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POCKET CHANGE CASHES IN A 42-POUNDER AT CLEARWATER!
Wins New 21’ Contender/Yamaha/Loadmaster Package

by Ian Warner

Clearwater, Florida - With beautiful weather on the horizon 113 teams arrived at the Boater’s World Tournament of Champions on Friday, April 27th to take their shot at winning a new 21’ Contender center console with Yamaha outboard and Loadmaster trailer. Held at Gators on the Pass, the two-day event promised anglers one of the first weekends of ideal fishing weather so far this season. But as beautiful as the skies were, they don’t hold a candle to a tournament-winning 42-pounder.

“We caught that king first thing in the morning around 7:30, just after arriving at our spot off Egmont Key,” explained Captain Mike Masters of the Pocket Change. “We hooked this fish on a downrigger, actually it was a makeshift downrigger, because ours are on a 61’ Viking down in Mexico right now.” Mike sent a ladyfish 40 feet down on his jury rigged tackle, and was rewarded in 20 minutes. “The rod went off and we weren’t 100 percent sure what it was, he just fought deep. About 20 minutes into the fight he started to come up and I thought we were going to finally get a good look at him. About that time a 10-foot hammerhead followed him up, and it looked like a king on a sardine.”

With the hammerhead circling its potential prey, Mike free-spooled the line to let the king maneuver and directed the navigator to position the 34’ Honda powered Legend over the shark. “So we all started stomping on the deck and it worked, it scared him down long enough for me to lock down the drag and muscle that king in. I knew we were really running out of time with that shark down there, but the second he showed himself we gaffed him.”

At the scales the Pocket Change’s king proved to be the first and only 40 of the event, weighing in at 42.04 pounds. The Boater’s World Tournament of Champions title and a brand new 21’ Yamaha powered Contender complete with Loadmaster trailer would go to Clearwater, Florida’s Captain Mike Masters, who has had one great week of fishing. “We just went five for seven on marlin in Cabo St. Lucas,” said Masters, accounting for the missing downriggers. A great week indeed, that 42-pounder is the second-largest weighed in Division 6 this year and places the Pocket Change in the Open Class top ten.

Captain Tim Wooten and the Never Satisfied Team landed a big 35.73-pounder on day one to hold the leaderboard at halftime, but with Pocket Change’s 42-pounder scaled on Saturday the Never Satisfied was forced to settle for second place honors. Captain Wooten hails from Largo, Florida, and was joined by Doug Clark and Doug Boling on the 35’ Suzuki powered Everglades for the event. The team started 25 miles to the north, and then made a few moves before settling to fish at the Skyway channel. Just past noon a cigar minnow on the long line was snatched, and the Captain manned the rod while Boling cleared the lines and Clark waited with the gaff.

“It was a pretty good little tussle,” admitted Wooten. “It seemed like forever, you know?” But the team finally pulled the 35-pounder aboard and got her iced down before continuing their search. That proved to be the Never Satisfied’s magic king, as they didn’t see any more action for the rest of the weekend. “Not even a bite,” admitted Wooten. Still, that one bite propelled the Never Satisfied team to the 14th spot in the Open Class, look for Wooten to try to capitalize on this momentum at the next event at Gators in May.

Team Marlago.com caught a good fish on Sunday, and they knew it had the potential to knock that 35.73 down a notch on the leaderboard, so they were waiting at the weigh-in when it opened hoping to preserve those precious ounces. “We went to the Hole, it was Riley’s decision,” reported Captain John Smith. “I have a certain ESP with kingfish,” joked Riley Turner. But Riley’s premonition was dead-on, and conditions were perfect at the Hole. “The tide was ripping pretty good right there, which is important at that spot,” said Smith.

At 10:00 a runner being dropped back in the prop wash was smashed. “It was a Chinese fire drill,” continued Smith, “about half the fleet was fishing there. We had six lines in the water and were close to the other boats with only a two-man crew.” But the team worked it out and landed a solid mid-30s. Playing it safe the team headed their 35’ Yamaha powered Marlago back to the scales, and when weigh-in opened the team found they just missed Never Satisfied’s mark, eventually dropping to third with their 35.15-pounder. With two fish that positions Treasure Island, Florida’s Team Marlago.com in fourth place in the Open Class headed to Gators.

Captain Mike Howe’s No Bananas took fourth place with a 35.04-pounder caught on Sunday.

Redington Beach, Florida’s Captain Matt Tarrance and Doug Paul teamed on the Knight Life / Idle Time to land two good kings and take fifth place. First the pair went to the Egmont Key on Saturday and scaled a 29.43-pounder to sit in sixth place headed into Sunday’s fishing. Sticking to the same plan the team headed back to the Key to fish in the pack. “We were the first one there both days,” reported Tarrance, obviously pleased with the performance of his 31’ Yamaha powered Fountain.

At 12:30 a blue runner on the long line was taken and Doug Paul manned the rod while Tarrance maneuvered the boat. The pair reported a quick fight, and at the scale they found they had bettered their initial king by over five pounds with a 34.46. “We would have won the aggregate category,” joked Paul at the awards ceremony. The team now sits in 15th place heading to Gators.

Hailing from Largo, Florida, Captain Ron Kein and Team Spectre Yanmar / Top Gun round out the SKA top five with a 33.37-pound king. Fishing the distinctive 37’ Yanmar powered Spectre, Kein was joined by Dave and Josh Heavenridge and Warren Williams for the event. Kein and his crew found that king on Saturday to sit in second, but dropped to sixth overall with the 30s and 40 weighed Sunday. That 33-pounder earned Josh Heavenridge the SKA’s Top Junior Angler award for the event. Plus, that fish puts Kien’s team in second place in the Open Class headed to another Gators event.

A 31.64-pounder is the next king up, caught by Captain Jim Hasson and his crew on the 2nd Choice, a 22’ Yamaha powered Biddison out of St. Petersburg, Florida. “We had one bite, a little one, at about 2:30. We were fishing the Hole, and when you’re fishing there you usually only get one bite, and that’s it. We got lucky and got another bite on the downrigger a few minutes later,” reported Randy Keys, who was running the boat. With Ira Pearson on the rod and Hasson waiting with the gaff, Junior Angler Dominic Molfetas was coaching through the long battle.

“The fish was dogging us,” reported Keys. “It really was. It just seemed a lot stronger than normal. Usually a big fish gives up early on. Bringing him to the boat Ira put as much heat on him as he could without pulling the hooks, but the as soon as it hit the deck the hooks fell right out of his mouth.” A great last-minute fish, it was hammer down to the scales where the team made it with less than ten minutes to spare. That 31.64 sat in third place overall at the end of Saturday’s fishing, and as the 2nd Choice team couldn’t better it they dropped a few spots to take first place in the Class of 23’. That 31-pounder also earned Dominic second place Junior Angler status.

Second place in the Class of 23’ went to Captain Lynn Zirkle on the TampaBayAngler.com with a 30.96-pounder caught on Saturday. Zirkle was joined by Mike Muar and Roy Cotner on the 23’ Mercury powered Triton, and the team decided to fish off St. Petersburg Beach at the Five Mile Bottom. At 7:30 they got their only bite of the whole weekend, and after a quick fight by Zirkle, Cotner gaffed the king and pulled it onto the boat. “It was short, real short. I couldn’t believe it when it came over the side,” said Zirkle.

Sticking to the same spot on Sunday proved frustrating for Zirkle, who reported that the water got dirty in the area, and the team was forced to move to Egmont Key to fish with the majority of the tournament fleet. With no fish their fourth place king fell to second in the Class. Zirkle will be back in May to fish the next Gators event.

In the Class of 23’ Race Captain Brian Hasson and the Knot Me team jumped into first place by landing a 30.53-pounder for third in Class. Previous leader Captain Nathan Thomas and Team Everglades could only find a 24.02 and dropped to second place. With three tournaments to go, it’s wide-open headed to Gators.

Captain Dante Fabbro and the Due West team took seventh place overall with a 31.48-pounder. Fishing a 31’ Yamaha powered Cape Horn, Fabbro and his crew of Mike Tomaino and Kyle Martin are now sitting in third in the Open Class with a 55-pound aggregate. The Weldon family on the Horizon Haze found another good king in this event, a 31.36 for eighth place. Captain Chuck, Christopher and Jason Weldon fish a 34’ Mercury powered Fountain out of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Captain Glen Gee’s Buggin Out rounds out the top ten with a 30.42-pounder. Hailing from Bradenton, Florida, Gee and his crew of Aaron Bishop and Melvin Stowe fish a 31’ Yamaha powered Contender.

The Outta Line, Captain John McLay’s team, took 11th with 29.88 pounds. Next up is the Feelin Sexy Too with a 28.68. Last year’s Class of 23’ National Champions, Captain Jeremy Bonnell and the Bonnells on the Bandit took 13th place with a 28.38-pounder.

Captain Jay Mastry and the Jaybird team always seem to make it in the money at this event, and they squeaked by with a 14th place 27.14 this year. Captain Sam Maisano and the Insta-Gator team round out the paid positions with a 26.74-pounder for 15th place.

It was a beautiful weekend for a tournament, and a wonderful venue to house an event. Who can argue with a kingfish tournament on Kingfish Wharf just off Kingfish Drive? It never hurts to have “the world’s longest dockside bar” at your disposal at the end of a weigh-in, either. Teams always have a great time at Gators; we hope to see you there this May!