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Division 6’s Class of 23’ continued
its streak of domination at the Suncoast Kingfish Classic,
presented by SportsUSA Marine Group May 2nd, in Treasure Island,
FL. After early April’s Treasure Island tournament was
lead by four Class boats, Caliente broke the Division 6 record
of largest king in Clearwater in his 23’ boat. Now a
Class of 23’ boat again took the leaderboard at Gator’s,
with three of the top five spots being filled by 23-foot-and-under
boats. It just goes to show, you don’t need a monster
boat to land those monster kings.
Getting ready Saturday morning, Captain Jeffrey
Fuller and his team aboard Fishing Dreams were locked and
loaded with ample ammunition and good data. “We got
some good bait on Friday. My partner Danny Mathis made a few
calls and got some great information from Harry Thomas who
fishes Yellow Bird,” Fuller recalled. The team headed
the 23’ Mercury powered Sea Fox right to the spot recommended
between markers eight and nine, and set up to begin trolling
in 47-feet of water. There Mathis, Captain Fuller and Lori
and Jared Fuller started rigging baits and put their first
blue runner out on a long line. At 9:15, before they could
even wet a second line, a smoker nailed their bait and the
fight was on. “Fifty minutes later we were on our way
back to the scales for the long wait,” smiled Fuller.
“Thanks again, Harry Thomas!”
Weighing in at 52.72-pounds it was a doubly
sweet king, taking first place for both the Open class and
the Class of 23’, as well as earning Jared Fuller top
Junior Angler and Lori Fuller top Lady Angler honors to take
home to Apopka, FL. The Team was awarded $10,000. Congratulations
on your multiple victories and for showing the big boats how
it’s done.
Local anglers Captain Steve Hays and Rob York
aboard Surreel landed a 46.88-pounder to take second place.
“We pre-fished a spot about 15-miles west of John’s
Pass and caught some nice fish on Friday,” explained
Hays. “So we went right back to the same spot on Saturday
and weeded through some small fish for awhile.” Finally
at 1:30 they got some action, “Our ladyfish 35-feet
down on the rigger was hit in 50-feet of water. We got her
to the boat fairly quickly for a big fish,” smiled Hays.
The team put her in the bag and head the 29’ Yamaha
powered Intrepid straight for the scales.
The Boston Whaler Fishing Team is another boat
that excelled this weekend in the Class of 23’…well,
sort of. “We had a problem with our big boat and had
to substitute it with a 21-foot boat, but we still fished
the open class with it,” reported Captain Brett Clarke.
The team was definitely missing their Mercury powered 32’
Boston Whaler, “The seas were a good four-feet so we
had a slow ride to our spot about 15-miles southwest of John’s
pass,” said Clarke. Finally at 11:15, trolling in about
40-feet of water, Clarke, and Aaron and Steve Salvant had
their only bite of the day. “Our big girl hit a blue
runner 25-feet down on the downrigger. We put her in the bag
and took the long ride back to John’s Pass,” recalled
Clarke. The 43.12-pound slab they hung from the scales was
good for third place to take home to St. Petersburg.
A Sarasota boat, Team Alehouse, dug deep to take fourth place
overall and second place in the Class of 23’. Fishing
a 23’ Yamaha powered Sailfish, Captain Brad Fuller,
Roy Fullgrapp, and Dan Gray ran 12-miles west of John’s
Pass to find their winning king. Past midday, the pressure
was on. “Fishing was slow and the wind was getting stronger.
We’d only gotten one small fish in the morning, but
we tightened our belts and hung in there,” said Fuller.
Finally, trolling in 52-feet of water, the team got a bite
at 2:30. “Our fish hit a long line with a blue runner
on it. After several good runs we got her to the front of
the boat and put the gaff to her,” reported Fuller.
Reaching the scales the mackerel topped out at 38.32-pounds
to give the team their double victory.
Rounding out the top five is Red Eye and Captain
Chris Wiggins II. This St. Petersburg team knows the Bay area
well. “After the past few weeks of good fish coming
from the 90-foot drop in Tampa Bay, we knew that was our plan,”
said Wiggins. “We had good bait and knew we would be
heroes or zeroes,” he joked. Wiggins, Brett Norris,
Chris Wiggins, and Jay White headed out to the spot in their
32’ Mercury powered Intrepid, and had a wait until what
would be their only bite of the day. “At 12:15 our ladyfish
on a long line was taken, and after a 20-minute fight we put
her in the bag,” recalled the Captain. “We stayed
until the last minute for a bigger fish but no cigar!”
he smiled. The mossback weighed in at 29.28-pounds. “We
were happy with fifth place,” said Wiggins.
Sixth place went to King Slayer and Captain
Johnny Wood. Hailing from Pinellas Park, FL, Wood, Henry Colston,
Rick Baruta, and Malcom Miclellan landed a 29.12-pound mackerel
aboard their 34’ Mercury powered Fountain for the win.
Debbie Crisp aboard the Hook’er pulled in another good
fish, a 28.08-pounder, aboard her 26’ Yamaha powered
Calcutta. This king is good for seventh but more importantly
secures her the divisional leader spot by a good 15-pound
margin, and the ladies in Division 6 are going to have a hard
time catching up to her 27-pound lead.
Feeding Frenzy landed a 28.00-pounder aboard
their 27’ Yamaha powered Jupiter. Captain David Alvarez
and Jamie Wright earned eighth place to take home to St. Petersburg.
Ninth place fell to Sarasota’s Captain Todd Parrish
aboard the Top Down. Captain Parrish, son Ryan, Jeffri Durrance,
and Bruce Shrock reeled in a 27.68-pound mack in their 23’
Mercury powered Triton to take third in the Class of 23’
and earn Ryan Parrish second place Junior Angler as well.
Rounding out the top ten is another Class of
23’ boat: Port Richie’s Shadow. Captain Todd Wolf
and Logan Wolf landed a 27.04-pound hardtail aboard their
22’ Honda powered Twin Vee, taking tenth overall, fourth
in the Class of 23’, and earning Logan third place Junior
Angler honors.
Captain Kevin Schmidt of the Fish Attack took
11th aboard his 34’ Yamaha powered Venture with a 26.08-pounder.
Captain Bryan and Scott Wallace took 12th on Desperado, a
34’ Mercury powered Yellowfin, with a 25.84-pound king.
The Ocean Waves team and Captain Dave Travis landed a 25.28-pound
mack aboard their 33’ Suzuki powered Cigarette boat
for 13th.
The 19’ Evinrude powered Grady White,
Mother Ocean, took 14th place for Captain Buddy Bradham with
a 25.04-pound king. Finally, 15th place fell to Tanked Up
Too and Captain Brian Simmons with a 25.04-pound fish weighed
later in the day. A good points fish, it places Simmons’
team in fifth place divisionally.
With two tournaments left in Division 6, the
year is far from over. Although Debbie Crisp has a commanding
15-point lead on Hook’er, Surreal’s 46.88 from
this tournament will definitely come into play if the team
can land another smoker in Indian Rocks Beach or Treasure
Island this fall, and Red Eye has sixth place with only two
fish weighed so far. Constant Chaos is taking the Class of
23’ with a 32-pound lead, but with Fishing Dreams’
big 52.72 and Caliente’s 54.97, Captain Clark really
needs to land a hawg to seal the deal. With kingfishing action
like this, it’s too bad we have to wait to November
to see how Division 6 ends up.
Treasure Island Final Standings
1. FISHING DREAMS 52.72
Sea Fox/Mercury
Jeff Fuller
Jared Fuller
Lori Fuller
Andy Wilson
Danny Mathis
2. SURREEL 46.88
Intrepid/Mercury
Steve Hays
Rob York
3. BOSTON WHALER FISHING TEAM 43.12
Boston Whaler/Mercury
Brett Clarke
Aaron M. Salvant
Steve Salvant
4. TEAM ALEHOUSE 38.32
Sailfish/Yamaha
Brad Fuller
Roy Fulgrapp
Dan Grey
5. REDEYE 29.28
Intrepid /Mercury
Chris Wiggins II
Chris Wiggins
Jay White
Brett Norris
6. KING SLAYER 29.12
Fountain/Mercury
John Wood
Henry Colston
Rick Baruta
Malcom Miclellan
7. HOOK’ER 28.08
Calcutta/Yamaha
Debbie Crisp
8. FEEDING FRENZY 28.00
Jupiter/Yamaha
David Alvarez
Jamie Wright
9. TOP DOWN 27.68
Triton/Mercury
Todd Parrish
Jeffri Durrance
Bruce Shrock
Ryan Parrish
10. SHADOW 27.04
Twin Vee/Honda
Todd Wolf
Logan Wolf
11. FISH ATTACK 26.08
Venture/Yamaha
Kevin Schmidt
Randy Stewart
12. DESPERADO 25.84
Yellowfin/Mercury
Bryan Wallace
Scott Wallace
13. OCEAN WAVES 25.28
Cigarette/Suzuki
Dave Travis
Rob Campbell
Tony Morrison
14. MOTHER OCEAN 25.04
Grady White/Evinrude
Buddy Bradham
Carol Kirton
Keren Worting
Jackie Freda
15. TANKED UP TOO 25.04
Sea Vee/Cat
Brian Simmons
Mike Simmons
Roger Baver
Class of 23”
1. FISHING DREAMS 52.72
2. TEAM ALEHOUSE 38.32
3. TOP DOWN 27.68
Top Lady Angler
Lori Fuller Fishing Dreams
Top Junior Anglers
1st Jared Fuller Fishing Dreams
2nd Ryan Parrish Top Down
3rd Logan Wolf Shadow
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