>>read more PRO stories<<

The 2006 Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour opened with clear, sunny skies and calm Key West seas during the Thursday Captain’s meeting, much to the relief of anglers who braved the elements at the Hog’s Breath tournament. Some 90 teams arrived to start off the ’06 Pro Tour and the race for the coveted Angler of the Year title. With so many smoker kings caught in the area just one month prior, the anticipation factor was high with teams discussing strategy and exchanging numbers from both Hog’s Breath and pre-fishing.

Friday morning the teams left their respective slips and made their way to the checkout boat, and there was no missing it. Tournament officials caught a ride on a 40-foot PT-140, its use graciously donated by the Naval Station in the Keys . Boat numbers were all carefully recorded and then the Professional Tour was officially underway as the word was given and 88 boats raced off in a bimini start.

While every team had their hearts set on that 60-pound whopper to put them into the lead for the tournament and the year, only one boat would manage the feat: Line One. Captain John Griffin out of Cedar Point, NC with Brian Forehand, Tommy Howell, A.D. Register and Tim Eaton pulled a 61.76 from the calm Key West waters, but not without difficulty. “We were about eight miles east of the Tail End Buoy. That came about because we were having boat trouble. We had the steering break on the boat, and at about the same time we lost one engine,” reported Griffin. “We were in a situation where we had to do the best we could do at that time. So we started fishing from that point back.” It’s not often that engine problems are a blessing in disguise, but Line One’s difficulties put them in the right spot at the right time, and at 8:45 Tim Eaton found himself battling the biggest king of the tournament. He quickly got the king to the side of the 38’ Mercury powered Fountain, and Tommy Howell put the gaff to the big girl. “It was a nice fish,” smiled Griffin nonchalantly. “At that point we knew we had to get back in, so we took off and the boat was really dangerous. The steering was gone and we had very few options left.”

Griffin managed to maneuver the boat to the entrance channel to Murray Marine. Unable to get up on plane he was understandably nervous about traversing the rocky shallows, but knew he was going to try. Attempting to contact Mercury tournament support through the tournament committee Griffin apprised Jack Holmes of the situation and his intention to traverse the shallows in spite of the danger. With the safety of both the anglers in the boat, as well as the welfare of Murray Marine, its charter Captains and their business in mind, Mr. Holmes instructed Griffin to dock at the Seaside Marina and meet tournament officials to receive the fish to be weighed when the scales opened.

When the scales opened it turned out that this “nice” fish was definitely worth all the trouble. Weighing-in at 61.76 pounds, Line One set the bar high, and that big fish would prove to be the smoker king of the weekend. But would it be enough? Captain Eric Smith and family on the Comfortably Numb was less than six pounds behind with a good 55.86, followed closely by Rat Pack, Bandit, Fish Dancer and Mad Mouse who all had over 50 pounds on the leaderboard. Not knowing if they would even get the Line One back out on the water, Captain Griffin and crew found themselves scrambling.

“Scotty [of Mercury Marine] deemed the boat unsafe and wanted me to put it on the trailer,” said Griffin. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” he smiled. “We got the boat back to where it could run, and could only go about 30 mph. It was iffy as to where we could go and how far we could go, but we went to where we caught the fish yesterday.” With no luck at that spot the team moved down to the Tail End Buoy and managed a 24-pound points-fish to take the pressure off. The team hit a couple of other spots with no larger fish, and then found a spot with some good green water about five miles off the beach. A runner in the prop wash was snatched and Tommy grabbed the rod while Tim took up gaffing duties as the team worked what would turn out to be a 42-pound king to the boat. Their two-fish aggregate would total 104.46 pounds, leading the competition by over 13 pounds, and sealed their fate as Tournament Champions of the first leg of the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. “We’d really like to thank Forrest Taylor of That’s My Dog for sharing some information with us. It’s really appreciated, it paid off,” smiled Griffin. Paid off it did: Griffin and crew earned over $40,000 in cash for their performance as well as a Rolex watch valued at $7,500 and a discount prize package from Fountain, Myco, TR-1, Sign Zoo and C & H Lures. Watch out for this team in Ft. Pierce come Nationals and the second leg of the Pro Tour, they’ve got a game plan. “We’re going to go down and win them both!” joked Tommy Howell, who was awarded SKA Pro Top Senior Angler honors in the tournament.

Captain Ron Mitchell’s Bandit took second place honors in Key West, reeling in a 52-pounder to sit in fourth place at the end of day one, then backing it up with a 38.72 on Saturday to post a 91.11-pound aggregate. Friday morning Captain Ron Mitchell of Port St. Lucie, FL and his new crew of Curt Johnson, Justin Burgreen and David Pendergraft headed their 36’ Yamaha powered Contender west and ran about 70 miles. The team tried a couple of spots, made a couple of moves, but had no luck. “Then Harry from the Four Sons called and told us that there were some fish in the Tail End area,” reported Mitchell. Reaching the spot the team caught the end of the bite and had multiple doubles and a triple hook-up, landing a good forty in the boat. Realizing how strong the bite was in the area, the team kept fishing and was rewarded when an eel with a pink skirt was nailed on the downrigger set at 70 feet at 1:00. Justin grabbed the rod as another reel started singing to add to the mayhem. The second reel turned out to be another 30-pounder, and Justin refocused his efforts on his king. The big girl really wasn’t putting up much of a fight, at least until Mitchell put the gaff to her. “It took three of us to get her over the side, I’ve never had a fish fight like that after the gaff,” he reported. The team fished a few more minutes then decided to play it safe and head for the scales. One of the first ten boats to weigh, Bandit’s king would tip the scales to 52.39 pounds, placing them in fourth place and putting the pressure on Mitchell and his team to dig deep on day two.

“The second day our game plan was to just try to get a 30-pounder in the boat early, so we headed out about 30 miles,” reported Mitchell. Reaching their spot the team immediately began pulling in 20’s and low 30’s. Then at 11:00 their big fish of the day came on another ribbonfish on the downrigger set at 45 feet while they were trolling at a depth of 100 feet. “We figured he was probably mid-30’s so we fished a couple more hours and then left early to weigh it in time.” Mitchell and crew on the Bandit totaled a 91.11 two-fish aggregate, a great start to the Pro Tour, this is definitely a team to be wary of in Ft. Pierce. “Its our backyard, we’ve done pretty good there. Our game plan is to just do a little pre-fishing, and hopefully there will be some fish in the normal spots up there. With a little bit of luck I’m hoping we can stay on top,” smiled Mitchell.

Hailing from Myrtle Beach, SC, Captain Darren Ratley’s Rat Pak took third place honors with a 90.72-pound aggregate, just .39 pounds out of second. Captain Ratley, John Mott and Gary Lineberry headed their 34’ Mercury powered Fountain west and fished the Tortugas until noon with no luck, then made a move to the Tail End Buoy. Trolling in 60 feet of water, their big fish of the day nailed a hardtail on top at 2:00. The Captain took up angling duties and made short work of bringing it close enough for Lineberry to put the gaff to her. On day two the team had a very similar day, just in reverse order. “We started at the Tail End Buoy and caught a 37 on a hardtail on top again. Then we got word that a better bite was on at the Tortugas, so we picked up and ran there, but couldn’t get a bigger fish. But everything went pretty smoothly. Nice weather, nice sea conditions, everything went real well,” smiled Ratley. So what is this team planning for Ft. Pierce? “We’re going there to win! We’re going to go down a few days early and try to get some fish lined up and find out where they’re at.” Odds are this team already has a pretty good idea where the fish are in Ft. Pierce; they won the event in 2003. If you’re heading to this event, it might be wise to follow their example: Do your homework!

The Mad Mouse added up a 90.06-pound aggregate to name Monica Ferris the SKA Top Pro Lady Angler and secure the team’s fourth place position. Captain Rob, Russ and Monica Ferris and David Sharon fish a 32’ Mercury powered Sea Craft out of Harrisburg, NC, the third Carolinas boat in the top four. Captain Ferris chose the Marquis’ Rocks as their spot, and found a ledge to work ascending from 60 to 140 feet. Just past noon a money fish crossed their path, and Rob worked the rod while David waited with the gaff. Seeing the size of the fish the team decided to head right in, and reaching the scale learned they had a 50.56-pound mackerel, placing them in sixth heading to Saturday’s fishing. Sticking with what was obviously working the team headed out to the same area the next day and was trolling over the same ledge when they found their 39.50-pounder. The Captain took up angling duties again, Dave sunk home another good gaff shot, and the rest is in the books. An obviously proud Captain Ferris attributed the team’s success to good teamwork, in spite of the fact that it was this rookie crew’s first time together. “We didn’t lose a fish all weekend, we had no mistakes. Everything just fell into place,” grinned Dave. Heading to Ft. Pierce the team is already working on a plan. “Pre-fishing for the Nationals we found some good bait spots and some good king spots. We’ve got some pretty good connections down there, so we’re as ready as we can be,” grinned Ferris.

The Woithe family on The Reel Won rounds out the top five with an 82.11-pound aggregate. Captain Bob and wife Sue with sons Bruce and Bob headed their 36’ Yamaha powered Contender out on Friday to the Tail End Buoy and had one heck of a day of fishing, but no whoppers. “We must have caught 25 fish. We just picked through them,” said Bob. For a day’s work on the water The Reel Won came to the scales with a 33.54, definitely not the smoker they were looking for. Heading out on Saturday the team knew they really needed to up the ante. “”The game plan was to make sure we didn’t get a zero. We wanted to get a points-fish and then go hog hunting,” reported Woithe. Fishing the Tail End Buoy the team had already had three fish by 8:00, and was debating whether or not to make a move when their big one hit a big runner on top trolling in 75 feet of water. Bruce angled the king to the boat, but when the team got a good eyeball on the king they were disappointed. “When we got this fellow we really didn’t think he was much of a fish. He was shorter than the 33-pounder we got on Friday, he was just big, heavy and fat,” recalled Woithe. Little did they know that their short and stout king would tip the scales at 48.57 pounds, the largest king weighed on Saturday! “It was a good surprise,” smiled Bob. A great come-from-behind victory, the Woithes took over $8,000 home to Placida, FL.

Fresh from their fourth place victory at Hog’s Breath, Captain Howard Poe and the Kill-N-Me crew backed it up here with a sixth place, 76.83-pound aggregate. Fishing a 38’ Mercury powered Donzi out of Darien, GA, Captain Poe, Donna Gowen Poe, Chris Cathey, Charlene Huling and Robin Williams landed a 35.32 on Friday and a 41.51 on Saturday.

Jacksonville, FL teams took the next two spots. Captain Randy Nader’s Exterminader took seventh place with a 75.04 total, earning Samantha Nader SKA Pro Top Junior Angler honors. Fishing Salty Marine’s new Contender 33T as a sub boat, the Naders were joined by Lance Cote and Jerry Moulton. Their big king of the weekend, a 41.15, was reeled in by Lance on Friday. Eighth place fell to Captain Randy Crabtree’s Vamoose with a 74.64 two-fish aggregate. Captain Crabtree, Roy Boone and Rick Henley fish a 38’ Mercury powered Donzi and landed their big king, a 46.36, on Friday as well.

Two Fountain/Mercury teams round out the top ten. Captain George Vink’s Sea-Ment pulled down a 74.53 aggregate with a 36.88 and a 37.65. Captain Vink, Tripp Gunti and Jill Thomas fish their 31’ Fountain out of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Captain Mike Kaminsky’s Loose Lucy took tenth with a 74.24-pound aggregate. Mike and Susan Kaminsky and Jimmy Stecki trailered their 34’ Fountain from Charleston, SC.

Captain James Croft of Yulee, FL added up a 73.20 total for 11th place while Irresistible’s Captain Bruce Rutledge weighed 71.59 pounds of king for 12th place honors to take home to Jacksonville, FL. Another Jacksonville native, Captain David Butler, weighed a 70.83-pound aggregate to take 13th place. Captain Joe Witte on the Swivel Lips weighed in 70.44 pounds to take 14th place home to Miami, FL. Rounding out the top 15 was Captain Terry Grantham’s My Three Sons out of Florence, SC. He and his team posted a 69.80-pound aggregate for the honors.

Ft. Pierce will truly be a test for these Pro anglers. Will a week of fishing the Nationals prior prove to be a benefit to teams, or will they get skunked in the Pros fishing that hot spot from the Nationals? Can Line One back it up and hold on to a 13-pound lead? Conversely, can Bandit fully utilize the home court advantage and take the lead? Will those three top five Carolina teams have another great showing in Florida waters? Stay tuned; it will only get more exciting as the action heats up on the 2006 Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour.

Key West Yamaha Pro Tour Final Standings

1. LINE ONE ......................61.76 42.70 104.46
Fountain/Mercury
Captain John Griffin
Cedar Point, NC
Brian Forehand
Tommy Howell
A.D. Register
Tim Eaton

2. BANDIT .........................52.39 38.72 91.11
Contender/Yamaha
Captain Ron Mitchell
Port St. Lucie, FL
Curt Johnson
Justin Burgreen
David Pendergraft

3. RAT PAK .........................54.03 36.69 90.72
Fountain/Mercury
Captain Darren Ratley
Myrtle Beach, SC
John Mott
Gary Lineberry

4. MAD MOUSE ....................50.56 39.50 90.06
Sea Craft/Mercury
Captain Rob Ferris
Harrisburg, NC
Russ Ferris
Monica Ferris
David Sharon

5. THE REEL WON ................33.54 48.57 82.11
Contender/Yamaha
Captain Bob Woithe, Sr.
Placida, FL
Sue P. Woithe
Bruce Woithe
Bob Woithe, PhD

6. KILL-N-ME ......................35.32 41.51 76.83
Donzi/Mercury
Captain Howard Poe
Darien, GA
Donna Gowen Poe
Chris Cathey
Charlene Huling
Robin Williams

7. EXTERMINADER ..............41.15 33.89 75.04
Contender/Yamaha
Captain Randy Nader
Jacksonville, FL
Lance Cote
Jerry Moulton
Samantha Nader

8. VAMOOSE .......................46.36 28.28 74.64
Donzi/Mercury
Captain Randy Crabtree
Jacksonville, FL
Roy Boone
Rick Henley

9. SEA-MENT .....................36.88 37.65 74.53
Fountain/Mercury
Captain George Vink
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Tripp Gunti
Jill Thomas

10. LOOSE LUCY ................32.48 41.76 74.24
Fountain/Mercury
Captain Mike Kaminsky
Charleston, SC
Susan Kaminsky
Jimmy Stecki

11. BEAR CAUGHT .............40.91 32.29 73.20
Yellowfin/Mercury
Captain James Croft
Yulee, FL
Eddie Claxton
Jack Ross

12. IRRESISTIBLE .............35.72 35.87 71.59
Fountain/Mercury
Captain Bruce Rutledge
Jacksonville, FL
Cindy Rutledge
James Brazier
David LaRue

13. SEASON TICKET ..........27.29 43.54 70.83
Contender/Yamaha
Captain David Butler
Jacksonville, FL
Brad Butler
John Hardie
Todd Crawford

14. SWIVEL LIPS ..............27.54 42.90 70.44
Contender/Yamaha
Captain Joe Witte
Miami, FL
Mike Cleveland
Bryan Bistrong
Brian Collins

15. MY THREE SONS ..........37.61 32.19 69.80
Hydra Sport/Yamaha
Captain Terry Grantham
Florence, SC
Chris Blanton
Kelly Sisk
Ron Enslen

SKA Top Pro Lady Angler
Monica Ferris ..........................Mad Mouse

SKA Top Pro Junior Angler
DIVISION 11 Jr. Angler Sponsor - Cedar Bay Marina
Samantha Nader .....................Exterminader

SKA Top Pro Senior Angler
Tommy Howell .........................Line One