T1: West Delta    T2: Outcast  T3: Cypress Cove   T4: Alabama Deep Sea Rodeo   T5: Kajun Sportsman
(* Denotes a Class of 23 Team)

June 3-5, 2004
by Jack Holmes

VENICE, LOUISIANA- If you could sum up Lynn Nolen's season last year it would come down to one word, crap. Not his fault, he's a truly respectable fisherman, but everyone goes through a bad year sometime in their career, one that nothing seems to go right, and one that you just don't want to talk about. But at the season opener for Division Seven in Venice, Lynn showed the best fishermen in the country just how respectable he is by scaling the biggest fish of the weekend, a 57.19. He took home the event's top prize, a 21' Yamaha powered Contender boat with a custom aluminum Loadmaster trailer, and Elizabeth Roberts, fishing with the team, accepted Top Lady honors.

Nolan, fishing with David Roberts, Shawn Smith, and Steve Hall, still had some motor problems on the first day but they were quickly solved. On day two he ran to the east to a spot Starr Boykin had told him about. You guessed it, Starr pulled a 25 pounder out while Nolen slammed the big girl. They were the first boat back to the dock followed by the Big Bad Wolf who also had a big king. What's important to remember here is that this Divisional event was staged with a Yamaha Pro Tour event. It was a great victory for this team and an impressive start for the season.

David VanLent and his In The Rough team won the 2000 Angler of the Year honors. His wife Rose was the east coast's lady Angler of the year last year. David fishes the Pro Tour but he has fished Division 7 for the past few years and always received a qualifying berth. He loves the upper Gulf waters but it's a struggle when you live on Florida's west coast. The In The Rough team bagged two fish and scored the largest two fish aggregate, 93.99 which was good enough for second place in the tournament. He also won the Pro event with the same two fish.

Mark Maus, who heads up the factory Fountain team, scaled the second largest king of the event, a 53.62, which earned his team third place honors. Maus fishes with Jason Hodge, Trip Fletcher, and Trip's son Hunter who won Top Junior honors in the tournament. This king, caught on the second day, was a big fish for the team.

Stacy Wester, "Ditto" Wester, and Clay Walker came to the dock right behind Nolen, knew they had a big king, but had to watch Nolen's fish go on the scale first. But for the Big Bad Wolf team, one of the most consistent teams fishing king tournaments today, it didn't faze them. Their 53.40 meant a whole lot more besides fourth place in the tournament. It got them right back in the hunt for Angler of the Year honors the Pro ranks afford. "We were 90 miles west fishing in a hundred feet of water," Stacy explained. "It was the same area we fished on day one. We caught he off the downrigger with a ribbonfish."

Our current National Champion, Rick Smith from the Wild Turkey, had the event's fifth biggest king, a 53.13 and was the first day's leader in both tournaments. Most great teams', and the Turkey boat is one of those teams, secret to success is keeping the same team members and working together. Unfortunately for Smith his team members were stuck in south Georgia doing duty for the G8 Summit for world leaders. Thank goodness for long time friend Wendell Harper who filled in. It made the difference and kept the Wild Turkey in the race. Smith also won Angler of the Year honors in '96.

Randy Randall's King Mack Attack scaled a beautiful 52.90 on day one but the team of Brad Pitman, Dean and Joshua Weiser, and David Fulton thought they could get a bigger one the next day. They found kings in the 40's fishing block 165 in the south Tembaliers then disaster struck. Over a hundred miles from the scales a motor let go. By the time they got back to the dock on Saturday, the awards were over and everyone was off to dinner or on their way home. Real bummer, however as I was told, "Sixth place and a 52 points is a great start to the season, we're really excited."

The battle of the Class of 23 heats up once again in the toughest arena we have. Bob Wyres and Aaron and Melissa Wells led this weekend's battle by scaling a 46 pounder on their newly named boat, Purse Snatcher. "We went to the east side and fished in 175 feet of water about 70 miles from the scale," said Wells, happy with the team's performance. "We used Better Baits ribbonfish to entice our king."

Another tough competitor, Quietus, earned second place Class of 23 with a 42.30.   David Rogers Jr., JJ Gilmore, and Jason Andrews weren't about let the Snatcher team get a big jump this season. They hung in there real close.

Jim Milam's Primetime team held down seventh place honors with a 49.93.

Jeff McCoy scaled a 49.21 to capture eighth. The Reel McCoy team got their king on the first day at one o'clock fishing 90 miles west with a hard tail on the surface.

Lindsey Adams caught a 48.94 fishing south west of the river in 100 feet of water with a hard tail fishing Quint Higdon's Buck Wild. It was good for ninth place.

Creighton Parker's Rag Tag rounded out the top ten with a 48.81. Brian Morris caught the king, his biggest to date, fishing in the South Tembaliers, using hardtails. "We were a little north from the rigs a lot of captains were fishing," said Parker. "We pretty much had them to ourselves." Parker is a past National Pro Tour Champion.

George Simone, Speckulator, was without a boat to start the season in Division Seven and most who fish this division know that this is one event you don't want to miss. From Texas came the Class of 23 Division 8 winning boat Johnnie B to add some more notoriety to their fishing prowess. The Johnnie B set aside their desires to help a fellow competitor, giving their boat to George to earn points. Not only is the Johnnie B team great competitors, but good sportsmen as well. A tip of the SKA hat to them.

It was a great start for Division Seven.

1.   PURE ATTITUDE      57.19       Yellowfin ... Mercury       Lynn Nolen       David A. Roberts       Elizabeth Roberts       Shawn Smith       Steve Hall 2.   IN THE ROUGH  (2 fish agg)     93.99       Contender ... Yamaha       David VanLent       Rosemary VanLent       Robert Gabler       Jeff Hall       Keith Hall 3.   FOUNTAIN MERCURY   53.62       Fountain ... Mercury       Mark Maus       Trip Fletcher       Jason Hodge       Hunter Fletcher 4.   BIG BAD WOLF 53.40       Contender ... Yamaha       Stacy Wester       Al "Ditto" Wester       Clay Walker 5.   WILD TURKEY  53.13       Wellcraft ... Evinrude       Rick Smith       Wendell Harper 6.   KING MACK ATTACK   52.90       Contender ... Yamaha       Randy Randall       Brad Pittman       Sean Weiser       Joshua Weiser       David Fulton 7.   PRIMETIME    49.93       Donzi ... Mercury       Jim Milam       Jamie Milam       Michael Milam       Jason Milam       Corey Barnhill	8.   REEL McCOY   49.21       Contender ... Yamaha       Jeff McCoy       Mark Collier       Joshua McCoy       Jonathon McCoy       Josh Collier 9.   BUCK WILD    48.94       Cape Horn ... Yamaha       Quint Higdon       Lindsey Adams       Jake Adams       John Bitto       Larry Thompson 10. RAG TAG 48.81       Contender ... Yamaha       Creighton Parker       Nate Dennis       Brian Morris       Robert Davis 11. USE OF PROCEEDS     48.14       Contender ... Yamaha       Scott Elliott       Dave Monda       Eric Branch       Ted Davis 12. CRAWGATOR     47.94       Contender ... Yamaha       Bill Butler       Freddie Travis       Steve Jenkins       Mike Butler 13. REEL ADDICTION      47.48       Contender ... Yamaha       Gary Smith       John Smith       Mike Allen       Robert Hayward       Doug Nelson 14. MY THREE SONS 47.40       Fountain ... Mercury       Terry Grantham       David Baker       Joel Coker 15.  PENNY WISE   46.95       Contender ... Yamaha       Jack Penny       Ken Dellane       Mike Penny       Stevie Dellane
CLASS OF 23
1.   PURSE SNATCHER     46.00       Mako ..... Mercury       Bob Wyres       Aaron Wells       Melissa Wells 2.   QUIETUS      42.30       Cape Horn ... Yamaha       David Rogers Jr.       JJ Gilmore       Jason Andrews 3.   PROFISHUNT   40.16       SeaCraft ... Mercury       Mark Mott       Mike Delaney       Jason Houk	4.   DIRTY WHITE BOYS   38.18       Contender ... Mercury       Ray (Tojo) White       Nic White       George White       Tony Sicola 5.   ROCKETMAN    38.04       Contender ... Yamaha       Harry Crump       Judson Crump       Benton Crump TOP LADY ANGLER:  Elizabeth Rogers ... PURE ATTITUDE TOP JUNIOR ANGLER:  Hunter Fletcher ... FOUNTAIN MERCURY

 

DREAM WEAVER CATCHES THE TOP SPOT
IN OUTCAST KINGFISH CLASSIC!

June 11-13, 2004
by John Zalud

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA-Steve Houghland stayed close to Pensacola on day one. It wasn't the seas, they were just two to three feet, but you don't want to run unless you have to and he was fishing a 21' Cape Horn. "We came up empty on day one so we figured we had to run on day two if we were going to give an accounting of ourselves," said the excited captain before accepting the keys to a new Yamaha powered Contender boat with a Loadmaster Trailer. "I ran 60 miles to a good hard bottom, a spot I've fished before." Sitting in 170 feet of water, the king which eventually weighed 56.40, hit a Mingo on a long flat line. The fight lasted 50 minutes. Once in the bag the Dream Weaver team was off to the scale. "This is the biggest king I've ever caught," the proud Captain added.

Gary Smith's Reel Addiction had a good weekend earning second place honors. The Yamaha powered Contender team of Mike Allen, John Smith, Robert Hayward, Doug Nelson, and Rachel Mills pre-fished the area and found kings 90 miles from Pensacola. "Pre-fishing paid off," said Gary Smith, the team Captain. "We caught three smaller fish that we released on the first day, then at 1:30 our big girl hit a ribbon fish trolled 70 feet down in 150 feet of water." They couldn't better a 46.40 on day two but it was still good enough for Rachel to also collect Top Lady honors.

Geoff Gibson's Rusty Hook team also had a good weekend, earning third with a 44.10. Any weekend you can collect a check is a good weekend. Pre-fishing also helped this team. "Bait was really hard to find but we had plenty of Better Baits ribbon fish," said Gibson. "She hit the ribbon early in the morning in 145 feet of water, 60 miles from the scale, 80 feet down. We tried the rest of the weekend to better our score but only found littler fish." Fishing the Yamaha powered Contender team was Tim Bronson who bagged the king, Keith Wells, Blake Hubbard, and Jonathan Tindell.

Trey Davis made short work of a 43.90 for Todd King's KingScape team. It earned them fourth place honors. "It was tough for everyone to find bait but we found some," said King. "We ran 80 miles south west of Pensacola to a spot sitting in 140 feet of water. At 9am the big king ate a surface running hard tail and Trey worked her to the boat." They looked the rest of the weekend for a bigger king but none were found.

Rounding out the top five was Joe Shuttlesworth's Hard Tale with a 43.70. Matt Fowler, Jason Ross, John Carver, and Darren Groider all agreed with the captain, "We've been in a slump for a while." But the team got some good info from a fishing buddy and ran 110 miles southwest to 180 feet of water. "Our downrigger that was set at 75 feet down with a ribbon fish was hit at two o'clock and at 2:30 we were on our way back to the scale," added the Captain.

David Rogers Jr., JJ Gilmore, and Jason Andrews are having a good year so far. This weekend the Quietus team scaled a 39.30 and put their Cape Horn into the Class of 23 winners circle. They too made a 90-mile run to the southwest where at 11am their hard tail was hit on a long flat line. "Bait was tough, fishing was tough," said Gilmore who caught the big fish. "We kept on fishing, looking for a bigger one but only found smaller kings."

Bubba Carter's Lined Out team of Ken Smith and Brit Hary watched Mitch Mosley successfully bring a 38 pounder to gaff on day one which would eventually earn them second place in Class of 23. "We were 60 miles southwest in 160 feet of water," said Carter. "She hit a hard tail on the surface at nine. We kept trying for a bigger fish but no cigar. Fishing was tough."

The Johnny B comes from Texas to expand their fishing horizons and it's starting to pay off. Johnny Benkenstein, John Benkenstein, and Nick Garthwaite run a Yamaha powered Contender and at this event cashed a third place Class of 23 check for a 36.50. They won the Class in Division 8 last year.

Tommy Holmes did a great job as expected with the event. The tournament continues to grow and other than the rodeo is our second largest event on the upper Gulf coast. Congratulations Tommy!

Editors note:  The dilemma as to whether the scale went bad on Sunday at the tournament or not is a moot point. Once a fish is weighed and the team representative who brings a fish to scale signs the weigh ticket the weight is recorded and the fish goes off to the fish truck where they are thrown in with all the others, it's over. The time to disagree with the weight is at the scale. If the scale truly faltered then it would be a first in the 14-year history of the SKA and certainly not the fault of the tournament promoter. Not saying the scale can't go bad but it was certified two weeks prior to the event and was used on all the fish weighed on day two. It's regrettable but we suspect this matter is over and further discussion ended.

1.   DREAM WEAVER 56.40       Cape Horn ... Yamaha       Steve Houghland 2.   REEL ADDICTION     46.40       Contender ... Yamaha       Gary Smith       Mike Allen       John Smith       Robert Hayward       Doug Nelson       Rachel Mills 3.   RUSTY HOOK   44.10       Contender ... Yamaha       Geoffrey Gibson       Tim Bronson       Keith Wells       Blake Hubbard       Jonathan Tindell 4.   KINGSCAPE    43.90       Contender ... Yamaha       Todd King       Trey Davis       Chris Schulte       John Kamm 5.   HARD TALE    43.70       Contender ... Yamaha       Joe Shuttlesworth Jr.       Jason Ross       Matt Fowler       Darrin Crozier       John Carver	6.   TOO SMOOTH         43.60       Contender ... Mercury       Mike Waller       Greg Hedges       Brody McElhany       Todd James 7.   Fifty - Fifty      41.00 8.   PURE ATTITUDE      38.90       Yellowfin ... Mercury       Lynn Nolen       David Roberts       Shawn Smith       Steve Hall       Elizabeth Roberts 9.   CAPTAIN "W"  38.80       Fountain ... Mercury       Wayne Davis       Craig Castelle       Tony Brown       Paul Hebert 10. DONE DEAL     38.60       Yellowfin ... Suzuki       Stephen Kehoe       Mike Gilmore       Blake Reynold
CLASS OF 23
1.   QUIETUS      39.30       Cape Horn ... Yamaha       David Rogers Jr.       JJ Gilmore       Jason Andrews 2.   LINEDOUT     38.00       Contender ... Yamaha       Mitch Mosley       Woodrow Carter       Ken Smith	3.   JOHNNY B     36.50       Contender ... Yamaha       Johnny Benkenstein       Nick Garthwaite       John Benkenstein TOP LADY ANGLER:  Rachel Mills        Reel Addiction TOP JUNIOR ANGLER:  Trey Odom Haley K

 

QUIETUS, A CLASS OF 23 BOAT, SLAMS
THE COMPETITION AT CYPRESS COVE!

June 24-26, 2004
by Jack Holmes

VENICE, LOUISIANA- It was rough! Texas was getting deluged with rain and the bands of showers were working east. A big low pressure area located between Texas and Louisiana was to blame yet the all SKA field gathered at the 8th Annual Cypress Cove King Mackerel Tournament still fought to get where they wanted to go. Regardless we still ended up with the skimpiest leaderboard in the history of the event. Still we had some real bright spots.

Quietus, a 23' Yamaha powered Cape Horn, ran 60 miles one way each day to the east to fish a popular rig called the Gus. On day one, a silver eel proved to be the right choice as it produced a 41.26 for David Rogers Jr., J.J. Gilmore, and Jason Andrews. "The Gus sits in about 120 feet of water," explained Rogers after collecting the $12,500 first place money plus the $3,000 for Class of 23 for a 98.09 aggregate. "We ran back to the same spot on day two because we thought that was the place to be. Besides it was calm as compared to west of the Mississippi River." The trio no sooner got to the rig on day two and set out a spread of hard tails than the biggest fish of the event was spooling line off one of the new Shimano Torium reels they were using. Shortly after the big girl was over the gunwale and in the fish bag the team decided to come to the scale and wait for the noon scale opening. The Gulf South Marine Transportation sponsored boat had a 56.83, the biggest fish of the tournament. No one would even come close.

"We were thinking of changing the name of our boat, we thought it was bad luck, we just haven't been very lucky," said David Jones, team leader of the Contender, Conxxxtion. "Now we'll certainly have to re-think that." Jones, Tony Keller, Mark Jones, and Glen Jones, put forth a great effort and were rewarded with a $7,000 second place check. "The first day Mark caught a 34.44 and the second day David made short work of a 49.88," the Captain explained after seeing their 84.32 aggregate score posted on the leaderboard. The team ran west both days and used hard tails in 100 feet of water. "It was really rough especially on the first day when we got caught coming in with that bad storm," the Grady Marine and Better Baits sponsored team Captain added. A 50 pounder won't hurt them in the points race either.

Four boats came from Texas to see if they could hang with the Division 7 teams. Two did real well. Bobby Schoenfeld and Albert Vrazel teamed on the Mercury powered Team Dakota boat and after leading the event the first day with a 42.73 settled for third with a 79.59 aggregate. "The Galveston tournament was easier last weekend," said Schoenfeld. "But the weather wasn't a factor like it was here. It was real tough fishing." Running 90 miles to the east boat days and fishing in 112 feet of water the team used a ribbon fish on day one and a hard tail on day two. "We were putting baits in the water at 8:30 on day two when our 37 pounder hooked up," Schoenfeld added. "It's not that much different fishing here than Texas, just a lot more oil platforms."

The other big finish for a Texas team came from fifth place. Jose Reyes' Papotanic was fishing the same grounds as Quietus and had a 41.41 on day one and a 37.92 on day two for a 79.33 aggregate. "We caught both of our kings on ribbon fish," said Reyes. "I caught the first one and Aaron Reagan bagged the second one. We caught a lot of fish just not the bigger one we needed."  Also on the team were Bill Platt and Marc Bledsoe.

Fourth place honors went to Marcus Kennedy's Kwazar with a 79.51 aggregate. Kennedy's team of Max Williams, Pete Shores, and Billy Young speaks volumes of talent and upper Gulf knowledge but Marcus's go to man seems to be his son Tyler who's not only learning his old man's tricks but is developing a great skill level of his own. I believe he has earned the trust of the rest of the team and doing more than his share of the work on the boat and remember he's still a junior angler, one that will be hard to beat in the Division's Junior point race.

Second and third place in the Class of 23 went to two boats whose time has come, the Haley K second and the Hunker Down third.

Haley K's team of Billy Poiroux, Doug Odom, Trey Odom, Chris Pettus, and Rob Whinsette have worked very hard and deserve the accolades. It's not the second place money, $1,000 which probably just covered expenses, but knowing that they are capable of getting the job done. On day one they bagged a 36.33 but could only find a 25.61 on day two. They never gave up and that's the mark of champions. They had a 61.94 aggregate. Look for their name on the leaderboard again this season.

The Hunker Down sank at the dock in the Venice tournament. Bad luck, yes, but they've experienced it before and rebounded.  James Sherwood, Kevin Sherwood, and Mark Butternut caught a 27.99 and a 26.17 for 54.16 points after getting the boat back on the water and fighting adverse fishing conditions. Teams like this are winners, they just don't know it yet.

Anthony Hammondtree's To The Floor captured sixth on the strength of a 43.72 caught on day two and paired with a 35.09 from day one equaled 78.81 points.

The Dee's family found the top ten once again on their Top Producer. They caught a 39.90 on day one and a 34.85 on day two for a two fish aggregate of 74.75.

PJ McLeod's Renegade was eighth with 73.29 points while Stephen Kehoe's Done Deal earned ninth on the strength of a 73.04 aggregate.

Mathew Caldwell's Black Magic rounded out the top ten with 72.98 points.

The tournament does not recognize a top junior or lady but the SKA awarded Tyler Kennedy, Donnie Jackson Jr., and Anthony Taoriminia with junior honors.

It should also be noted that several boats had good kings but just couldn't pair them up. Don Jackson had a 42.55 on day one as did the Flyin Bye, a 41.53, the Mega Jen, a 39.19, and Cat Daddy and Wave Digger, both with 38 pounders.

After three events in the Division, Quietus leads the Class of 23 with a whopping 138.43 points followed by the Haley K with 101.28. It takes a 58.81 two fish aggregate to make the top qualifying 15.

Pure Attitude leads the field in the open class with a 136.2 point three fish aggregate followed closely by the Reel Addiction with 130.74. It takes two fish 78.93 to make the top 20. This is a great race this season with two really big events still scheduled.

Once again without the required number of boats to make the full payout, Sonny paid the full amount listed on his brochure. They fed everyone on Thursday and made life easy at the Cypress Cove Marina. A lot of the teams will be back there for the Alabama Deep Sea Rodeo.

1.   QUIETUS      41.26        56.83       98.09       Cape Horn ... Yamaha       David Rogers Jr.       J.J. Gilmore       Jason Andrews 2.   CONXXXTION    34.44       49.88       84.32       Contender ... Yamaha       David Jones       Tony Keller       Mark Jones       Glen Jones 3.   TEAM DAKOTA  42.73        36.86       79.59      Dakota ..... Mercury       Bobby Schoenfeld       Albert Urazel 4.   KWAZAR        36.54       42.97       79.51       Contender ... Yamaha       Marcus Kennedy       Max Williams       Tyler Kennedy       Pete Shores       Billy Young 5.   PAPOTANIC     41.41       37.92       79.33       Contender ... Yamaha       Jose Reyes       Bill Platt       Aaron Reagan       Marc Bledsoe	6.   TO THE FLOOR 35.09        43.72       78.81       Contender ... Yamaha       Anthony Hammontree       Mike Ward       David Turner       Tim Berger 7.   TOP PRODUCER 39.90        34.85       74.75       Contender ... Yamaha       Mike Dees       Jeff Dees       Sheree Dees       Jenny Dees 8.   RENEGADE     37.85        35.44       73.29       Contender ... Yamaha       PJ McLeod       Matt McLeod       Brian Ballard       Justin Hinote 9.   DONE DEAL    39.49        33.55       73.04       Yellowfin ... Suzuki       Stephen Kehoe       Blake Reynolds       Mike Gilmore 10. BLACK MAGIC    35.31       37.67       72.98       Fountain ... Mercury       Mathew Caldwell       Damien Smith       Mark Smith       Zack Lewis
CLASS OF 23
1.   QUIETUS      41.26        56.83       98.09 2.   HALEY K      36.33        25.61       61.94       Sailfish ... Yamaha       Billy Poiroux       Doug Odom       Trey Odom       Chris Pettus       Rob Whinsette	3.   HUNKER DOWN 27.99        26.17       54.16       Sea Pro ... Yamaha       James Sherwood       Kevin Sherwood       Mark Butternut

 

McMULLEN'S AIRBORNE LEADS FIELD IN WORLD'S LARGEST SALTWATER TOURNAMENT, THE 72ND ANNUAL ALABAMA DEEP SEA RODEO!

July 15-18, 2004
by Jack Holmes

DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA. I can't wait for the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo to come around each year. I have a special affinity for the Mobile Jaycees who host the event and literally work their butts off over two weekends to ensure the anglers have a great time and reward their special projects and charities. It's the oldest tournament I know of and the fish, 29 different species, that anglers target are spectacular. It's an honor to be a part of the tradition and the largest saltwater fishing contest in the country.

This year I was disappointed, not from the event itself or its participants but from Mother Nature who did her best to make it miserable for the fisher people. A low pressure ridge hung over the area and from time to time produced nasty storms which in turn made even the hardiest fishermen think twice before venturing out on the salt.

The Rodeo itself is a three-day contest beginning with lines in at five am Friday and ending at five pm on Sunday. Scales open each day at ten with closings on Friday and Saturday at seven pm. You can come and go as you please, even stay out all night and fish. In the King Mackerel Division each participant has to buy a $35 Rodeo ticket, then the boat must have a Rodeo jackpot ticket if they want to fish for the big prizes.

After a week of calm seas and hot weather anglers woke to the sounds of thunder boomers and howling winds Friday. Most had to endure the pains of sitting at the dock till it cleared but the wind never really calmed. Harry Crump and his two sons, Judson and Benton endured five- to eight-foot seas, running 50 miles to the southwest in their 23 foot Yamaha powered Contender, Rocketman. "We were in 130 feet of water trolling a hardtail eighty feet below the surface when at ten o'clock she hit," explained the elder Crump who until this point was having a very mediocre season. "Benton made short order of the big girl, put her on ice, then kept right on fishing for a while longer only to land a 35-pounder. When asked about water conditions Crump told me, "All the way out to our spot we saw nothing but chocolate water. It was awful. We found cleaner water in our area so we were really lucky." At the scale she went 53.88, a Class of 23 foot boat was in the lead and Outdoor Editor David Ranier had his picture and story for the morning edition of the Mobile Press Register's lead sports story.

It really remained slow not only for the king jackpot fishermen but the entire field of 3,259 anglers for the remainder of the day. (That equates to about 1086 boats). Mother Nature was winning. Crump had told me that David VanLent was fishing the same area and he thought they had a good fish. A little after six I saw his big Contender on the props coming to weigh. "How big was Rocketman's fish," was the first thing he asked after taking dock lines from the Jaycee dock hands. I told him and waited for him to pull the insulated fish bag from under the deck. After pictures he and his team of Jeff and Keith Hall and Jerry Stephenson headed for the scale. A 55.15 removed Crump from the lead.

VanLent is from Florida's west coast but loves fishing the SKA's Division Seven along with the pros and various other events. With this king he took over the lead in the Division with 137.28 points with just one event left. He and his team are truly remarkable, winning the coveted Angler of the Year honor in 2000, and this year racked up victories in Sarasota, Florida and Venice, Louisiana. His team is still at the top of their game and I'll say it again, are probably the best kingfish team fishing today.

After fishing all day on Saturday but not able to better his score, Van Lent came to the scale only to discover that Stephen McMullen's Airborne team had extracted the lead from him by only four-tenths of a pound. "We were probably in the same area as VanLent, it was the only good water, if you want to call it that, around," said McMullen who fishes with Sean McMullen, Jimmy Madden, Christopher Scarano, and Mike Hart, all accomplished anglers. "Seas were four to six but calmed some. We had just threw out a hardtail and the fish hit. It was at one o'clock and we were in 100 feet of water." The 55.55 was the biggest king the team ever caught in a tournament and would remain on top for the duration of the tournament. VanLent would settle for second and the Crumps third but they would also pick up the Class of 23 win.

When you consider that in 2003 the competitors weighed two 62 pounders, seven kings in the fifties, and it took a 42 pounder to make the top twenty this year's showing was not spectacular.

Fourth place honors fell to the Reel Addiction who never gave up. They had a 37.66 to their credit but battled back to find a 43.21 late in the event. Gary Smith, Mike Allen, John Smith, Robert Hayward, and Doug Nelson moved to second place in the Division just ahead of Lynn Nolen's Pure Attitude. "That was the toughest we've ever fished but it paid off," said the Mississippi Captain. "We were only 30 miles out on Sunday when at nine thirty she hit a ribbonfish 85 feet down." As usual they have Okuma reels, P Line, and Mustad to thank for their help.

Fifth place went to a non member but we have to tell you about Glenn Plaisance's new boat. He finished sixth with a 39.93 but you should have heard all the ohh's and ahh's over his 38 foot, triple Mercury engine, Fountain. It has a custom graphic wrap designed by Allen Woolford, the great wildlife artist who does all the SKA T-Shirts. It has to be the finest looking boat on the circuit. He's got to fish the pros next year just to show it off but his Obsessed Koonass team are good enough to compete at that level. You'll get to see it at the Nationals because he should qualify.

Brian Bailey is fishing the pros and doing just fine. His ninth place finish will make his sponsors, Boater's World and Palmetto Boats, very proud. His team caught a 38.32 and earned every pound they got. He too is high in the Division standings.

Pat Shoemaker's Sales Call rounded out the top ten with a 37.87.

Fishing was tough for everyone in this year's event. In '03 an 80-pound amberjack led the class but only a 61 would win it this year. A 31 pound Red Snapper was tops in '03 but the biggest anyone could find this year was just 22 pounds. While a lot of fishermen were asking "What's going on" one had to just look at their environment. There are no substitutes for good weather.

My hat's off to Gary Gainey, this year's President, who rallied his troops and made the 72nd  edition of the Rodeo another great one. I told Gary and a lot of the Jaycees that the SKA has been blessed the past ten years, working with such a competent group of dedicated people. We not only look forward to next year but hope to have a hand in developing their seventy fifth anniversary edition of America's biggest saltwater event!  

1.   AIRBORNE     55.55       Cape Horn ..... Yamaha       Stephen McMullen       Sean McMullen       Jimmy Madden       Christopher Scarano       Mike Hart 2.   IN THE ROUGH 55.15       Contender ... Yamaha       David Van Lent       Jeff Hall       Keith Hall       Rose VanLent       Jerry Stephenson 3.   ROCKETMAN    53.88       Contender ... Yamaha       Harry Crump       Judson Crump       Benton Crump 4.   REEL ADDICTION     43.21       Contender ... Yamaha       Gary Smith       Mike Allen       John Smith       Robert Hayward       Doug Nelson 5.   Bow Down     40.45 6.   OBSESSED KOONASS   39.93       Fountain ... Mercury       Glenn Plaisance       Chris Staszak       John Cox       Steve taylor       Dale Bergeron 7.   All-Way-Sumptin    39.40 8.   Just In Time 38.42 9.   HIGH DEFINITION    38.32       Palmetto ... Yamaha       Brian Bailey Sr.       Brian Bailey Jr.       Jack Thompson       Hutch Thompson       Robbie Bush       Robert Williams 10. SALES CALL    37.87       Contender ... Yamaha      Pat Shoemaker       Keith Mercer       Dan Cambre       Chris Dorsey       Lee Norris	11. KEN'S CAR TUNES     36.84       Contender ... Yamaha       Ken Stafford       David Howell       Dirk Hearn 12. Independence  36.31 13. Reel Time     36.18 14. INTENSE 35.97       Contender ... Mercury       Neal Foster       Mike Wallace       Robby Montgomery 15. SPECKULATOR   35.88       Contender ... Yamaha       George Simon       Jan Simon 16. BLACK MAGIC   35.52       Fountain ... Mercury       Mathew Caldwell       Damien Bond       Mark Smith       Zack Lewis 17. TOP PRODUCER  35.06       Contender ... Yamaha       Mike Dees       Jeff Dees       Sheree Dees       Jenny Dees 18.  PLIFT  34.96       Cobia ... Yamaha       Thomas Rowland       Clint Rowland 19. DIRTY WHITE BOYS    34.83       Contender ... Mercury       Ray (To-Jo) White       Nic White       Jade White       George White       Tony Sicola       Mark McPherson 20. M-PACT  34.82       Contender ... Yamaha       Mark Cumpton       Scotty Bowden       Taylor Cumpton       Alex Cumpton
CLASS OF 23
11.   ROCKETMAN    53.88

 

CRAWGATOR'S 50.97 IS BEST AT KAJUN SPORTSMAN!

August 6-8, 2004
by Jack Holmes

FOURCHON, LOUISIANA-The leaderboard makes the tournament look better than it was. That is catching fish. The Toups family does and did an excellent job of putting on the event. In fact, even without a full field for a pay out, Toups not only fed everyone a prime rib dinner, but paid what he advertised. You can't ask for anything better.

Saturday was a pretty good day, especially if you liked catching sharks. Most told me that you caught five sharks to every king. Harry Crump and his team, fishing the Yamaha powered Contender, Rocketman, ran to the ship shoals. "I had heard that the water was clean and there were fish," said Crump. "So off we went, 67.4 miles. It wasn't too rough, but it could have been better. At ten o'clock Benton hooked up to a nice king who engulfed a hard tail." They scaled a nice 46.33 to take the first day's lead.

Marcus Kennedy who just fishes on Saturday so he and his family can attend church on Sunday scaled a 45.13 pound king and a 53.