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HOLD’EM
HOOK TAKES THE LEAD AT CEDAR BAY
Lands 39-Pounder to Start Off Division 11 Race! |
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by
Ian Warner
The Marco Island Contender King Flingkicked off Division
11’s leg of the Mercury Tournament Trail for 2006,
and was held for the first time at the beautiful Cedar
Bay Marina. A huge modern facility, Cedar Bay can hold
over 350 vessels in its boat barn and Marina host and
General Manager Scott Hopkins opened its doors wide
for SKA anglers. With pre-weigh-in entertainment, raffles,
charities and food available on Saturday, Scott had
the crowd in a great mood when the kings started
winging up to the dock at three o’clock.
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But Hopkins didn’t stop there. When only
33 boats were registered and Tournament Director John Zalud
was about to announce the prize structure at the Captain’s
meeting, Scott stepped up to the plate and added a $1,000
bonus to the first place prize. That just started the ball
rolling! When Zalud voiced his concerns that the Class of
23’ payout was going to be less than optimal, Eric Smith
of the Pro team Comfortably Numb, fishing on Pelagic Magic
in this event, stepped up and donated $250 for the third place
position. Then Sea Tow’s John McLaughflin, who had already
donated three one-year Sea Tow memberships to the Captain’s
Meeting drawing, added another $1,000 to the Class of 23’
prize package. Joe Cacaro of team Unreel stepped forward and
added half a grand to the purse, and Steve Sprigg added a
$300 bonus to the Top Junior Angler Award. Steve Sergent of
1st Choice Marine chipped in another $1,000 towards the first
place prize, and Brian McMann made it juicy for teams bringing
in a points-fish by donating $1,000 for the tenth place position.
Also, Hopkins added another $300 to the Class of 23’
money.
“John told me what happened last night was unprecedented
in SKA history,” remarked an ecstatic Hopkins at the
weigh-in on Saturday. “It was an amazing experience,
the hairs are standing up on my arms even talking about it.”
While overzealous weathermen scared off many teams, those
teams pre-fishing Friday spoke of “eerily calm seas
just three miles out.” With only 33 boats and over seven
grand going to the Tournament Champion, lots of teams missed
out on a great time and a great pay out ratio in Marco Island!
Captain Chris Thomas loves to run his 34’ Mercury powered
Fountain, and he ran the Hold’em Hook over 270 miles
to a first place finish in Marco Island. Hailing from Pompano
Beach, Captain Thomas, Marc Wilson and Greg Haskin had been
fishing hard all day, but by 12:00 had only had one barracuda
bite. However, just past noon the bite, singular, turned on.
“It was our only king bite of the whole day,”
reported Thomas, who couldn’t complain once he saw the
size of her. “It was a long fight, though, a good 35
to 45 minutes.” Haskin was on the rod with Wilson on
standby with the gaff. “It was a very, very feisty fish,”
reported Haskin. “We had him within 15 feet for a good
15 to 20 minutes, and we just couldn’t get him close
enough to get the stick in him.” Haskin finally brought
the smoker close enough for Wilson to gaff her, and the team
immediately got the big king iced down and the motors heated
up. Sixth at the scales, Hold’em Hook’s 39.92-pound
king would top the leaderboard for the day, earning Captain
Thomas and crew over $7,100 in cash as well as a Rolex watch
valued at $7,500 and discount prize package from Fountain.
“We really appreciate all the local support and sponsors
who made this tournament worthwhile,” said Thomas. “I’d
also like to thank our major sponsors: Captain Mark’s
Chum, Sundance Marine and Bluemarlinchronicles.com.”
So what’s Hold’em Hook’s strategy for Naples?
“I think we’re going to stick to today’s
game plan and hit our spots going out and coming in,”
reported Thomas. After taking third in Division 10 last year,
Division 11 anglers need to watch this experienced team, you
know they are going to make the big run for the big fish in
Naples.
Captain Mike Rinaldo’s Never E-Nuff found a great last-minute
fish to take second place, missing top honors by less than
a pound. Rinaldo, Kent Allen, Spencer Bass, James Heinbaugh
and Chad Schroeder headed the 31’ Yamaha powered Contender
south and ran 115 miles to their chosen spot. Never E-Nuff
had a good day on the water, and had five or six hook-ups
in the point-fish category, but was still looking for a slab
at one o’clock with time ticking away. “Our plans
were to bail out at 1:30, and the big one hit at 1:15,”
reported Rinaldo. Kent Allen, dubbed “the stud”
by teammates, took the situation in hand and began the 25-minute
battle. “We were worried about leaving in time to get
back, we were really pushing the time. We didn’t leave
until 1:40, and it got rough. It was rolling a good five to
six feet there.” But the Never E-Nuff proved true and
got the team to the scales with moments to spare, earning
them a solid second place $2,000 check and some great points
heading into Naples.
Captain Pete Tsourakis and the Four Mary’s crew were
another team with a last-minute king that proved to be a winner.
Loaded up with good bait, Tsourakis, Joel Zalud and Hary and
Keith Thomas took their 34’ Mercury powered Fountain
80 miles south to work several spots in a two-mile area. At
the last spot the team was trolling at a depth of 50 feet
and was experiencing a good bite, hooking up a good ten fish
in the mid- to high-20’s, and had a points-fish in the
bag with time running short. Wouldn’t you know, at 2:50
the big one hit a blue runner in the prop wash, and the fight
was on with the clock audibly ticking in the back of everyone’s
mind. Zalud was working the fish to the boat as quickly as
possible, but the fish wouldn’t give up. When Joel got
the fish to swing close to the side of the Four Mary’s,
Keith Thomas reached out and made a stretching shot with the
gaff and brought the fish over the rail. “If it wasn’t
for Keith Thomas, who is an excellent gaff man, we wouldn’t
have made it to the check-in boat in time,” said Tsourakis,
“he really shortened the fight.” At the scales
the king would weigh 36.82 pounds, earning the Four Mary’s
$1,500 and third place honors. Tsourakis cites the “excellent
performance of the Mercury powered Fountain” as a key
component to this victory, as well as sponsor SportsUSA Marine
Group.
Captain Jerry Stephenson and the Digestible crew took their
36’ Yamaha powered Contender 130 miles to fish near
the fort. Captain Jerry and Junior Angler Sarah Stephenson
and 2005 Division 11 Top Lady Angler Rhonda and Mark Wicker
were weeding through barracudas and amber jacks until 10:15
when their big girl hit. A runner on the long line was snatched
and Mark went to work. “I angled it and Sarah was operating
the boat. She did a real good job, too. It was really windy
down there and she had her work cut out for her to keep the
bow in the wind while we were fighting that fish<”
reported Wicker. It was a quick fight and soon Jerry put the
gaff to her and heaved the big king over the side. At the
scale 33.95 would prove to be worth fourth place, Top Lady
Angler honors for Rhonda, Top Junior Angler honors for Sarah,
and $1,000 cash. Digestible is well on their way to making
another run at the Division 11 title. After third in the Division
last year, watch out for this team to make a strong showing
in Naples.
The Texas Aquatic was another boat that made a big run for
the kingfish, the 36’ Mercury powered Yellowfin traveling
140 miles south to Captain Jim Vaughan’s chosen spot.
Captain Vaughan and Mark Wilson fished most of the day with
no big fish, but the tides turned at 1:30 when a blue runner
on the long flat line was nailed. Mark took up angling duties
as the Captain kept the boat in position, and the team quickly
had a money-fish in the bag. Knowing they were running short
on time, the team immediately headed back to the scales, but
was stopped by the Coast Guard for a random inspection. With
time ticking away the Texas Aquatic was finally given the
go-ahead and they raced off. Barely making the scales in time
the team was relieved indeed, and their 32.61-pounder would
earn them fifth place honors and $500. So what’s the
plan for Naples? “We’re going to follow Legal
Limit,” joked Vaughan. That’s high praise indeed
from a four-year veteran of the SKA, but smart money, too.
Captain Samuel Rife and Rick Hardwicke took sixth place on
the Yamaha powered Wellcraft Get N Some with a 29.44, and
Captain Vic Vazquez’s Midnight Madness took seventh
with a 27.24. Fishing on Vasquez’s 39’ Yamaha
powered Midnight Express were John Guitano, Miguell Guitano,
Sean Morton, Mike Guitano, Jr. and Nicholas Guitano. Eighth
place went to Captain Joe Scalora, Steve Sergent, Rich Dorris
and Ed Hogan on the 31’ Mercury powered Contender, the
Connie Jean. The 36’ Mercury powered Yellowfin, the
Re-Cooperating, brought Captain Cooper Cordin and Doug Newell
to the scales with a 22.44. Finally, Captain Alberto Abad’s
Mambo Kings rounds out the top ten and took home $1,000 thanks
to Brian McMann. Fishing Abad’s 25’ Yamaha powered
Contender were Brandon Lawson and Josh Hatcher, who reeled
in a 22.13.
2005 Division 11 Class of 23’ Champions Legal Limit
were the first to the scale. Landing a 33.08 that would hold
the leaderboard for the first half of the day. Casually trolling
up to the docks with grins and a big fish in the bag made
it appear that these guys had an easy day of it, but looks
can be deceiving. Captain Mike Gourley, Jeff Silverthorn,
Jeff Smith and P.J. Myers had made an 80-mile run to their
spot, but no fish. “I was getting really mad because
there was no bite,” reported Gourley. “So I said
I’m going to see if I can jig up something. They’re
all laughing at me and, boom, first throw out, 12-pound kingfish!
No wire, no nothing! Just a Shimano butterfly rig. So we’re
trying to figure out if we should keep it, and the second
throw out is two baby amberjacks on the same rig!” At
this point the hecklers became the converted and Jeff Smith,
a local Marco Island charter Captain, broke out a fly rod
to try his luck. “Just as he starts to rig up the butterfly
jig, the flat line starts to scream,” grinned Gourley.
Their Class-winning fish nailed a blue runner on the “way,
way back line,” and Jeff Silverthorne grabbed the rod
to begin the battle. Almost 40 minutes and “a lot of
coaching” later the team had a good eye on the fish
and realized it was foul hooked in the belly.
Gourley grabbed the gaff, knowing the team needed to get
that fish in the boat before that last hook gave. “I
hit it right in the tail where you shouldn’t hit it,
but at least it didn’t bleed. As soon as we put it on
the deck and grabbed the pliers, the hook popped out like
nothing,” he said. Sizing the king up, Gourley and crew
knew they had a serious contender, and headed the 23’
Mercury powered Yellowfin back towards the scales. Their 33.08
would be the fifth-largest king of the day, and secured their
place as Marco Island Class of 23’ Champions for the
second year in a row, taking home over $900 in winnings.
The local Naples team, Fin Addict, took second place honors
in the Class of 23’ with a 24.82- pound king, over $600
cash. Captain Tim Packord and Russ Jones were anchored up
and chumming a spot 30 miles offshore and had missed one bigger
fish when they found their rod screaming at 2 p.m. They knew
they had to make this fish count. “We just barely got
the anchor up in time. We had the Junior drive the boat while
I fought the fish over to the side. I barely had him hooked
in the back and Russ gaffed him on the second try,”
reported Packord. “It was high-five action after that.”
The team fished to the last minute and were one of the last
to weigh, but couldn’t top that king. Heading to fish
their backyard in two weeks, watch for this team to be scoring
some good points for Division 11’s Class title, Captain
Packord has been catching kings in the area since he was a
boy. “It’s funny, whenever we caught kingfish
here when I was a kid, we always moved, but now I’m
spending thousands of dollars trying to catch these things,”
joked Packord.
With the Division 11 opener in the books, look for the race
for points to heat up in Naples. With few exceptions, most
teams agree that they will let the weather dictate their plans
and strategy for the upcoming event. Will Mother Nature let
teams make the run down to the Keys, or will she be huffing
and puffing, forcing them to stay closer to home? Either way,
look for Legal Limits and Hold’em Hook to come with
their game faces on.
Clearwater
Final Standings
- HOLD’EM
HOOK ..........................................................
39.92
Fountain/Mercury
Chris Thomas
Marc Wilson
Greg Haskin
- NEVER E-NUFF
...........................................................
39.11
Contender/Yamaha
Mike Rinaldo
Kent Allen
Spencer Bass
James Heinbaugh
Chad Schroeder
- FOUR
MARY’S .............................................................
36.82
Fountain/Mercury
C. Pete Tsourakis
Joel Zalud
Harry Thomas
Keith Thomas
- DIGESTIBLE
...............................................................
33.95
Contender/Yamaha
Jerry Stephenson
Mark Wicker
Sarah Stephenson
Rhonda Wicker
- TEXAS AQUATIC
.........................................................
32.61
Yellowfin/Mercury
Jim Vaughan
Mark Wilson
- GET N SOME
...............................................................
29.44
Wellcraft/Yamaha
Samuel Rife
Rick Hardwicke
- MIDNIGHT
MADNESS
...................................................27.24
Midnight Express/Yamaha
Vic Vazquez
John Guitard
Miguell Guitard
Sean Morton
Mike Guitard, Jr.
Nicholas Guitard
- CONNIE JEAN
..............................................................
26.90
Contender/Mercury
Joe Scalora
Steve Sergent
Rich Dorris
Ed Hogan
- RE-COOPERATING
.......................................................
22.44
Yellowfin/Mercury
Cooper Cordin
Doug Newell
- MAMBO
KINGS .............................................................
22.13
Contender/Yamaha
Alberto Abad
Brandon Lawson
Josh Hatcher
Class of 23’
- LEGAL LIMIT
33.08
Yellowfin/Mercury
Mike Gourley
Jeff Silverthorne
P.J. Myers
Jeffrey Smith
- FIN ADDICT
24.82
McKee Craft/Evinrude
Tim Packord
Russ Jones
SKA Top Lady
Angler
Rhonda Wicker ..................... Digestible
SKA Top
Junior Anglers
1st Sarah Stephenson ........... Digestible
2nd Mike Guitard, Jr .............. Midnight Madness
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