West Palm Beach, FL: First-time fishing tournaments are just downright tough to pull off. Teams set their schedules well in advance, the best locations are booked solid and sponsors are nearly impossible to pin down unless you have a proven track record behind you. But thanks to persistence, community support and some good old fashioned hard work, this year’s Downtown Showdown KDW, held May 22-23, 2015, went against the grain and was a tremendous success for both the organizers and the participants.

The event was slated as a one-day shootout and while teams could target several species, it would be the SKA teams fishing for king mackerel in Division 10 (southeastern Florida) that would steal most of the limelight. The tournament was wrapped around a saltwater festival in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, with a car show, food trucks, vendor displays and plenty of food and drinks, all under typically sunny south Florida skies at the city’s spectacular Waterfront and City Commons area. The guaranteed first place prize of $10,000 drew 50 boats, which checked out Saturday for what would be a great day of fishing.

The Reel Anarchy, a Yamaha-powered 28-foot Contender, opted to head away from the crowds initially. Team captain Floyd Miller and his co-captain Gill Strelec Jr. started fishing just outside the inlet because they spotted an estimated 35-pounder skyrocket near the rocks on the south side. Unfortunately they were unable to connect right off the bat so they headed up north to a spot then off to Jupiter for the lunchtime bite. Up until that point they only had sharks and a single sailfish to show for their efforts when they slowed the boat in 140 feet of water. “We were running from the Loran Tower to the Pier when I found a spot with not too much grass,” Strelec says. “We were putting the kite up off the bow so I asked Floyd to freeline a goggle-eye out back. In less than three minutes he said he was hooked up and it was on!” They knew the area was sharky so they got on top of the fish quickly and soon boated the 37.92-pounder thanks to Strelec’s gaff work. “I always tell the guys to never give up—it only takes five minutes to win a tournament and that’s what happened. We had to be checked in by 4 o’clock so time was running out and we didn’t have a fish up until that point.” They took home a check for $14,500 for their efforts. Back at the weigh in, the Boy Scouts of America Troop 132 was on hand to help get the boats to the docks and the fish to the scales, while a crowd of spectators estimated between 4,000 and 5,000 strong watched all the action. “It makes you feel like a rock star to weigh in with a crowd like that,” Strelec says. “There were a LOT of people there!” He also wanted to thank Contender and Yamaha along with Gary Case at Dynamite Live Bait for always providing the team with great baits before their tournaments. The team is sponsored by Liberty Long Horn Ranch, Birdsall, Poseidon Fishing, DV-8 Motor Sports, Ingel Coolers, Loadmaster Trailers, C&H Lures, Red Eye, Sovereign Marine Group,T5 Sportswear, Gil Media and Ocean LED.

Capt. Alex Burgess put the Penny-Less into second place in the big fish standings with a 36.94-pound kingfish. The 28-foot Mercury-powered SeaVee spent most of its time inshore where the team found slow fishing to go with the hot, sunny skies. They made the move offshore around 2PM with time running out to fish a ledge known for big kings and it paid off handsomely in the form of a near-37 pounder. “The fish hit hard on a downrigger,” Burgess says. “We had a mix of blue runners and goggle eyes; this fish ate a gog 100 feet down.” He reported that Mike Wood was the angler, who was able to get the fish in gaff range. The team had a great time and thanked their sponsors, Loadmaster, Tuppens Marine, Kluch, Mercury, American Fishing Wire, X Generation Rods, Lumitec and Shimano.

Taking home third place honors as well as a win in the tournament’s Small Boat Class was Capt. Eric Neidorf from the Lina Fishing Team. Another SeaVee, this time a 25-footer powered by Suzuki, hit the water north of the inlet based on a commercial fishing report. “Our biggest fish of the day hit the third bait in the water right out of my hand,” Eric reports. “It ate a big blue runner, made one good long run before turning and then it came right up for Rob to gaff. We stayed around that spot but didn’t have another bite all day long.” The team bounced inshore to the beach but only had barracudas so they headed for the scales where their 36.13-pounder would be good enough for third overall.

The Downtown Showdown was set up in the memory of Scott Terry, who was killed in a crash last February. It was his dream to host a world-class tournament in the area so it was heartening to see his friends pick up right where he left off. With the inaugural year of the tournament behind them, the management team led by John Jackson is already hard at work for next year. “Most all of our sponsors have committed to returning and the city is very excited to host this event along the waterfront,” he says. “We feel that in just a very short period of time, this will be one of the premier SKA tournaments in Florida. We’ve got a terrific venue with full support from the community, great sponsors and good fishing. And it’s all for a very worthy cause.” Make plans to attend this one next year folks, it’s going to be huge.