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NO LIMIT/AT&T REAL YELLOW PAGES TEAM LANDS A 53.20!
Captain Fletcher’s Team Sets New ACGFA KFC Record

St. Augustine, Florida – St. Augustine’s Ancient City Gamefish Association has a reputation for putting on a great annual event with big kings and big payouts. The 2007 tournament was no exception, with over 240 teams migrating to Florida’s eastern coastline for a chance at hanging a monster worth $25,000. At the end of day one Dr. Hook had the lead with a 37.95-pounder, leaving the tournament wide-open for a big king to steal the show. While common sense dictated that someone would more than likely find a 40-pounder to top the leaderboard, many teams were frustrated by a string of cookie cutters in the 20-pound range. That had to make it all the sweeter for Captain Trip Fletcher and the No Limit / AT&T Real Yellow Pages team when they pulled the monster 53.20-pound king over the transom to set a new tournament record and win the ACGFA Kingfish Challenge.

“He made five huge runs,” said angler Kenny Crawford, recounting the early morning battle. “It was an awesome fight!” At 10:00 their tournament-winner hit a blue runner on the long line, and the fight was on with Kenny on the rod while Junior Angler Hunter Fletcher and Bill Walsh cleared the lines. “He’d be running one direction, turn on a dime, and then run straight towards another boat,” continued Crawford. The king attempted this getaway multiple times to no avail; Doreen Fletcher was behind the wheel of the 36’ Yamaha powered Contender and she consistently ran the fish down. Five big runs made for a long fight, and Kenny passed the rod to Captain Fletcher to finish the mossback off.

With Kenny on standby with the gaff Captain Fletcher waited out the last few runs before eventually tiring the king and reeling it to the side of the Contender. “When I gaffed him he was half under the boat,” recalled Crawford, “So I thought it was only a 40-pounder.” But an upward tug on the gaff handle forced Crawford to quickly reevaluate his estimate, and with a little help from Captain Fletcher the No Limit / AT&T Real Yellow Pages team was soon appreciating the beautiful sight of a fresh 50-pounder iced down in the fishbox.

The team was soon on plane, headed for the scales and calling family and friends along the way, letting everyone know that THE fish was coming to the docks. They didn’t disappoint, and 53.20 pounds was the final verdict, dominating the field by over 11 pounds. “We owe Captain Jimmy Fedick and the Jewelin team big time,” said Crawford of the win. Last year Trip had helped the Jewelin team out at an event, and Fedick returned the favor this year with some very good numbers. It’s safe to say he paid that favor off.

The No Limit / AT&T Real Yellow Pages team is a collaboration team in the Division 5 race. When Captain Trip Fletcher of the No Limit had boat difficulties after the start of the season, Captain Kenny Crawford of the AT&T Real Yellow Pages opted to sacrifice his points to allow Trip and his team fish on his boat under the No Limit name. It turned out to be an incredible combination as the team earned a great multiple-title finish. Top honors in the tournament earned the group 25 grand, and that 53.20 broke Lee Ward’s previous 50.70-pound record, setting a new bar for the ACGFA KFC. As the top SKA boat, Fletcher and his team also earned a $1,000 voucher to fly anywhere courtesy of the SKA’s new sponsor AirTran. Hunter Fletcher took Top Junior Angler honors, and received his plaque at the awards ceremony courtesy of Subway. Plus, Doreen Fletcher took the Top Lady Angler title while Bill Walsh was the event’s Top Senior Angler. After that incredible day on the water Captain Fletcher’s team sits in seventh place with two events to go, if they can reel in another whopper in Jacksonville they’ll be sitting pretty for the year.

The Haspel family boat, the Reel Panic, with Captain Bobby, Bill and Greg Haspel and John Adkins, took second place with a great day two 41.85-pounder. Like many teams, Captain Haspel chose to point his 38’ Mercury powered Fountain to the Captain’s House, and the group nailed their big king right off the bat at 7:15. Trolling in 37 feet of water a ribbonfish on the downrigger ten feet below the surface was the bait of choice, and John Adkins grabbed the rod for the fight.

“He made one 200-yard run, but then he came right to the boat,” and Greg’s waiting gaff, reported Captain Haspel. With such an early catch, the Reel Panic continued searching for kings, hooking and releasing two small ones, before heading in early to wait out the remainder of the day at the docks. “We’re talking Nationals!” said the excited Captain to SKA’s Jack Holmes on the docks, stating that they had a solid high-30s king. The scale told a different story, however, as the Reel Panic’s king tipped the digital “needle” to 41.85 pounds, earning Haspel and his team second place overall. With a majority of Division 5’s top 20 Open Class teams placing with a three-fish aggregate, Haspel’s team is looking great with a two-fish 88.06 aggregate. You’ve got to love sitting in third in the highly competitive Division 5 with a zero-pound drop fish. Watch for the Reel Panic team to dig deep in Jacksonville.

Easy Money was also tied up at the docks on Sunday, with Captain Joe Tringali and his team jubilantly awaiting the scales. “We’ve got a stud!” said the excited Captain. The Easy Money weighed a 31.50 on Saturday, bettering that fish would surely put them in the money. When the weighmaster had done his duty the Easy Money team was all smiles, a 40.65-pounder was the leader at that point, and eventually earned Tringali and his team third overall.

The Easy Money found their third place fish trolling off the Jacksonville Beach in 40 feet of water. “We caught that king right after an osprey had stolen our blue runner on the long line,” recalled Tringali. “From the sound of the reel we were sure we had a monster, but the line was going the wrong way, straight up!” All “fowl-hooked” jokes aside, the team released their initial catch and was soon rewarded when a blue runner on the downrigger was smashed at 10:00 while the Easy Money trolled about a mile south of the pack.

“He made one big run and then Mike got him right to the boat,” reported Tringali. “But it was definitely a team effort,” Mike Castaing humbly said, noting that Barry Fox had the lines cleared in an instant while John Sheets readied the gaff. After a quick 15-minute fight the crew soon had the big mossback hanging from the hand scale, and the 42 pounds on the readout made the team’s next choice easy. “We had bettered our first fish and decided not to take any chances,” said Tringali. “St. Mary’s didn’t have a 40 and Fernandina didn’t have a 40. We knew this fish would go at least 40 pounds so we headed right in.” The strategy was sound, third place in the tournament and 40.65 more points propelled the Easy Money team from 20th to third in Division 5’s standings, watch for Tringali and his team to capitalize on this momentum in Jacksonville.

Captain Mike McRae and Chuck Brown on the Dr. Hook took top Class of 23’ honors and fourth place overall with a 37.95-pounder. “It was a little rough getting out,” reported McRae, who Captains the 19’ Mercury powered Cape Horn, but the duo weathered the conditions stoically for a 23-mile run to the Moody Culverts.

“We knew the weather had been rough, and there were a ton of weeds in close, so I thought we needed to go deep,” said McRae. At nine o’clock a ribbonfish on the downrigger was snatched while trolling in 95 feet of water, and McRae took up angling duties, sealing the deal in 25 minutes. With a front approaching from the west, the Dr. Hook headed back to the dock to wait out the rain and the remaining few hours until the scales opened. A 37.95-pounder set the bar for the day, and at the end of Saturday’s fishing a Class boat was leading the pack of over 240 teams. Dropped down to fourth place at the end of the event, McRae earned $3,225 for that position as well as a $1,000 bonus for their Class win. Their best fish of the year, the team added that 37-pounder to two other 30s to lead Division 5’s Class of 23’ with two events to go.

The Bait Shake, named for Captain Lavelle Davis’ innovative new chum distribution system, was also waiting at the docks early Saturday afternoon. Captain Davis and his son Jared had found their money-fish early while fishing between the Castle and the Captain’s House, it nailed a ribbonfish on the downrigger at 7:45 a.m. Jared fought the king to the side of the boat in short order, and after getting a good eyeball on the fish, the team knew that they already had the king they were going to weigh.

“But there was no sense in roasting at the dock,” said Captain Davis, and he and Jared put the Bait Shake chumming machine to action again and soon hooked up a 55-pound cobia. It took over an hour and a half, but Jared worked that fish to the side of the Bait Shake as well, and the pair had a great dinner-time bonus to go with their fifth place $2,432 winnings. “It was a great day with the Bait Shake,” reported Davis, “after nine years of getting it just right it’s done!” For more information on Davis’ new chum system, make sure to check out next month’s issue of Angler.

Non-members Twister and Ms. Ashley took the next two paid positions with a 37.70 and a 36.95, respectively.

Captain Jim Rachael and the Mad Dog team are up next in eighth place with a 35.85-pounder. Captain Rachael, Joe Pacetti, Mike Hurst, A.J. Simonetta and David Beam are having an incredible season on their 36’ Yamaha powered Contender. This team has led Division 5 since their big win at the Kingbuster, and with a 107.92-pound total and a 25-pound drop-fish, they’re looking great for a shot at the Divisional title headed to Jacksonville.

The Jewelin, Captain James Fedick’s team, took ninth place with a 35.25. Fedick and his team of Steve McEvoy, James Fedick, Jr. and Clark Krazitz had the winning numbers for the event, but it just wasn’t their turn. They did, however, hook up a great 35.25 fishing on the 25’ Yamaha powered Clearwater, and are sitting in ninth place in the Division heading to Jacksonville.

Non-member Catch-M-All rounds out the top ten with a 34.25

The Reel Tight is up next, taking second place honors in the Class of 23’ and 11th place overall. Another team that fished the Captain’s House, Captain Rob Cripe and Paul Mahon set up shop with the 23’ Mercury powered Sea Pro in 50 feet of water. “We pulled up, put ribbons out, ran 300 yards and he hit the deep downrigger set at 35 feet and took off,” recalled Cripe, who grabbed the rod. “He made two runs, but then bellied up before he even started doing circles,” he reported of the 20-minute fight.

“It’s our biggest king ever! We were whooping, hollering and high-fiving out there,” said Cripe. The team kept searching for a larger fish, hooking and releasing a mid-20s before calling it a day and heading in. At the scales the Reel Tight king went 34.25 pounds, positioning the team in 17th in the Class of 23’, Cripe and his team will have to fish hard in Jacksonville to ensure a trip to Biloxi in November.

Rounding out the paid positions, Captain Dick Gilreath fished his 31’ Mercury powered Fountain to a 13th place finish with a 33.45. The Leeward, Captain Lee Ward’s 29’ Yamaha powered Hydra Sports boat, hooked the 14th place fish, a 32.70. A good fish for sure, but Lee was shaking his head as he walked his fish to the scales, word had already reached him that his 50.70-pound record had been broken by Fletcher and his team.

Captain Ty Ellis and the Typhoon team are up next in 15th place. Fishing a 23’ Mercury powered Yellowfin, Ellis and his team reeled in a 31.35 for the position, and they are currently fifth in Class headed for Jacksonville. Team Spectre / R-Rated took the 16th position with a 31.15-pounder on the 34’ Yamaha powered Spectre. Captain Rembrandt Gray leads this family team, and besides catching her first sailfish, young Hannah Damon was the second place Junior Angler with that 31-pound king.

Another Class boat, Captain W.K. Parker’s Salt Shaker, is up next in 17th. Parker headed his 23’ Mercury powered Wellcraft to the Captain’s House where their 31.15-pounder nailed a ribbon on the downrigger set 30 feet down. Captain John Crumrine’s Stressless took the 18th spot with a 31.10-pounder. Crumrine and crew fish a 31’ Mercury powered Fountain.

The Sanborn family boat, the Grand Slam, took 19th place with a 30.95 king. Fishing a 20’ Yamaha powered Angler, Captain George Sanborn found the right spot for young Brandon to reel in that 30-pounder and third place Junior Angler honors. Rounding out the top 20 is the Plumb Fun, a 22’ Yamaha powered Pro Sport. Captain Michael E. and Michael P. Crabtree hooked a 30.35 for the position.

With the only two tournament to go in the Division 5 race, the 27th Annual AT&T Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament will be the “make it or break it” event for a lot of these Florida teams. Captain Rachael’s Mad Dog and Captain McRae’s Dr. Hook teams have a dominating lead in each of their respective Classes, nearly 20 pounds each! But with virtually the entirety of Division 5 fishing that next event, those standings are sure to change.

As always, James Manucy and the Ancient City Gamefish Association put on an incredible tournament with plenty of helpful staff, tasty food, and a great payout. Scenic St. Augustine is a great spot to host the mid-season event, with plenty to see and places to shop for those non-angling members of your fishing entourage. While parking in the Nation’s Oldest City has always been problematic, plans are already in the works to take advantage of the new parking complex adjacent to St. Augustine’s events field in the future. Make sure to plan this tournament into next year’s schedule, you won’t be disappointed!