lloyd Cook, Ray Nader, Jerry Multon, Samantha Nader, and Mercedes Cooke made Randy look good, not to mention, put some coin in the coffers. “We went to Canaveral,” said Multon. “It was getting late, not too much time left before we had to pack it up if we were going to make it back. At two o’clock she hit a small naked pogy.” The team had been throwing everything in the water they thought a king might like but with no luck. Finally they put out a complete spread of just naked pogies and it worked. “We were in 60 feet of water and I stuck the fish green, nearly jerked the gaff right out of my hands but we had to go,” added Multon.

“I’m really proud of my team,” added Nader. “I can always count on them.” Mercedes won Top junior angler honors.

Johnny Wildes won Division Four’s Class of 23 last year and is leading the Division this year on his Contender, Reel Wild. This is his first tournament in Division Five and he made his presence felt, finishing fourth. Fishing with Brock Music, Joey Wildes, and Angie Wildes, the team fished Gray’s Reef and bagged a 39 pounder on day one at 11:30 with a single pogy on top. “We were having motor problems so we knew we had better get the boat to the scale,” said the Captain. “Running on one engine they made the 5pm deadline with time to spare. “She runs about 30 with one engine, this is a truly remarkable boat,” Wildes added speaking of his 23 foot Contender. Angie Wildes was the tournament’s Top Lady Angler and Wildes got the plaque for the best finish in a 23 footer even though he took the event’s fourth place money.

Frank Strickland, Marty Rowland, and Bear Croft finally got on the board this season with a 37.99, the fifth place king in the tournament. Their Rebecca Ann can be found on leaderboards in both Division Four and Five but this season hasn't been kind to the proverbial winners. “We’ve had every problem imaginable this season, we even had a 20 pound fish in a Georgia event and elected not to weigh it and it would have been high in the money,” said a happy Strickland. “Hopefully we’re back on track. Everyone on our team has been so busy. It’s like we’re always playing catch up and that’s not good.”

Tom Willingslow fishes the trail with Todd Veal in Division Four but also owns a 23 foot Pathfinder. “My wife Tina and I decided to fish this event and looks like we did OK,” said the Captain of the Sweet T earning the top slot in the Class of 23 with a 35.63. They caught their king at 1:30 on day two fishing Matanzas in 40 feet of water. “This is our first win as a team and my biggest fish,” explained Tina. “We think we’re going to qualify with Todd in Division 4 and go to the Nationals,”said Tom. “We’ve got the lead with just one tournament left but maybe I’ll try and qualify my boat here in Five. Either way I’m still fishing with Todd.”

Mike McRae’s Dr. Hook also bagged a good king on day two, a 33.62, that should put him and teammates Mal Henson and Kevin Parker into the Nationals. “It was a good fish,” said the captain of the Mercury powered Cape Horn. “We’re only fishing a 19 foot boat and were keeping up with all the others,” McRae added. Division Five is considered the toughest Division in SKA competition to qualify in. Dr. Hook did not qualify last year but has doubled their points already from last year. They obviously are doing it right!

Third place in Class of 23 fell to the Snatch Um, a Yamaha powered Contender. Tyler, Billy, and Ron Patterson, plus Mark Titus bagged a 30.72 on day two to get a check. This will also keep them in the qualifying bracket in Five and should ensure a trip to the big show in November.

Mike Hubbard came from South Carolina to support the tournament because of his sponsorship with Boater’s World Marine Centers and came away with sixth place honors with a 38.04. The Palmetto team of Mike, Michael, Carolyn, and Billy Hubbard also fish the Pro Tour.

Our National Champion, Rick Smith fishing his Wild Turkey, walked away with seventh place honors with a 37.42 caught on day two while David Butler on the Season Ticket scaled a 36.57 for ninth place honors.

Rounding out the top ten was Roger Walker’s Streaker. The popular Florida Sportsman radio personality weighed a 36.24.

The tournament this year was held at Jacksonville Marine in Mayport. The staff worked hard to help us put on a good event and certainly made us feel right at home. If they treat their customers as well, and I’m sure they do, then this is a great place to keep your boat. Coastal Outdoors has a Contender dealership on site there and provided the food for the event which was some of the best bar-b-q you ever ate. Thanks to everyone who fished this year’s event.

DOZIER' S TEAM WINS WORLD'S LARGEST KMT IN JACKSONVILLE! FLETCHER TOPS THE AGGREGATE! WILDES TOP SKA BOAT IN NEW CLASS OF 23!

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. Who said "cream rises to the top?" Whom ever it was had to have been talking about the Bellsouth Greater Jacksonville King Mackerel Tournament, the nations largest. SKA members came, fished, and walked away with all the marbles.

It started on Thursday, the opening day, when Russell Stewart exited his Mercury powered Donzi, Seafood Kitchen, with a slab at just eleven minutes after the scales opened. When the score was posted, 45.45, on the electronic scoreboard he knew he had a shot at the number one slot. The media attention was enormous and it couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Like most of the other winners, Gray's Reef in Georgia waters continued to be the hot spot. After Joe Bell bagged a 75 pounder five weeks ago while fun fishing, everyone has flocked to this popular destination and weren't wrong. We figured it was a lost cause with all the boats who were in the area, said Stuart. At one thirty we picked up and moved to a spot about five miles south. We were in 65 feet of water when at two o'clock our big girl hit a ribbonfish on the downrigger 35 feet down. We had scaled the king after getting her in the boat and knew we had a good one so we ran for the scales. Rocky Cusak and Buddy Dingman were paramount in our success.

Rusty Kennedy fished Gray's Reef aboard the Yamaha powered Contender, High Hook. The popular Georgia angler was in sixty feet of water at nine am. She hit a pogy off the downrigger twenty two feet below the surface, explained Kennedy. Mike McGraw fought he to the gaff. We scaled our fish, saw she was decent and after not doing any better went to the scale. On board was Carry Stewart and Tony Blanda who watched the scoreboard flash 44.30.

National Champion Rick Smith, Tony Thaw, Carl Alexander, and Jimmy Mancil, considered the A team fishing the Wellcraft, Wild Turkey, caught one fish this event but she was a good one, 42.35. We've got a spot between Gray's and D Buoy that's in fifty feet of water, said Smith who moved into the Division Five lead with 116 points after four events. She hit at 1:35 off a long lined pogy.

There was only one hitch, it was just day one and any of the 918 boats entered in the event could catch one larger.

Paul Dozier was the spoiler. He and David Beam, Pete Owens, and AJ Simonetta fishing the Yamaha powered Yellowfin, Inside Chance, already had a 41.7 pounder on the scale, the fourth place fish from day one. You guessed it, Gray's Reef. We went right back to the same spot we caught our first days fish, said Dozier. There were a lot of boats but we stuck it out. At 1:45 I was letting a pogy out when she rocketed our bait. We saw she was better than the previous days 41. David went to work and when she was in the bag we picked up and headed home. 46 pounds was the call. Not only did they have the biggest king of the tournament but the biggest aggregate as well. Tournament rules precluded two prizes to he same team so they settled for the win and a new 23 Yamaha powered Contender complete with a Loadmaster Trailer. What a great addition to one's resume!

The Seafood Kitchen was second and won a 23 Mercury powered Baja boat with a Loadmaster trailer. Kennedy's High Hook was third and won n 18 foot Key West boat. Not bad for one big king. The Wild Turkey finished fourth.

While SKA teams captured the top four spots in the big fish division, we bagged the top seven spots in the aggregate.

Trip Fletcher's No Limit earned the top slot with a 40 pounder on day one and a 35.90 on day two. We went to one of our favorite spots 45 east of the jetties in one hundred feet of water at a very good hard bottom, said the winner of a new Toyota truck. At 2 o'clock our forty hit a long lined blue runner on the first day. Of course we went right back there on Friday. The 36 pounder ate a runner at 11:45 and we thought we had a good shot at some money.

Matt Pittman has won the aggregate division in this event before. We were one of the few boats that ran south, said Pittman. We were off Daytona at a live bottom area I've fished before. Jeff Brychta, Danny Casino, Steve Aprile, and me had four kings in the 20's that we released before noon. The best we could do was a 26 pounder for the scale however on day two we ran right back to the same spot and got what we were looking for, a 42.60. The Blue Thunder would earn second aggregate.

Eric Smith had already qualified for the Nationals in a Class of 23 Yellowfin in Division 11. I ordered my new Yellowfin and knew I had to qualify her if I wanted to fish her in the Nationals, The Comfortably Numb 2 Captain explained. I chose Division five and I've got a shot. Smith has a two fish agg of 62.9 points and one event left. We were south 120 miles, he said. In 66 feet of water a blue runner got hit . It was a 40. Day two we could only scale a 25.80 but we're all happy. They were third place aggregate.

Randy Crabtree and his Vamoose team of Roy Boone nd Chad Branch are happy campers now that they have their new Mercury Verado powered Donzi under them. It's an awesome ride and the best motors ever, Randy said so everyone around could hear. The boat obviously worked for them. We ran to the Savannah ships channel and had ten nice fish when at one o'clock in 35 feet of water our double pogy rig in the prop wash got ate by a 40 pounder. Next day we had a good hit on a blue fish on our long line. Fourth place aggregate was theirs.

David Howard was leading the Division before Jacksonville, now he's third behind the Wild Turkey and Inside Chance. He fishes with his two sons Adam and Cory and caught two kings totaling 61.10 pounds fishing Gray's reef both days. Adam caught the fish while Cory ran the boat.

Sixth place went to Matt Bridgewaters Gemlux with 60.90 points while Joseph McRae's Dr. Hook scored 59.65 points good for seventh. Gemlux fishes the pros while Dr. Hook is a Class of 23 boat currently in second place in Division 5 with 88.62 points. He's having a great year.

In the Class of 23, new this year to the Jacksonville tournament and a Division the SKA lobbied long and hard for, SKA anglers captured first and second.

It was all Mac Cleghorn could do to get his new Yamaha powered Donzi ready for the big event. Mac normally fishes Division Four but everyone has to fish the grandaddy of all the events. We had a real hard time catching bait, said the Captain who renamed his boat C-Legs. We ended up 19 miles off Fernandina in 70 feet of water. Our second bait out (pogys) got hit and the rest is history. No one caught us, and we didn't find abigger one the rest of the tournament. The king tipped the scales at 34.50 and Cleghorn has a little piece of history winning the Class of 23 the first year it's implemented.

Johnny Wildes Reel Wild team earned second. This up and coming star is in the Division Four Class of 23 lead, and with just two fish is in 11th in Division 5, only a 22 pounder separates his team from the win in the Division. The team of Joey Wildes, Taite Crews, and Brett Miller ran south sixty miles and fished in forty feet of water. It was about ten minutes till noon when she hit a ribbonfish twenty feet down, said Johnny who fishes a Yamaha powered Contender.The king weighed 34.40 only a tenth of a pound out of first.

Joseph Noda banged a 29.70 fishing the Jawbreaker to earn eighth in the class while David Porters team aboard the It's Real Reel earned ninth.

Kenny Crawford caught a 40.50 to win the VIP tournament held on Tuesday. Fished his Crawfish, a 31 Contender.

Ross Crabtree won the Publix Junior Anglers Tournament held on Wednesday. He and the Vamoose team weighed a 39.20.

It should also be noted that the Sea Snake was a Class of 23 foot boat that finished tenth in the Big Fish category along with 12th place Snatch Um. The Dr. Hook was a Class of 23 boat that earned 7th aggregate along with High & Dry, 9th. The Wet Dream II, 17th, and Red Zone,18th, were also Class of 23 boats.

The Greater Jacksonville tournament remains the king of all the king mackerel tournaments and this year was no disappointment. Most people don't know about the problems occurring with the Wellcraft & Evinrude sponsorship withdrawal but I do. I won't go into details but next time you see me I'll be happy to give you my take on the subject. It's not nice! The months of arm twisting, virtually at the last minute to secure major sponsors more than proves the dedication of the volunteer staff and their desire to keep Jacksonville the tournament it has become, not to mention the money that they raised for local charities. The SKA and the board have not always seen eye to eye but it is the commitment of SKA management to help this great event any way it can. After all, it's our crown jewel of all kingfish events, a place where our anglers can receive extra notoriety as well as a good payday. Congratulations to the GJKMT staff, volunteers, and the SKA anglers who once again proved that cream really does rise to the top!