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NET PROFIT NETS FIRST WIN! Lands 37-Pounder in Frantic Atlantic by Ian Warner

After six years of competing in kingfish tournaments, Captain Bryan Baxter and his crew on the Net Profit decided to step it up and make the commitment this year to fish SKA's Mercury Tournament Trail, and it paid off in spades at the Frantic Atlantic. The team landed one of only three 30-plus kings of the weekend to lead both the Open Class and the Class of 23' and win the $9,000 grand prize. With no checkout Captain Baxter, Russ Balderson and Matt DeAntonio left Charleston and decided to put out at Georgetown. Arriving at the ramp the team found conditions less than optimal. "It was just terrible weather, we were welcomed in the morning by lightning and pouring rain," reported Baxter. Nonetheless, the Net Profit crew headed their 23' Yamaha powered Sea Craft toward their chosen spot, 17 miles from the Georgetown Rocks, but the trouble was just beginning. "Basically everything that could go wrong did. We lost out GPS, all sorts of stuff," Baxter grimaced. Finally reaching their spot, the team had a rough morning, losing two good kings in the mid-30's. "We really battled adversity early on," continued Baxter, "it was a rough day ... until 11:30." That's when their 37-pounder nailed a pogy on a long line, and just like that, their luck had changed. It only took a short seven minutes for Matt to reel the smoker in, and Russ quickly gaffed her and got her in the boat. With a fat king the bag and the weather worsening Baxter headed the Net Profit inland and ran the ditch 80 miles back to the scales.After six years of tournament fishing this team sure picked a good time to make their mark on the trail, and upon arriving at the dock they learned that their king would top the scales a 37.36 pounds, their biggest fish ever in competition. "My crew did a great job. We've been fishing hard for a long time and it finally paid off," smiled Baxter. Paid off it did, earning them $9,00 and positioning them third in Division 3's Class of 23'. With a great 17-pound drop-fish, you know the other Class competitors will be keeping a close eye on this team.Captain John Walpole's Yard Boy landed a 35.68 to take second place honors. "Teamwork was the word of the day," related Walpole. "We had a new crew on the boat, but they did awesome," he continued, referring to his nephew Billy Walpole and his friend Jeremy Jackson. The team fished south of Charleston, almost three hours from the scales, and landed a good 26-pounder right off the bat. Then at 9 a.m. their winner hit a menhaden in the prop wash, and it was on. "The fight was full of action, the clicker button fell out of the reel onto the deck," he recalled. A full 45 minutes later Jeremy got the king close enough for Billy to gaff, and the team got their first good look at her. "She was a real long fish, but we knew she was descent." The continued fishing for a time, but couldn't beat that long king, and headed back. "We left Little River and cruised at 50 mph for 150 miles, only burning 107 gallons. I was just really impressed with the fuel economy," related John. "It's just the perfect boat," he continued, referring to his 27' Contender powered by twin 300 Yamaha HPDI's. Reaching the scales they learned their king would land them second place. Within a few days Walpole knew he was sitting in first place in the Division. "We owe it all to the good Lord," attributed Walpole, "I just hope we can hang on, I hope we can do it again."With Mother Nature's ire on the rise and the Obsessed team one man short, Captain Jeff Cunningham was wondering whether it was worth it to make the trip out Saturday morning. "But my son, Trask, was bound and determined that we were going," reported Cunningham, so they headed their 32' Yamaha powered Wellcraft to the Shark Hole area. When the weather started to get rougher they headed east, about 35 miles from the scales, attempting to avoid the worst of it. This Wilmington, NC team had a slow time of it, trolling in 50 feet of water with only one strike at 1:30, they were considering a move. "Trask talked me out of it, he wanted just five more minutes at the spot," recalled Jeff. That Junior Angler has some good instincts, and at 2:00 they watched a good king graze their prop wash line before nailing their medium line and taking off to the races. "I was trying to get the lines in and the fish dragged her line right in the prop," said Jeff. Fortunately, they got her clear, and 15-year-old Trask found he had a true fighter on his hands. Trask worked the king to the side of Obsessed multiple times, only to find she had a lot more life in her and ran again. "For the size of her she was a real aggressive fish," said Jeff, but finally after 40 minutes Trask got her close enough for Dad to put the gaff to her. Experiencing some trim tab issues they headed for the scales, knowing they needed a little extra time, and upon arrival learned they had managed a 28.90, good for third overall and Top Junior Angler honors for Trask.The Beaufort, SC team Juggernaut headed 25 miles southeast of Georgetown to try their luck in an area of live bottom they knew well. Throughout the day the team had a couple of small fish, the largest being a 17-pounder, but they weren't satisfied. Heading back to the scales with the intent of running the intercoastal back the team realized they had a few more minutes. They dropped their lines back in the water at the Georgetown tideline in 30 feet of water at 3 p.m. A quick five minutes later a naked menhaden on a flat line set the reel singing, and Jim Roberts grabbed the rod while Captain Bert Harvey maneuvered the boat into position. With their eyes on their watches, Jim worked the mack in and David Morris waited with the gaff. "She just didn't want to get to the boat," recalled Bert, "we saw her tail one time." Finally, after a 30-minute battle, she was at the side of Juggernaut with a hook in her forehead, but seemingly docile. Things are not always as they seem, as she had a little fight left in her. "She tried to pull David over the side of the boat," smiled Harvey, "and almost soaked us all." Throwing her in the bag they put the 31' Yamaha powered Contender to work, and made it to the scale with 15 minutes to spare. "We were real glad to get her at the last minute," said Harvey, "we needed a descent fish for points." Descent it was, a 27.02 to take fourth place in the tournament.The Pawley's Island, SC boat Nauti Buoys rounds out the top five with a 26.34. Captain Walter Warren, Jim and Jake Horton, Doug Brown and Scott Johnson decided to start their day off at the Georgetown tideline, and managed a good 23-pounder right off the bat, in spite of the weather. "It was pretty rough, a real bouncy run, even in the 31' Contender," reported Warren, "real fisherman's weather, but I've seen worse." The team then made a move to Murrels Inlet, about 30 miles from the scales, at 11:00. "We took a chance fishing that area. We hadn't pre-fished there, but it paid off," smiled Warren. It paid off at 12:30 when a menhaden on a top medium line was smashed, and Jim quickly reeled the king to the boat. Five minutes later the team knew they had a good one in the box, and at the scales would learn they had fifth place honors in the bag as well. This team now sits in third place divisionally heading to Fishing for Miracles.The Tailwalker team, fishing out of Georgetown, SC, landed a 25.78-pounder. Captain Stuart and Mark Ballard and Don Mussman fished their 31' Mercury powered Contender to sixth place in the tournament and sixth divisionally.The Black Cat pulled in another good fish, a 25.76 for seventh place. Captain Jamey, Carlette and Vernon Stewart and Hunter Harrelson fish a 35' Mercury powered Contender out of Georgetown, SC, and earned Top Lady Angler honors for Carlette and third place Junior Angler status for Hunter with that king. This boat is just full of fishing ability, sitting in second place overall for Division 3, with Top Senior Angler Vernon, second place Lady Angler Carlette and second place Junior Angler Hunter, this boat is going to go far this year. Captain Rich Keopcke's 28' Mercury powered Mako, the Black & Blue, pulled in a 25.34 for eighth place. Next up are Captain Eddie Barham, Britt Tooley and Mark Armstrong on the Keyed Up. They fished their 34' Mercury powered Fountain out of Wadmalaw Island, SC into ninth place. The Iron Man rounds out the top ten with a 23.02. Captain David and Garret Ballard, Michael Todd and Dowell Coker fish a 27' Yamaha powered Triton out of Georgetown, SC.The 2003 National Champions Knot@Work reeled in the third largest fish of the tournament, a 31.70, to take top Class of 23' honors home to Charleston, SC. Captain Robert Olson, who runs a local charter, had a spot off Charleston in mind. "We had an east wind for five days in a row, plus I'd been to the spot recently, so I knew it would be a good one," he reported. They, too, were thwarted by the weather. "You couldn't see 50 yards in front of the boat," he recalled, but the Yamaha powered 238 Sailfish performed well and got them there in short order. Their winning king hit a menhaden early at 9 o'clock 25 feet down. "She made a big run, but we chased her down at 15 mph," said Olson who angled while Bob Olynick maneuvered the boat and Jerry Tumbleston manned the gaff. They had her in the boat in five minutes, and the rest is in the books. The Bracewells had another great showing, landing a 22.62-pounder on their 23' Yamaha powered Contender for second place among Class boats. Captain Jack and Eren on Eren's Addiction Too have been fishing hard this year, and sit at the top of the charts in both the Class of 23' and Lady Angler categories. It's a tight race though, so you know this team will keep fishing hard to defend these two positions as Division 3 winds down. Gone Again rounds out the top three among Class boats with a 22.58-pounder. Captain Daniel Mason and Andy Smeltzer fish a 21' Mercury powered Bayliner out of Supply, NC. With only two tournaments left in Division 3, things are really starting to get interesting. Stay tuned as these competitors vie for position at Fishing for Miracles late August and Savannah's divisional ender.

Frantic Atlantic Final Standings
1. NET PROFIT 37.36
Sea Craft/Yamaha
Bryan Baxter
Russ Balderson
Matt DeAntonio
2. YARD BOY 35.68
Contender/Yamaha
John Walpole
3. OBSESSED 28.90
Wellcraft/Yamaha
Jeff Cunningham
Trask Cunningham
4. JUGGERNAUT 27.02
Contender/Yamaha
Bert Harvey
David Morris
Jim Roberts
5. NAUTI BUOYS 26.34
Contender/Yamaha
Walter Warren
Doug Brown
Jim Horton
Jake Horton
Scott Johnson
6. TAILWALKER 25.78
Contender/Mercury
Stuart Ballard
Don Mussman
Mark Ballard
7. BLACK CAT 25.76
Triton/Mercury
Jamey Stewart
Carlette Stewart
Vernon Stewart
Hunter Harrelson
8. BLACK & BLUE 25.34
Mako/Mercury
Rich Koepcke
9. KEYED UP 23.76
Fountain/Mercury
Eddie Barham
Britt Tooley
Mark Armstrong
10. IRON MAN 23.02
Contender/Yamaha
David Ballard
Michael Todd
Dowell Coker
Garret Ballard
11. REELIN 22.72
Marlin/Yamaha
Marc Pincus
12. BLUE RUNNER 22.04
Contender/Yamaha
Craig Hoover
John Hoover
Todd Hoover
Alex Hays
Billy Bryan
13. HEADHUNTER 20.42
Cape Horn/Suzuki
Jeff Newcom
Keith Carter
14. REEL JUSTICE 19.36
Contender/Yamaha
Ralph Justice
Andy Justice
Brian Justice
15. MY CANDY 18.54
Palmetto/Suzuki
Darren Gordon
Bob Hughes
Peter Maddock


Class of 23'
1. KNOT @ WORK 31.70
Sailfish/Yamaha
Robert Olsen
Bob Olynick
Jerry Tumbleston
2. EREN'S ADDICTION TOO 22.62
Contender/Yamaha
Jack Bracewell
Eren Bracewell
3. GONE AGAIN 22.58
Bayliner/Mercury
Daniel Mason
Andy Smeltzer

SKA Top Lady Angler
Carlette Stewart Black Cat

SKA Top Junior Anglers
1st Trask Cunningham Obsessed
2nd Jake Horton Nauti Buoys
3rd Hunter Harrelson Black Cat