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OUTLAW’S 46.71 TOPS LEADERBOARD IN MIAMI
Tommy Gates is the Kingfish Master!

by Jack Holmes

Miami, Florida - Tommy Gates III and his Outlaw team from Palm Bay, Florida overcame a couple of obstacles to dominate the first annual Kingfish Masters tournament in Miami with a great 46.71. First there were the big seas. The wind didn't just blow, it howled. However, in South Florida once you're through the inlet you can run north or south in the troughs with little trouble. But on day one Tommy's steering went out and he had trouble getting in. A Contender rep was on hand and fixed the problem with a simple hose clamp. Day two and the team stuck pretty close to Haulover Park, the site of the event. “We ran south of the inlet and started to work the area,” said Gates. “I was still a little concerned with the steering. A little after eight she hit a blue runner in 90 feet of water. I've caught 50s before who came to the boat fairly easy but this one took David Malito to the mat.” The king took over 45minutes to get within gaff range. “I guess it was worth it,” said Malito who along with Gates, Tom Gates, Jr. and Glen Miller accepted the event’s top prize, a 21' Yamaha powered Contender boat.

Gates could only muster up a 27-pounder in Key West but now moves into the top 20 in Division 10. It's amazing what a good king on the scale can do.

Blake Justice and Arthur Hall and Robin Hood came down from North Carolina and bagged a 40-pounder on day two to capture second and the $5,000 prize. “Our sponsor, Concept Boats, is located here in South Florida, so we couldn't be happier to place so well in this event,” said Justice after leaving the Kingfish Masters stage. After day one Justice learned that there were kingfish north of Hillsboro. “We went north on the intracoastal waterway to Fort Lauderdale, out the inlet, then north 30 miles past Hillsboro,” Justice recalled. “We no sooner got up there and we had her hooked up. She ate a two-pound blue runner we caught before the event kicked off.” The Team Concept crew fished a while longer, and then headed to the scale.

Team Concept caught a 35-pounder in Key West so they should move close to the top of the Division 10 standings.

Two local teams, non-SKA members, picked up the third and fourth place spots.

Ralph Hawkins and Bud Randall on the Mercury powered Sea Craft, Outta Control, picked up third with a 34.37. “We caught that king at 1:30 and came right in,” explained Hawkins. “She ate a big bonito in 40 feet of water.” These are the team's first points in Division 10.

Sixth place fell to our '06 Angler of the Year team, Bandit. “This is like the ninth event in a row we've been in the money. Is that a record or something?” asked team Captain Ron Mitchell. We can't answer that question because we don't keep those kinds of records. However, it shows that the Bandit team of Mitchell, Curt Johnson, Rick Stockwell and Rich Ebersole could be the most consistent fishing team on the circuit today. In this event they bagged a 32-pounder on day one fishing north of Lauderdale in Boynton Beach, which was good for sixth place money.

Kalee/Team Brunet picked up seventh place. “We were fishing in 60 feet of water just south of Hollywood when our 32-pounder ate a blue fish,” explained Manny Rodriquez who weighed their fish on day one of the two-day event.

Kevin Hannon, fishing the ProMarineUSA.com team boat, weighed a king on day two that fell just one tenth of a pound short of Team Brunet to earn eighth. Hannon always seems to do well on the east coast of Florida.

Gill Strelech bagged a 31.08 to capture ninth fishing his Evinrude powered Conch named Psycho. Gill fishes with Jason Newman, Tek Watts, and Andy Lemmel. After bagging a 37-pounder in Key West, the Psycho team will be banging on the Division's top ten.

Tenth place went to the Twin Vee team out of Fort Pierce. Team Captain Charles Chandler claimed that his Twin Vee catamaran loved the rough seas. “We could run 40 miles an hour in the troughs with complete comfort,” he claimed. The team bagged 30.73 to go with their 51-pounder caught in Key West. Can a catboat team win Division 10? Don't bet against it!

David Albritton, James Addison and Anthony Oakes, the Gatorfan Team, asked me my opinion on where to fish. I told them that you could always find a king hanging around Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. That's where they went on day two and found a 29.88 at 1:45 in 55 feet of water. “We were out just past the sea buoys fishing live goggle eyes,” said Albritton. “She hit, Anthony picked up the rod and it enabled us to make the stage later that afternoon.” This puts Gatorfan in a tight race with Phil Cottrell's Long Overdue who was leading Division 10's Class of 23’ and finished third in Miami with a 17-pounder.

Grant Cloughley's No Limits was second with a nice 28-pound king. He's right in the hunt also. This could set the stage for one of the tightest races we've seen in the Class in this Division. He and teammate Travis Whitfield went 65 miles north to Lake Worth where they found their fish in 80 feet of water trolling a goggle eye on the downrigger.

We have not done a tournament in South Florida for several years, mainly because we just couldn't find the right director. For the past couple of years Tony Albelo has been trying to twist my arm and get us to sanction an event he would do for us. It was just what we were looking for. In fact, after the way he ran this event, Tony and his team have been vaulted to the top ten of the SKA promoters. Open bars all three days, food every afternoon including a great chicken or shrimp paella on the final afternoon, live internet streaming, a super Captain's bag which included T-shirts for everyone, plus free dockage, trailer parking and boat washing. It doesn't get any better than this. Congratulations Tony, see you next year!