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Pensacola, Florida - For several years Neal Foster has had to wear the moniker of Mr. Second Place. That’s right, he’s never won an event but probably has more seconds than any other person in the country. After scaling a 52.85 on the first day of the Outcast Bait and Tackle’s KMT to capture the lead, he has shed that notion. Not only has he won an event, but also his Intense team of Robby and Andrew Montgomery, plus Mark Collier, have moved into the Division 7’s Open Class lead with a three fish aggregate of 152.32. It was a huge win for the popular team.

   There is a lot of teams out there who would be more than happy to emulate Foster’s success record over the years, but not him. To sum it up, the name on his Yamaha powered Contender says it all, Intense. It’s the way he approaches life itself, never settling for second best, and that’s why he’s a winner.

   “We didn’t do anything to get ready for this event,” said Robby after being proclaimed the winner. “No pre-fishing, we didn’t even catch bait.” The team fished about 90 miles from Pensacola. “We spent the first three hours catching bait, it wasn’t easy,” explained Robby. “We then moved south of Mobile to a natural bottom, about 200 feet deep.”

   “We had two kings hooked up when Robby saw a big king break the surface,” said Foster. “He was behind the helm but he immediately grabbed a rod, hooked a bait and flipped it out in the general direction of the smoker. The fish took the bait and we immediately cut the lines on the other fish and went right to work. She came in the boat at 4 o’clock and we knew we had to put the Intense on the props if we were going to make the weigh in.” Andrew now moves into the top slot in the Junior Angler race. “It’s what we were fishing for all season,” said Robby. “I just wanted my son to win the Junior Angler title. Now he has a shot.”

   Fishing was slow and because they thought the 52 would hold up, the Intense team thought they could sit on the hill but shortly after the scales opened on day two, a big king arrived at the scale. Robby and his son Andrew had arrived to watch the weigh in, but once they saw the fish, Robby walked away thinking the 2nd place curse was about to grab Neal again. Todd King, Trey Davis, and Summer King, the Kingscape Team, had a really nice fish. Tournament Director Tommy Holmes laid the fish on the scale and wrote the weight on a piece of paper, sharing it with me. I then told the crowd that this king would affect the leader board’s standing’s at the top. Either Kingscape would take over the lead or Intense was still on top. After making both team sweat for a few seconds, I read the weight, 52.30. Kingscape was second. “This is a great fish,” said Todd King. “I don’t care if it’s second, we’re just real happy to have gotten him.” It moved the team to 8th in the Division and with one event left and the possibility of a top five finish.

   “We ran west about 40 miles and caught bait but one motor was acting up,” explained Todd. “We started to fish the area we were in, about 120 feet. We were catching small fish but at 9 o’clock she hit a hard tail on the surface. We never did get to the area we wanted to fish.” Kingscape is a Yamaha powered Contender.

   A rookie team, Soused, earned the respect of the fraternity this weekend by scaling a nice 47.90 on day one. They had another one on the boat just a little smaller. A great weekend. Matt Williams, Jerry Andrews, Larry Gillmore, and Michael Baxter ran south 50 miles to a hard bottom area in 220 feet of water. “She hit a hard tail 140 feet deep close to 11 o’clock,” said Matt Williams, the Yamaha powered Contender Captain. This gave them the Class of 23 win, third biggest fish in the event, and moved them into the top five in the Division. That had to be a huge weekend for the team.

   Cecil Capps’ Sea Hagg, a Class boat, picked up third overall due to the breakdown in payout. Cecil, Earl Burbridge, Gerry & his son Landen Rucker, plus James Doole scaled a 44.25. Cecil ran the Yamaha powered Contender 70 miles to an area the team likes to fish. “She hit a long lined hard tail on the surface,” said Cecil. “Earl picked up the rod and had her to the boat in no time.” Landen weighed a 39.60 he caught to earn Top Junior angler honors in the event.

   Fourth place in the Open Class fell to the Fortunate with a 42.55 weighed on day two. Roger Wallace, Mike Parker, Donnie Shear, and Nick Milsap ran to an area I had never heard of before, the Saddle. “It’s a rock formation sitting in 200 feet of water,” said Roger who runs a Mercury powered Yellowfin. “It’s an area the locals fish a lot and is only 55 miles from the pass. A lot of the teams were there.” The team hooked up close to noon and Roger added, “She hit a hard tail on the surface and Nick had her to the boat in no time.”

   Rounding out the top five was George Mitchell’s Yachtzee, another Yamaha powered Contender. George, who lives in south Florida is a popular guide, runs a fishing school, and promotes many products, like Penn Tackle, TR1 Autopilots, Contender, and Yamaha. He was here because of Contender and Yamaha but had to help his good friend, tournament promoter and Outcast bait and Tackle owner, Tommy Holmes. George fished Ryan Hickey, a pilot with the Navy’s famous Blue Angels, who bagged a 42.20. “Thanks to Mike Dees who recommended this area,” said Mitchell, who was about 47 miles west in 180 feet of water. “She hit a hard tail 80 feet down. It was the first bait in the water, then we spent the rest of the days fighting off the ‘cudas. We had a great time!” SKA had a cameraman on board and you’ll see the action in late November on the Versus channel. Consult the website www.fishska for time in your area.

   Second place in the Class of 23 fell to Harry Crump’s Rocketman. “We fished 90 miles from Pensacola, a long way, but we thought we could find the fish there,” said Crump. “We went deep on Saturday but only found small fish. On Sunday we came in to shallower water and at 10:30 she hit a hard tail. My son Benton picked up the rod and soon we had a 44 pounder on the deck of the boat.” Harry fishes with other son Judson and Chris Bowden on a Mercury powered Contender. “I needed this finish,” said Crump who has been out of the spotlight this season. The team now has a good shot at a top five finish in the Division.

   David Rogers’ Quietus, a Mercury powered Yellowfin, with J.J. Gilmore and Jason Andrews on board, have set the highest three fish aggregate of the year, 155.95, and they did it in a Class boat. They lead the Class of 23 and did not add to their total with this event, however they did pick up some cash with a 41.45 third place finish in the Class. “We could only scale a low thirties on day one, but got a 41.45 on day two,” said Rogers. “We ran 95 miles south west and set up in 200 feet of water. At 9 AM she hit a hard tail 85 feet down. We thought this was where Intense caught their fish on Saturday.” The team caught an estimated 25 to 30 kings in the mid to upper 30’s.

   Melissa Wells picked up Top Lady honors for the event with a 42.15. She and the team, Bob Wyres, Aaron and Alecia Wells, also earned sixth overall. They’re doing great for Fountain and Mercury this year.
   James, John, and Don Hosman, plus Thad Delonte, are doing well this season fishing their Cape Horn, My Dinghy. This weekend they picked up 7th in the open class with a 41.30.

   Our ’05 Open Class National Champion, Geoffrey Gibson, earned 8th place with a 39.75. A good showing for the Rusty Hook.

   Dan and Ronda Abshire picked up 9th with a first days 38.85, caught on the RXcape while Steve Haidt’s Reel Planning was awarded 10th for their 38.80. Matt Haidt, a junior, picked up second place honors in the Junior category.
   Rounding out the fourth and fifth places in the Class of 23 was Brad Sauers’ Tied in Knots with a 30.90 and Fred Watkin’s Get Layed also with a 30.90. Brad got the nod for fourth because he weighed earlier.

Tommy Holmes and his team of volunteers put on 12 events a year, each one a huge success. Tommy also is the owner of the Outcast Bait and Tackle facility in Pensacola and obviously uses his events to promote business for the store. There is no doubt in my mind however, that every fisher person should be using Outcast for his or her fishing gear. Tommy and his team are dedicated to enhancing the sport regardless of what you fish for and deserves and has earned our support. Thanks Tommy, you and your wife are a class team and we look forward to being a part of your event next year. The SKA salutes you!    

Venice Final Standings

1.   INTENSE………………..........….  52.85
      Contender/Yamaha
      Neal Foster
      Robby Montgomery
      Andrew Montgomery
      Mark Collier

2.   KINGSCAPE………………......…. 52.30
      Contender/Yamaha
      Todd King
      Trey Davis
      Summer King

3.   SEA HAGG…………….........……. 44.25
      Contender/Yamaha
      Cecil Capps
      Earl Burbridge
      Gerry Rucker
      Landan Rucker
      James Doole

4.   FORTUNATE………….......……….42.55
      Yellowfin/Mercury
      Roger Wallace
      Mike Parker
      Donnie Shear
      Nick Milsap

5.   YACHTZEE……………….........…. 42.20
      Contender/Yamaha
      George Mitchell

6.   PURSE SNATCHER……..........… 42.15
      Fountain/Mercury
      Bob Wyres
      Aaron Wells
      Melissa Wells
      Alecia Wells

7.   MY DINGHY…………….......……. 41.30
      Cape Horn/Yamaha
      James Hosman
      John Hosman
      Don Hosman
      Thad Delconte

8.   RUSTY HOOK…………….....……. 39.75
      Contender/Yamaha
      Geoffrey Gibson
      Johnaton Tindell

9.   RXCAPE……………….............…. 38.85
      Contender/Yamaha
      Dan Abshire
      Ronda Abshire
      Larry Thompson

10. REEL PLANNING……….………... 38.80
      Contender/Yamaha
      Steve Haidt
      Matthew Haidt
      Daniel Haidt

CLASS OF 23

1.   SOUSED………............…………. 47.90
      Contender/Yamaha
      Matt Williams
      Jerry Andrews
      Larry Gillmore
      Michael Baxter

2.   ROCKETMAN…………......………. 44.00
      Contender/Mercury
      Harry Crump
      Judson Crump
      Chris Bowden
      Benton Crump

3.   QUIETUS………………...........…. 41.45
      Yellowfin/Mercury
      David Rogers Jr.
      J.J. Gilmore
      Jason Andrews

4.   TIED IN KNOTS………….………. 30.90
      Palm Beach/Yamaha
      Brad Sauers
      Byron Davison

5.   GET LAYED…………..........……. 30.90
      Contender/Yamaha
      Fred Watkins
      Ken Jansen
      Todd Gardner
      Butch Smith
      Charles Witt

JUNIOR ANGLER
1.   Landen Rucker/ Sea Hagg….... 39.60
2.   Matt Haidt/ Reel Planner……... 38.80
3.   Tyler Kennedy/ Kwazar……..... 37.40

LADY ANGLER
1.   Melissa Wells/ Purse Snatcher…..... 42.15
2.   Ronda Abshire/ Rxcape ……………... 38.85
3.   Elizabeth Roberts/ Pure Attitude..... 36.60

SKA / Cypress Cove Junior Anglers
1.   Andrew Montgomery…….................. Intense
2.   Landon Rucker…………..................…. Sea Hagg
3.   Alecia Wells………..................……….. Purse Snatcher