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Clearwater, Florida-- Captain Anthony Morrison and the crew of the Ocean Waves landed their best finish in the SKA with a beautiful 38-pounder, leading the pack and taking home top honors at the Clearwater Rotary Club’s KMT. Fishing a 25’ Mercury powered Hydra-Sports boat, Morrison, Tim Travis and Rob Campbell were working the Readington Beach area for a majority of the day, but had only managed one small points-fish. At 2:30 Morrison decided to make a move and it paid off big time. The Ocean Waves was soon working the Salt Rock in 18 feet of water when the money-fish came calling at 3:05. “Our big girl hit a goggle eye in the prop wash,” smiled Morrison. Campbell grabbed the rod and took up angling duties as the Captain navigated and Travis stood by with the gaff, and the team soon had a whopper flopping at their feet. “We put her in the bag and went straight to the scale,” continued Morrison. At the scale the king would prove to weigh 38.50 pounds, leading the field by over a pound and taking a $10,000 check home to Maderia Beach, FL. Second place honors went to non-member Kookaburra with a 37.18.

The Aquatic Assassin is the next SKA boat up, Captain James West’s 24’ Mercury powered Pro-Line. Hailing from Gainesville, Florida, Captain James, Justin and Anna West and Jack Vasilaros had gotten some points in the first Division 6 event, but needed a smoker to get back in the running. “With a full moon not in our favor, we decided to camp out at the 9-10 Buoy in Tampa Bay,” reported Captain West. The Aquatic Assassin had a few small fish during the early morning bite, but at 9:30 West’s plan paid off when a blue runner on a long line was hit while trolling in 35 feet of water. Justin was quickest to the rod and found himself fighting a good 30-pounder, but the fish was no match for him. The big king was quickly put on ice and the day’s fishing resumed. “We felt good about the spot and stayed there till the end, but couldn’t find anything bigger,” continued West. Tipping the scales at 32.87 the Aquatic Assassin’s king would hold the third place position for the tournament, earning Anna West SKA Top Lady Angler honors. That fish was exactly what the team needed, and they now sit in fourth place in Division 6 heading to the season finale, just 13 pounds out of first. Another non-member, the Silver Bullet, took top five honors with a 32.13-pounder for fourth.

After leading the whole field at the Boater’s World event, Captain Jeremy Bonnell and his family on the Bandit did it again by posting a 31-pounder for fifth place. The Open Class teams have got to be thankful that this team is Class of 23’; they are leading all of Division 6 by over 13 points. “We tried the beach, but with no fish in the area we went to the old spot everybody knows called the 7/11,” reported Captain Jeremy. The Bonnells arrived in time to experience a good bite, and had managed to land a solid 27-pounder when time was drawing short in the day. With only a half hour to continue fishing a blue runner on a medium line was snatched and Matt Bonnell made short work of the king. “From what we heard on the radio we thought it was probably a top 5 fish,” remarked Jeremy. That was one precise estimate, as the Bandit’s king would prove to weigh an even 31 pounds, taking fifth place honors for this St. Petersburg team. With only one tournament left in Division 6, Bandit is sitting pretty among Class boats, leading second place Constant Chaos by almost 25 pounds. If Captain Bonnell and family can land another smoker at the Division ender, they will be looking at a triple-digit aggregate in the Class.

Right on Bandit’s tail is the Constant Chaos, Captain Danny Clark’s boat, another Class of 23’ contender. Captain Clark, Casey Bryde, and Travis Maxwell fish a 23’ Suzuki powered Caravelle out of St. Petersburg, Florida, and were Division 6’s champions in the Class last year. Landing a 30.56 was good to earn this team sixth place honors, and they need to find a true smoker king at the Division finale to keep hopes of taking the Division 6 title alive. Seventh place fell to Captain Todd Anderson and Richard Kraus on the Reel Thing. Hailing from Seminole, Florida, Anderson and Kraus landed a 29.60-pounder on the 33’ Yanmar powered Viper for the victory. The King Slayer took eighth with a 29.59, while the Outta Line took ninth with a 29.35. Captain Jack Penny was absent from the day’s fishing on the 36’ Yamaha powered Contender, Penny Wise, but Ken and Stevie Dellane pulled through with a 28.38. That 28-pounder was good to round out the top ten and earn Stevie Top Junior Angler honors for the tournament, a great double-win to take home to St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. After that fish Stevie has a solid 20-pound lead over all competition in the Junior category, and the Penny Wise team sits only five pounds out of first in the Open Class.

Captain Bryan and Scott Wallace had another productive day on the water, landing a 27.62-pounder to squeak into the Divisional lead by only .05 pounds. Captain Bryan and Scott fish a 34’ Mercury powered Yellowfin out of Dunedin, Florida. The pressure is really on for this team to produce a big king at the Clearwater Sheriff’s event, because the Bondsman / Jaws Too is right on their tails both in this event and the Divisional standings. Landing a 27.12 was good to earn Captain Robert Somers, Andrew Meyers and David Bayes 12th place honors, and positions them in easy striking distance of the Division 6 title. The Bondsman / Jaws Too is a 36’ Mercury powered Triton out of Belleair Beach, Florida.

Captain Kevin Grissinger’s Marshall Law came to the scales with a 27.03-pound king. Hailing from Belleair, Florida, Grissinger took 13th with that fish. The Top Gun took the 14th position with a 25.87-pounder, earning Cameron Heavenridge second place Junior Angler honors. Captain David and Cameron Heavenridge and Warren Williams fish a 32’ Mercury powered Wellcraft out of Clearwater, Florida. Non-member Dad’s Outlet rounds out the top 15.

The season is certainly shaping up for an exciting conclusion in Division 6. Will Bandit land another smoker and shame the Open Class with a triple-digit aggregate or will they pull the dreaded goose egg and give Constant Chaos the opportunity to make it two years in a row? With Desperado and Bondsman / Jaws Too separated by less than on ounce will the Open Class title come down to them or will Penny Wise come behind from third to again take Division 6's Open Class? Stay tuned, it will all be decided at the Loadmaster Suncoast KFT and the Clearwater Sheriff's KMT this May.

Clearwater Rotary Final Standings

1. OCEAN WAVES .................................. 38.50
Hydra-Sports/Mercury
Anthony Morrison
Tim Travis
Rob Campbell

2. Kookaburra ...................................... 37.18

3. AQUATIC ASSASSIN ......................... 32.87
Pro-Line/Mercury
James West
Justin West
Anna West
Jack Vasilaros

4. Silver Bullet ..................................... 32.13

5. BANDIT ............................................. 31.00
Bluewater/Yamaha
Jeremy Bonnell
Matthew Bonnell
Chris Bonnell
Vernon Bonnell
Sandra Bonnell

6. CONSTANT CHAOS............................. 30.56
Caravelle/Suzuki
Danny Clark
Casey Bryde
Travis Maxwell

7. REEL THING ...................................... 29.60
Viper/Yanmar
Todd Anderson
Richard Kraus

8. King Slayer ....................................... 29.59

9. Outta Line.......................................... 29.35

10. PENNY WISE ................................... 28.38
Contender/Yamaha
Ken Dellane
Stevie Dellane

11. DESPERADO .................................... 27.62
Yellowfin/Mercury
Bryan Wallace
Scott Wallace

12. BONDSMAN/JAWS TOO .................... 27.12
Triton/Mercury
Robert Somers
Andrew Meyers
David Bayes

13. MARSHALL LAW................................ 27.03
Contender/Yamaha
Kevin Grissinger

14. TOP GUN .......................................... 25.87
Wellcraft/Mercury
David Heavenridge
Warren Williams
Cameron Heavenridge

15. Dad’s Outlet .................................... 25.69

SKA Top Lady Angler
Anna West............................................... Aquatic Assassin

SKA Top Junior Anglers
Sponsored by Johnston Jewlers

1st Stevie Dellane .................................... Penny Wise
2nd Cameron Heavenridge ....................... Top Gun
3rd Cody McRanie .................................... C.R.A.P. Happens