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AIRBORNE WINS 75TH ANNUAL ALABAMA DEEP SEA FISHING RODEO
Captain Steve McMullan Reels in a 62-Pound Monster!
by Jack Holmes
Dauphin Island, Alabama - When you look at the leaderboard you'd think the anglers did well. Very few did. It was the toughest fishing I've ever seen in this event and I've been doing it for a long time. Many a team duked it out for three days on the water to only come in with mid-30s.
The Airborne team was one of those who only had a 32-pound king in the bag going into Sunday. “It was really tough,” said team Captain Steve McMullen. “We were like everyone else, just running here and there, hoping that the next spot would produce the good king.” The team of Steve, Sean McMullen, Rian Lafon, Mike Hart and Jimmy Madden left Dauphin Island and ran to a spot that they haven't fished for a long time, about 60 miles from the tournament site on Dauphin Island. They started fishing a spread on top with a bait down 80 feet. “We weren't doing anything. It was time to pick up and run to another spot but I decided to drop the hard tail down a little deeper, to 115 feet.” The team was fishing in 150 feet of water and Steve's decision was right on target. Rian Lafon picked up the rod and within a short period of time the big fish was on the surface. “After some of the toughest fishing we've seen in a long time, we got lucky,” said Steve. The team presented the king to Dr. Bob Shipp, the tournament’s weighmaster, at the rodeo site before noon and he certified the king at 62.76 pounds, the biggest of the event.
After the 63-inch fish was weighed, it was taken to the marine biologists for dissection and examination. It was discovered that indeed it was a she, and she was spent, decreasing her weight by at least three pounds. She was also free of foreign matter and was extremely fresh. The Airborne team also successfully completed a polygraph Monday morning before the awards that evening.
A former SKA team, Midnight Rider, a 21' Cape Horn, won second place. They came to the scale on Friday morning when the scales opened at ten o'clock. Their fish weighed 51.96 pounds and was caught 53 miles from the site.
The remainder of the field scaled kings in the 40s, however, it might be noted that a small runabout came to the scale late Sunday afternoon and rolled up with a king in a cart that tipped the scales to 59 pounds. All he had was a rodeo ticket and a burnt thumb, no jackpot ticket, nothing! He was of course an instant celebrity with the throngs of media in attendance.
The rodeo celebrated their 75th anniversary with record crowds and record attendance. In the Roy Martin Junior Angler contest held the weekend before the big event, a record 1766 kids showed up. In the main event, the 75th Annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, 3308 anglers competed in 30 different specie categories, a new record. That equates to about 1100 boats. Some 83 teams signed up for the King Mackerel Open Jackpot and 122 registered for the Recreational King Mackerel Jackpot. There were 221 teams that competed in the Speckled Trout Jackpot and 40 bought Big Game Jackpot tickets.
This fishing extravaganza, and I classify that based on the over 50,000 spectators who visited the rodeo grounds during the rodeo, gave away three boats based on random drawings. To be eligible you had to weigh a legal fish to have your stub torn off your rodeo ticket and placed in the drawing tub. A Twin Vee Catamaran boat went to the Speckled Trout Division and a 22' Nautic Star center console boat went to Marvin Mann in the Kingfish Divisions. It was sponsored by Reel Yacht Brokers, Nautic Star and Food World/Brunos.
The final prize boat was for all anglers who registered a legal fish in the event. David Rogers, Jr., who fishes on Quietus in the king mackerel division with the SKA, had the lucky ticket. He took home a beautiful 23' Contender valued at $60,000 and co-sponsored by Grady Marine.
Yamaha Outboards, who supplied the motors, and Loadmaster Trailers, who provided the custom aluminum boat trailers, sponsored all prize boats.
Miss Lynda, with Bryan Minchew, Stephen Kehoe and Lee Garrett on board, could only fish on Friday. The pressure was really on them to catch a good fish, and they did, a 49.74 which won third place. While the team complained of an abundance of sharks like everyone else, they still found four kings fishing 45 miles south. “We were in 130 feet of water and had a hard tail deployed on a flat line,” said Kehoe, the angler of the fish. That king keeps the team at the top of the Open Class in Division 7 with a two-fish aggregate of 99.10.
Marcus Kennedy did something very unusual at this year's event, he weighed on Saturday evening. Usually the team comes in on Saturday night but doesn't come over to the rodeo grounds until after Church on Sunday morning. As expected, he and his Kwazar team of Max Williams, Tyler Kennedy and Brett Rutledge scaled a 48.93-pound king to earn fourth. A lot of teams went west to Venice, Louisiana to catch their kings but in this event Marcus stays home to fish. Rutledge also scaled the second largest Amberjack in the rodeo, a 62.60.
Jason Andrews skillfully coaxed a 48.33-pound king to the side of the Quietus, a 23' Yellowfin. It was enough to put the team into fifth. Together with J.J. Gilmore and David Rogers, Jr., the team spent the first two days catching 30-pounders. But on Sunday fishing 80 miles south of the island, the big girl was found in 160 feet of water. “We caught her 30 feet down using a hard tail around 10:30,” said Rogers. “This was some of the toughest fishing we've found all year.” Quietus is now on top of the standings in the Class of 23’ after two events.
It was great to see SKA member Scot Bynog from the Oompa Loompa win two classes in the Big Game Jackpot. He won the Wahoo category with a 45.47 and the Dolphin class with a 36.14. His king was a 34-pounder.
Mitch Mosley's Lined Out team had a good rodeo, earning sixth with a 46.82. Mitch, along with teammate Eric McMichael, fished 40 miles south of Pettyboy Island. “We set up in 100 feet of water and caught her off the downrigger with a blue runner 30 feet below the surface,” explained Mosley. After two events the duo is sitting in third place behind Quietus and Sea Hagg, only six pounds out of first in the Class of 23’ race. Mosley is one of those anglers who worries about one event at a time, but he has the determination to win the Class in Division 7 this year.
On Sunday morning many boats coming to the dock said Cecil Capps had two big kings. Even our leader at the time, Airborne, was worried. Capps knows how to catch big kings and he’s been a perennial winner over the years. When Cecil reached the weigh-in dock I asked him how big his fish were. He asked me “What have you heard?” I told him and was immediately met with, “The rumors are wrong.” It's amazing how fast they spread, and from team to team the story gets bigger. Capps took it in stride, and while his kings weren't ones needed to challenge Airborne, they were still good fish, the biggest going 44.93 pounds and good for eighth place. “From one until two thirty on Saturday we couldn't keep baits in the water. In that hour and a half period we caught over 30 king mackerel,” said Cecil. His team of Earl Burbridge, Gerry and Landan Rucker and James Doole fished the West Delta on Cecil's Contender, the Sea Hagg.
Edward Fayder caught the biggest king on the Set 4 Life, a 44.51, which earned Lou Arrazola and Scott Brown ninth place, while Mark Allen Ross, Jr. and Derrick Saucier picked up the tenth place spot with a 42.70 on the Steel Slinger. Both of these teams deserve special recognition for this weekend’s efforts. They never quit and pushed until the very end. Remember, winners never quit!
In other categories, SKA member John Housman from My Dinghy won the Barracuda division with a 41.74. That's a monster! Mitch Mosley of Linedout picked up third with a 33.77.
Jonathan McCoy wowed the large crowd with the tournament’s biggest dolphin, a 53.50. He fishes the Reel McCoy.
Mark Collier picked up the third place Blue Runner, a 5.85, for the Intense while Earl Burbridge won the Jack Crevalle category with a 32.60. He fishes the on the Sea Hagg.
Jeremy Goldman picked up the first place honors for a 58.09-pound Wahoo fishing the Wave Digger.
All in all, despite the heat and calm seas, the SKA again did very well, especially when you consider they were fishing against 3300 anglers.
I have one comment to make. I hope the competitors in the Upper Gulf appreciate all the work the Mobile Jaycees do to make this event the largest in the country. By all standards, this is the biggest and best event in the country. I am so proud to be a part of this great organization.
I'm always asked what makes them so great and my response is, they work hard all year long to give the fisher people from Alabama and beyond something to be very proud of. They have fun doing it and competitors and spectators alike are swept up in their enthusiasm. Ricky Brooks, this year's President set a new standard for others to follow, and I have no doubt they will. Remember, records are meant to be broken, and it will happen again!
FINAL STANDINGS
ALABAMA DEEP SEA FISHING RODEO
DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA
DIVISION 7: |
| 1. |
AIRBORNE•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 62.76 |
| Cape Horn/Yamaha
Steve McMullen
Sean McMullen
Rian Lafon
Mike Hart
Jimmy Madden
|
| 2. |
Midnight Rider••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 51.96 |
| 3. | MISS LYNDA•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 49.74 |
| Donzi/Mercury
Bryan Minchew
Stephen Kehoe
Lee Garrett
|
| 4. |
KWAZAR•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 48.93 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Marcus Kennedy
Max Williams
Tyler Kennedy
Brett Rutledge
|
| 5. |
QUIETUS•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 48.33 |
| Yellowfin/Mercury
J.J. Gilmore
David Rogers, Jr.
Jason Andrews
|
| 6. |
LINED OUT•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 46.82 |
| Contender/Mercury
Mitch Mosley
Eric McMichael
|
| 7. |
Reel Wild•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 45.20 |
| 8. |
SEA HAGG•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 44.93 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Cecil Capps
Earl Burbridge
Gerry Rucker
Landan Rucker
James Doole
|
| 9. |
SET 4 LIFE•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 44.51 |
| Cape Horn/Yamaha
Lou Arrazola
Scott Brown
Edward Fayder
|
| 10. | STEEL SLINGER••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | 42.70 |
| Contender/Yamaha
Mark Allen Ross, Jr.
Derrick Saucier
|
TOP CLASS OF 23’ |
| Midnight Rider |
TOP SKA JUNIOR ANGLERS
Sponsored by the Kajun Sportsman: |
| 1. |
Landen Rucker••••••••••••••••••••• |
SEA HAGG |
| 2. |
Ashley Sherwood ••••••••••••••••• | NAUT-A-BYTE |
| 3. |
Aaron Melancon •••••••••••••••••• | JUST HAV'TA FISH |
Weather: |
| Winds all three days Less than 10 mph except around squalls. Seas less than 2 feet. |
|
