SKA anglers prove once again to be major contenders in the world of kingfish tournaments. This is the first year the Flora-Bama Rodeo became a SKA sanctioned event and only the second year of the tournament itself. SKA loves a fun family oriented event and the parade of junior anglers on the first day was a joy to watch. The rocking rodeo tournament was held on Perdido Key in Pensacola June 26-28.

The original dates of this event were pushed out two weeks due to dodgy weather and thankfully, the weather on the 1st day of the rescheduled tournament was super nice. Anglers were met with a light breeze and calm waters on their first day out.

These conditions proved to be magical for SKA member Captain Rob Lupola running on the Strike Two. His team ran out 60 miles, just south of Dauphin Island, Alabama, where they expected to find some good clean water and an abundance of bait. Around 3:00 pm, their winning king hit a blue runner on a top line, and then the fun began. The king ran straight down so they weren’t sure what they had at first, but the crew was all smiles when they saw they most likely had a fish in the 50 pound range. They were joyous at the weigh-in when the fish came in at what proved to be the winning weight of 51.40.

Captain Rob wanted to send out thanks to his sponsors, which include Mercury, R&R Tackle, Mojo Sportswear, Accurate Reels, AFW, Hi Seas, Cannon, Ripcharts and Bluewater Candy. We all know how important the corporate partners are to all of these events. In addition, he wanted to let Troy Boots from team Reign Maker know how appreciative he is of all his efforts to help him with some last minute details. Troy is relatively new to SKA, and his team is a fine example of what SKA represents, which is community and family.

As the tournament progressed, so did the accolades of SKA anglers. A huge win went to

Captain Marcus Kennedy of team Kwazar. He not only pulled in 2^nd place king mackerel with a 47.60, he also won the rodeo’s highest angler award. Kennedy headed out 90 miles SW of Orange Beach and with some freshly caught blue runners on a slow trolled top line brought in the prize kingfish. Even though this team had some hungry sharks to contend with and lost one potential winning fish earlier in the day, their perseverance and quick action paid off. Kennedy loves going out for kingfish, but he said part of the fun in these rodeos is throwing out lines for the entire menagerie of species included in the roster. Team Kwazar thanks corporate sponsors Yellowfin, Simrad, Under Armour, Shimano, Cuda and Syn-Fab.

Joining the ranks of exuberant SKA anglers was 20 year SKA veteran Neil Foster on the Intense. He hit the SKA standings at number three for Flora-Bama and Budlight Pensacola Rodeo. Did I tell you some of these guys were fishing two rodeos, simultaneously?  His winning king was a healthy 43.60. On Saturday morning he left from Orange Beach and to the west side of the Mississippi to a spot that he frequents during tournaments. He caught the beauteous kingfish on a cannon downrigger using hardtails at about 60 feet. The fight for the fish was short, but the win was big. Team Intense would like to thank Contender, Yamaha, Ameratrail, Cannon, Garmin, Rigid Industries, Tackle This, Shoot That, Accurate, Ken’s Car Tunes and Winthrop Tackle.

Of course, it’s always great to hear what the SKA lady and junior anglers are up to. Lady angler Kellie Patton was part of the team of Strike Two, which brought in the winning king. Also, junior angler Ty Bunch fished with team King-A-Ling, which brought in a 37.00.

Flora-Bama wants to be known as the “funnest” tournament out there and they are proving to be extremely successful in jumpstarting this tournament to success in only its 2^nd year. Lucky that SKA added this to their sanctioned events as SKA anglers consistently prove that successful fishing runs through the veins of their members.