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Click the Fish to Order Photos of this event   Captain Jack Penny and the crew of Penny Wise ready to weigh the Naples Kingfish Classic's winning fish. Looks like Steve Dellane knows he has Top Junior Angler in the bag.

Penny Wise Takes the Naples Kingfish Classic
By Ian Warner

Division 11 continued to heat up at the Naples Contender / Yamaha Kingfish Classic, held March 18th through 20th. While clear, sunny skies drifted lazily overhead, four- to six-foot chop stirred offshore, threatening a beautiful but rough ride ahead for the 86 boats ready to head out. While the bite was reportedly lighter than at Marco Island, more boats brought fish back to the scales this time, everyone eager to post at least a points fish to keep themselves in the running.

Penny Wise finished third at the Marco Island tournament, and it was apparently not enough for this team as they brought the heat on day two of this event. Penny Wise landed a huge king to knock the Delph’s day one fish out of first place by a pound.

Captain Jack Penny, son Mike, Ken, his son Steve Dellane, Brian Brandano, and George Clinton headed out early on day one for the long haul south to their chosen spot. After a long day of trolling the team had only a 37-pounder to show for their efforts, and after checking the leaderboard, they knew they had a lot of work to do on day two. Leaving checkout Sunday the team headed south again, but ran only 120-miles this time. After half a day’s fishing the team had only another 30-pounder to show for their efforts.

Then, trolling in 100-feet of water, the reel started screaming. “At 11:45 our blue runner on a long flat line took off, “ reported Jack. “25 minutes later we were on our way to the scale.” The team knew they had a good fish, but they didn’t think it would be enough to take the tournament. Heading through the four- to six-foot chop that stirred up late in the day, it was a long run back, but all the aches and pains were forgotten when the weighmaster read the scales: 56.69-pounds, enough to take first place and hold it for the rest of the tournament. Pennywise won a 21-foot Contender / Yamaha power / Loadmaster trailer package to take back to St. Pete Beach and Steve Dellane was awarded the Top Junior Angler for their efforts.

The Delph Fishing Team from Key West did it again on day one, landing a 55.39-pound mackerel to top the leaderboard early. While it wasn’t the granddaddy king they caught at Naples last year to set the SKA record, it was still good enough to send them racing back to the scales and really put the pressure on the other 85 teams fishing.

The Delphs, Bill, Mike, and Robbie, ran 141-miles south to one of their favorite fishing spots. Fishing all morning they had a couple of respectable 40-pounders but were still looking for the big one they needed to seal the deal. “At 1:30 Mike was letting out a big blue runner in 95-feet of water,” said Captain Bill Delph. “The bait was no more than 30-feet from the boat when our big girl hit it.” After scaling the fish they knew that they had a good chance of holding the leaderboard throughout the tournament, but still headed out on day two. Experiencing uncommon bad luck the Delphs weren’t able to land a big king and with Penny Wise pulling through late on Sunday, the Delph Fishing Team was awarded second place.

This makes it a virtual two-way battle for Division 11’s top spot on the 2005 Tournament Trail. The Delph Fishing Team leads with 122.58 points, followed closely by Penny Wise with 119.99. Winning Sarasota by three pounds would give Penny Wise the Division, but that’s no easy feat when fishing against the Delphs. The final tournament will truly be a nail-biter for all involved.

Team Chaos landed another big day one fish, 54.20-pounds to place them in second at the end of day one’s weigh-in. Captain Dan Hess, angler Don Lamb, Bill Wummer, and Ryan Lee went to almost the same spot that they fished at Marco Island, approximately 140-miles south. Fishing at a depth of 90-feet the team hooked and released four small fish before their winner hit. “At 12:00 our big girl hit a goggle eye on a long flat line,” reported Dan. “After a short fight we gaffed her and went to the scale.” Not able to land a second fish on day two, Team Chaos was bounced down to third place.

Winning fourth place was King Pin, Captained by Greg Samuel. “We had a 22.18 on Saturday so we knew we had to fuel up and make the 140-mile run,” said Samuel. Together with Carl Carder, Bob Lail, and Billy Chilson, the team had only managed two 30-pounders halfway through their fishing. Then, while fishing with blue runners in 100-feet of water their downrigger set at 65-feet started burning line. Twenty minutes later they had a fish in the bag and the wind in their faces heading for the scales. The 51.81-pounder brought them up from 27th place to fourth place, and positions them in the top five divisionally.

Another day one leader was Digestible, Captained by Mark Wicker. Crewed by Jerry Stephenson, Rhonda Wicker, Jay Berger, and angler Sarah Stephenson, the team went 140-miles to find this king. “We made the long run to a spot we fished at Marco,” said Mark, “but the fishing was slow compared to two weeks ago.” In about 90-feet of water trolling blue runners a downrigger set at 55-feet, “went to the races,” and Sarah grabbed the rod. “She’s caught more big fish than anyone on the boat,” smiled Mark. While everyone onboard wished that it was just a little bit bigger, they were all very happy when they gaffed the fish, and turned to make the long trek back. The 50.82-pound king would leave them in third place at the end of day one, and earn Digestible fifth place overall at the end of Sunday’s fishing. Sarah earned second place in the Junior Angler category for landing her big king.

Team Yellowfin fished hard both days but couldn’t find another 60-pounder to match the king they landed at Marco Island. Captain Mark Liberman, Wylie Nagler, Chad Bratzke, and Rob Lynch pulled in a 36.62-pounder on day one and upped the ante on day two with a 47.34 king to earn sixth for the tournament. However, with the huge king they landed in Marco, their aggregate of 112.66 points puts them in third place for the division, with Team Chaos nipping at their heels by a quarter pound with 112.39 points. You know these two teams are eagerly awaiting Sarasota as well.

Team Whaler/Reels Inc., hailing from Ft. Meyers Beach, did well and landed a 43.42-pound king on day one. Captained by Chick Melfi, the team was awarded seventh overall.

Devocean, with Captain Scott Routh, son Adam, and Brent Klein, fished hard both days to earn eighth. Landing a 21.09 king on day one and a 42.47 on day two, the team’s efforts kept them in the top ten and earned Adam Routh third place in the Junior Angler category.

In The Rough was only able to land a big king on day one, a 41.50-pounder. Captain David VanLent, Rosemary VanLent, Jeff Hall, Keith Hall, and Aaron Gesquiere earned ninth for their mossback.

Rounding out the top ten was Native Premonitions, with Captain Leon Wilcox, Chris Sommerfeld, and Tristen Wilcox landing a 37.86-pounder.

Taking 11th place was Mad Gaffer, Captained by Stuart Fitzgerald. This 37.38-pound king established Kathie Stuart as top Senior Angler and gives her a commanding 30-point lead in that category for the division.

Comfortably Numb landed a 37.04 king and earned Captain Eric Smith and his team 12th. Next was Get Er Done with a 36.65-pounder, good for 13th for Captain Jim Vaughan and his crew. King Slayer and Captain Jonny Wood’s 36.24-pound king earned the 14th place.

Rounding out the top 15 was Maniac Mac. Captain Kevin Aley’s team landed a 30.73- and 36.23-pounder on days one and two, respectively.

Top honors in the Class of 23’ went to the Get Snookered team. Captain Chris Workman, Sal Otero, Brian Finger, and Reggie Drielich gaffed a 29.42-pound mackerel for first place. “The seas were pretty tough for our small boat but we bit the bullet and made a 60-mile run to the south to a spot we never fished before,” reported Workman. Fishing in 50-feet of water the team hooked up with four small fish before their winner hit strong on a blue runner trolled from a downrigger set at 40-feet. “For the conditions we thought we had a good fish,” concluded Workman.

It was definitely an important fish, giving the team a 57.41-point total and second place for the division. The divisional leader in this class, Legal Limit, only managed a 19-pound points fish and dropped their lead margin to under two points. It’s definitely up for grabs in this class at the division’s final tournament.

Captain Sam Kennedy and Andy Gross landed a 24.82-pound king on the Bone Collector, earning second spot in the Class of 23’. Not able to land a fish on Saturday, the team discussed strategy Sunday. “We looked at a chart, picked out a few spots, and flipped a coin,” Kennedy smiled. The lucky coin sent them out 46-miles where at 12:40 their winner hit a ribbonfish 20-feet off the bottom in 70-feet of water. “We thought it was bigger from the way it fought, but we were very happy with what we got not having a fish on Saturday,” Kennedy said.

Sarasota’s 11th Annual Wellcraft/Hydra-Sports Suncoast Kingfish Tournament will certainly be a gripping experience for both competitors and spectators alike. With the open class’s top two spots so close, and only ten points separating the top four, the Delph Fishing Team will have to keep their A-game going to hold on to the division. Plus, all those teams 10th through 20th will be fishing hard to hold on to their positions and their right to fish at this year’s National Championship.

Legal Limit has their work cut out for them as well; a 1.63-point lead is all that protects their dream of finally winning the division after seven years with the SKA. The top Lady Angler position is even closer, with only .78-points keeping Rhonda Wicker ahead of Rosemary VanLent. Also, while the top Junior Angler and Senior Angler both have commanding leads, one unexpected upset is all it would take to lose their grasp on those titles. Everyone will be fishing hard in Sarasota and it will surely be a tournament that you don’t want to miss.