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2010 Trail Articles

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A-Team / Season Ticket’s 50.17 Tops Big Field at Golden Isles Kingfish Classic

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St. Simons Island, Georgia—Two weeks prior to the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic, Alden Thornton won the Sapelo Tournament with a great 50.99 king mackerel. It was a no check-out tournament, so Thornton trailered his boat to Daytona where he launched at the prescribed time. Their big king was in the boat by 10:30 and he ran the new 38’ Mercury powered Fountain back to Sapelo in some pretty heavy seas.

“Pete Harper caught a good fish at Sapelo but I figured everyone knew where the fish was caught so everyone and their brother would be in the area so we checked out at the pier and pointed the nose of our Fountain south,” said a happy Thornton. “We ran back to Daytona where we knew we might have another shot at a big fish. We were wrong and made our way back to Jacksonville and sent for the trailer.”

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Miller Tyme’s 51.39 best at Mac Attack

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Port Canaveral, Florida – This year’s unusually cold winter that quickly changed to an extremely hot summer has really affected the kingfish’s normal northerly migration patterns. So far in 2010 there have been some great fish caught between Vero Beach and Canaveral but catches north of this area have been way down from previous years. Because of that, many tournament fishermen have made long runs to target the fish off of Canaveral. With hopes of catching a good fish to qualify for a spot at this year’s National Championship, many SKA teams from both coasts of Florida and as far north as North Carolina made the trip to take part in this year’s edition of the Salty Marine Canaveral Mac Attack held at the Fish Lips Restaurant in Port Canaveral.

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Skin Deep is Best at Yamaha Pro Tour Stop at St. Simons Island, Georgia!

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St. Simons Island, Georgia—Steve Glanz and his south Florida team of Jamie and Travis Ralph, Ryan Carr, and Kevin Ebersold, came to St. Simons Island, Georgia for the second Fixed Event of the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. It was their first time fishing off the Georgia coast so they came early to pre-fish. “We started working the area east of Gray’s Reef because we heard there were fish there,” explained Glanz, who finds his team now firmly in second place in the Pro standings. “Both of our fish, the 41.45 caught on Friday and the 33.56 on Saturday, were caught basically in the same area between seventy to eighty feet of water.”

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The 2 Dogs Sniff Out a Winning King at Sneads Ferry

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Sneads Ferry, North Carolina – 188 good fishing teams entered the 19th Annual Sneads Ferry Rotary Club KMT held at Dale Powell’s New River Marina, but a full moon and a stiff easterly breeze made for a tough day on the water. On a fishing day like we had this year you either have to be really good or really lucky. Take your pick.

Calabash, North Carolina fishermen James “Todd” Dawkins and Welsh Carson fishing on their Yamaha powered Contender, The 2 Dogs, had fished an area in eighty feet of water north of the Cape Fear Shoals with no luck at the previous week’s Onslow Bay tournament and didn’t find a fish. Todd told me, “I had a gut feeling all week long that we needed to go back to the same spot.”

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Juggernaut - Beats the Rest at Fishing For Miracles

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Charleston, South Carolina— Bert Harvey and the crew of the Juggernaut could only find a small kingfish on Friday, the first day of fishing at the 17th Annual Key West Boats, Fishing for Miracles tournament, but come Saturday they would scale a 34.10 pounder and end up on top of the tournament’s leaderboard.

Fishing with Bert on his big Yamaha powered Contender were teammates A.C. Harvey and Jim Roberts. They started the day fishing in shallow water close to Edisto where they had caught their 15.10 on the first day of the tournament. After a short while and no action, they moved offshore and stopped over a large patch of live bottom about twenty-five miles east of Charleston in seventy-five feet of water. Fishing was slow there too, but about 1:30 they caught a small kingfish and right after they released it their big king ate

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The Johnny B Tops the Field in Texas!

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Freeport, Texas— The Johnny B/Team Millennium Marine skippered by John Benkenstein along with teammate Nick Garthwaite and his son John Benkenstein, Jr. on board, landed a 43.00 pound kingfish on day one to take home all the cash and the first place trophy at this year’s Texas Sportfishing Yacht Sales/Surfside Marina King Mackerel Tournament, the final event in the 2010 SKA Division 12 race.

On Friday, Benkenstein ran his Yamaha powered Contender boat 130 miles due east of Freeport to the #8 oil rig and started fishing. There they were able to catch several small kingfish early in the day but couldn’t find the “Biiiig One” that they thought they needed to put them in the tournament’s winner’s circle and help the team win some…

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OIFC Team Tops the Leaderboard at the 10th Annual Onslow Bay Open KMT

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Swansboro, North Carolina – Before they left Ocean Isles, Barrett and Rube McMullan had made the decision to take it easy and have a good time fishing together at this year’s Onslow Bay Open. All the pressure was on brother Brant who was in Saint Simons fishing with his lovely wife Amy and daughter Caroline in the Pro event. If they were lucky enough to catch a good fish, then that would just be the icing on their time spent together. Barrett told me that their game plan was to “Get up late, take it easy, catch a good king and be back at the scales by lunch.”

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Thornton’s A-Team Takes Big Win at Sapelo! Joins 50 Pound Club

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Shellman Bluff, Georgia—With a no check-out format, Alden Thornton rolled the dice and won. To start his weekend Alden and his wife Allison came up from Jacksonville to register for the event and attend the Captain’s Meeting of the Sapelo Open King Mackerel Tournament. He returned home to get his new 38’ Fountain with Mercury Outboards ready to fish. At one o’clock he met Lee from Lee’s Live Baits on the highway to get his goggle-eyes. A quick trip back home to get three hours sleep, then had plans to meet the team, Conrad Lau, David Butler, and Carl Carder, at 4am to head for Canaveral to leave the beach at 6am. Their destination was the Rock where good fish had been caught during the Greater Jacksonville Tournament. “When we checked the water temperature on the beach it had fallen to 71 degrees and we really started second guessing our decision,” said Alden. “At 10:30 David pulled our big king alongside the boat but it didn’t look that big in the water. When she rolled on her side that’s when we knew she had to come in the boat. As quickly as we could get her in the boat and in the bag, we secured our rods and kicked the big block Mercurys into forward, set the coordinates to the tournament site in the Garmin and settled back for the long run.”

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Ocean Athlete - Top SKA Team at RSWSC’S KMT

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Morehead City, NC—Skip and Sandy Conklin’s big Kingfish just missed winning the 26th edition of the Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club's KMT by less than five hundredths of a pound. Skip’s Mercury powered Privateer, the Ocean Athlete, would weigh a 51.26 pound king in the Division 1 opener and finish second to a non-member team who weighed a 51.30. It’s tough to lose any event when you weigh a fifty plus king, but when .05 means an extra $10,000 it really must hurt.

The Conklins fished an area around the Atlas Tanker, thirty-two miles east of the tournament scales. At 8:40 their big king ate a pogy fished on a short line in sixty feet of water. Sandy had the fish to the boat in twenty minutes where Skip gaffed it. As soon as the big girl was in the fish bag, the excited couple headed back to the Jaycee Park scales. Sandy would also take home the tournament’s Top Lady Angler prize for their great fish.

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The Flying Button / Team Prostar Top SKA Boat at GJKMT. Reel Quick Wins Aggregate!

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Jacksonville, Florida—Since 2001, SKA members have won all of the Big Fish honors in the Greater Jacksonville Tournament except ’05 in which Bill Rew won and then became a member right after. He's still competing today. This year Seafood Kitchen, a past member, won it with a 45.75.

So, we must recognize The Flying Button / Team Pro Star, a Mercury powered Donzi, as the top SKA team in the event. Manny Bethencourt, Andy Cannady, Jimmy Hubbs, Jimmy Garza, and junior angler Jordan Gear, weighed a 41.40 on day one of the event.

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2 Dogs Tops SKA Field in Myrtle Beach!

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Little River, S.C.—Todd Dawkins’ Yamaha powered Contender boat called the 2 Dogs captured the second place prize and was the top SKA team at this year’s Blue Water Promotions Myrtle Beach Saltwater Classic held at the Harbourgate Resort and Marina.

Fishing with Todd were teammates Welsh Carson, James Hall and Jerry Tumbleston.  

The 2 Dogs made the sixty mile run to the 30/30 hole to an area that they had pre-fished earlier in the week and found a few good fish. Even though the fishing on Saturday was slow, they had made up their minds that they would stick it out and stayed in the area. Obviously it was the right decision because at 1:45 their 27.78 pound kingfish ate a double pogy rig fished way back behind the Contender. Jerry picked up the rod and after a twenty minute fight they were headed to the scales with their fish in the bag.

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Caribbean Breeze / Sea Dub - Best at the Capt. Hap’s Bash

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Darien Georgia – The Caribbean Breeze Sun Care Products sponsored Sea Dub team put a 36.89 pound smoker king on the Captain Hap’s Bash on the Bluff scales to win the top prize in this years event.  Fishing on the Mercury powered Onslow Bay boat were skipper Chris Wiles along with teammates Jerome Drawdy, Quinn Gurnsey and Luther Thomas.

Jerome caught their winning fish after a short fight around 10:30. Their winning fish ate a big threadfin herring fished in the boat’s propwash in ninety feet of water due east of Saint Simons Island.  “We had a terrible time catching bait and only had a few in our live well when we started fishing. The day started out bad but sure ended up great!” said the excited captain.

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Blew By U! Wows the Field at Got-Em-On Tournament with a 56.60!

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Carolina Beach, North Carolina—The biggest king we’ve seen in years in North Carolina waters was caught by Richard Gilligan, part of the Blew By U! team. Corey Durako, the team leader, joined Barry Bierstead and Joel Brown in assisting Richard’s quest to get the tournament record 56.60 to the boat, then into the fish bag.

“There were a hundred boats working the Shark Hole on Sunday,” explained Corey. “I guess we were the lucky ones who got the big one.”

The Shark Hole is a popular area for fishermen eighteen miles from the inlet. Its bottom contours from sixty to sixty-eight feet of water, which is what the Blew By U! fished.

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A Salt Weapon - Top SKA Boat at Two Way

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Brunswick, Georgia— A Salt Weapon was the top SKA boat at this year’s Two Way Sportfishing Club’s 21st Annual King Mackerel Tournament, finishing second by a half of a pound to the Team Tree Dawg, a non-member team. 

David Futch, fishing with Michael Godbee and Barney and Brandon Oliver on their 23T Yamaha powered Contender, caught a 32.90 pound kingfish fishing in ninety feet of water east of Gray's Reef. They had started the day closer in but couldn’t find a fish so they decided to move further offshore around 1pm to see if they could change their luck. Around 3pm they were ready to call it a day when the big king ate a runner 150 yards behind their transom. David jumped on the rod and quickly had the fish to the boat where Barney gaffed the king and lifted her into the boat. “When the fish ate, we cut all the other lines and ran the fish down,” said the excited skipper. “As soon as the fish was on ice we were on plane headed back to the scales.” They passed the check-in boat with just ten minutes to spare. David would like to thank McCullough & Swindell Law Firm, Oliver Landscape Management and Riverside Construction Company for all their help and support as well as both Contender and Yamaha for providing them with such reliable equipment.

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Nut Deep’s 38.76 Tops Leaderboard in Ancient City!

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St. Augustine, Florida—Tony and Greg Altieri have made their presence felt for a long time on the northeast Florida coast and they did it again this weekend in St. Augustine. They scaled a 38.76 on the second day of the two-day Ancient City Gamefish Association’s Kingfish Challenge  and won the event's $15,000 guaranteed first place prize.

The Yamaha powered Mako team named Nut Deep was driven offshore on Friday by the Altieri’s but they couldn’t buy a fish. “We went back into the beach to an area known as the Red Top and found a couple of twenties,” explained Tony while waiting for the awards ceremony Sunday night.

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Saltwater Shootout Awards Hammer Down First Place Honors!

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Sullivan's Island, South Carolina—Terry Adkins’s Saltwater Shootout was scheduled as a one-day tournament, but when NOAA posted small craft warnings for Saturday on Friday morning it was decision time. Terry had no choice but to make the event an either/or event, meaning you could choose which day you preferred to fish. Now entrants had the choice of fishing on Saturday or Sunday. NOAA couldn’t have been more wrong, however the format was set.

“It was the right choice but Saturday morning was just fine, maybe two to four foot seas,” said Monty Bates Sr., captain of the Yamaha powered Contender, Hammer Time. “So we chose Saturday to fish.”

It was the right choice for this team. “We fished the jetties till nine o’clock,” said Bates referring to teammates...

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Gate Jacksonville Fishing Rodeo Produces Big Fish!

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Jacksonville, Florida—With cash prizes in sixteen different species and two jackpots, more than four hundred weekend anglers showed up to claim their share of the booty.

Also at stake was a 21’ Yamaha powered Contender boat with a Loadmaster Trailer. Every entrant who weighed a legal fish had a portion of their rodeo ticket torn off at the time they weighed their catch and placed in a drum.

Jerre Brumbelow could not make the awards because he was a part of a Fourth of July block party for his neighborhood. His ticket was the one that was drawn out of the drum by Gene Fox who helps produce the Alabama Deep Sea Rodeo and was in town to help us out.

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Johnny B Tops Matagorda Challenge!

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Madagorda, Texas—John Benkenstein and his Johnny B team certainly have to rank in the top ten of saltwater fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. They still can catch good fish on the east coast also putting them in a very elite class.

This week he and his team of Nick Garthwaite,  John Jr., Guy Anderson, and Gary Hiles, worked an area in one hundred thirty feet of water a hundred miles east of Matagorda.

“She ate a blue runner off a short line about eleven o’clock,” said Benkenstein. “Johnny Jr. did a great job of getting her to the boat.”

At the scale the fish went 48.10 pounds, the biggest king of the event.

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The Reel Office Beats King Seeker by .01 at St Marys Kingfish Classic!

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St. Marys, Georgia—Fishing was tough for the eighty-eight teams who showed up for the Division 4 season opener in St. Marys, Georgia, but The Reel Office and King Seeker teams still made the fishing portion of the tournament extremely exciting.

Thank you Jeff Keeton and Cal Lang for super performances. I couldn’t have asked for a better script.

We’ll start with Keeton who was the first team of the afternoon who came to the scale. “We caught her in Nassau Sound in fifty-two feet of water,” said Keeton who was extremely proud of his wife Vicki who fought the fish to gaff. “We caught her at 7:20 in the morning off a real big Goggle Eye provided by Lee’s baits.” That was the earliest fish caught in the tournament.

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Texas Kingfish Shootout ends with Turner Loose on Top!

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Freeport, Texas—Turner Loose caught the best two-fish aggregate, which totaled 89.24 pounds to win the Texas Kingfish Shootout produced by Bill Platt. They had two fish which totaled 89.24 pounds, but it was Chris Machacek’s 48.14 that was just three one-hundredths of a pound better than the Turner Loose kingfish.  His was the biggest king of the event.

Jill Turner caught their biggest king on the Turner Loose at 12:30 in 155 feet of water 130 miles east of Freeport. “We pre-fished the area so we didn’t have to do a lot of running,” said Jill.  “Seas were two to four feet but it was still a comfortable trip. We caught four fish altogether.”

Turner Loose has been a regular on the SKA trail and has qualified every year for the big show at...

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Do Work Takes Top Honors at Jolly Mon!

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Ocean Isle Beach, NC—Jeff and Rickey Beck, fishing the Do Work, slid up to the weigh-in dock in their Yamaha powered Sea Hunt ahead of the second day field and pulled a 33.65 out of their fish bag. After a couple of pictures, they made their way up the dock to Rube McMullan’s scale. A couple of seconds passed before the scale flashed 33.65. They had just bumped Ken Strickland’s first day biggest king, a 31.60.

The Jolly Mon is an either/or event. It’s a two-day event, but you can only choose one of the two days to fish. Of the 306 teams who entered the event, the majority picked day one while 99 teams opted for day two which proved to be the better fishing day in terms of size of fish caught...

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Turn 3 Tops the NSFA Field in Fernandina

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Fernandina Beach, Florida‚ - Ninety-six teams headed offshore to fish the 28th Annual NSFA Tournament of Champions and after everything was said and done, The Turn 3, Geoffrey Stam’s little Yamaha powered Contender, would carry a 43.26 pound king to the Fernandina Marina scales and take home the first place overall, the Class of 23’ title, and the Top Lady cash and trophies.

On Friday, Geoffrey fishing along with his lovely wife, Monica, traveled fifteen miles offshore but could only find a couple small fish. The larger of the two made a meal for the big hammerhead that followed it to the boat. They also decided to head offshore early Saturday, but stilll...

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Bandit Steals the Cash at the Slam

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POMPANO BEACH, FL – 132 boats participated in the 2010 Mercury / SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Slam held on June 12 at the Hillsboro Inlet Park.  Like the earlier Saltwater Shootout, teams may weigh up to ten fish for points towards the overall tournament win.  You can weigh up to four of each species - Kingfish, Dolphin, Blackfin Tuna, Cobia or Wahoo.  There are dozens of ways to cash a check in this event.  Check out the payouts below.

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Pole Dancer’s 37.11 Wins Division 3’s Season Opener at Tailwalker!

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Georgetown, South Carolina—David Hartness, Travis Cone, and Brent Ballard laid a big goose egg on the first day of the Tailwalker Marine’s  Offshore Challenge. It didn’t seem to distract their confidence level. Using some numbers Brent had they moved to a live bottom area in sixty feet of water. About 1:30 the long-lined pogy, off the T-top, went off.

Travis got the rod out of the holder and went to work. “I just finessed him in,” said Travis, thinking this was the fish the Pole Dancer team needed. “We only had one bite all day Friday, and this was only our second bite on Saturday.”

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Late Fees Win Jacksonville Classic with a 39.69!

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Jacksonville, Florida—David Butler brought his team of Mark Gerrald, Derek Meadows, and Ricky DeLoach down from Richmond Hills, Georgia to win the Jacksonville Saltwater Classic. “We actually went a little farther south, to St. Augustine, got baits from Lee’s Baits, and then went fishing,” said Butler

It wasn’t until three o’clock that they hooked up with the winning fish, a 39.69.

“We had caught fish in the upper twenties and even a thirty but we knew that it was not enough,” explained Butler, before he left the weigh-in dock. “She hit a blue runner right in the prop wash, Mark grabbed the rod and made short work of the fight.”

David fishes a Yamaha powered Contender and qualified and fished the 2009 National Championship from Division 8.

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Whiplash’s 52.84 Whips the Rest of the Field in Daytona

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Daytona Beach, Florida— Due to reports of lots of big kingfish being caught near Fort Pierce, many of the participants in this year’s Bluewater Promotions Daytona Saltwater Classic chose to leave from inlets a hundred or so miles south of Daytona and fish their way north. If they caught a good fish, they would make the run to the Halifax Harbor Marina scales.

Okeechobee fishermen, Neil Nix, Danny Marsocci, and John Crane, fishing on the Whiplash, Nix’s big Yamaha powered Wellcraft, left from Fort Pierce and headed north to the Vero Cove where they had caught some good fish earlier in the week. “There was bait everywhere and large schools of big cobia, Spanish mackerel and bluefish tearing them up,” said Marsocci. Armed with a well full of bait and a couple bluefish they caught on their arrival, Neil and his experienced crew went to work. They put out several baits in twenty feet of water and shortly after, around 7:30, a big king ate a bluefish in their prop wash four or five feet behind the boat. John picked up the rod and waited...

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Naset’s 47.67 Tops Johns Pass Classic Leaderboard

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Madeira Beach, Florida – Jim Naset, fishing on his PromarineUSA.com team’s flagship Yellowfin, the PROMARINE, powered by his company’s trademark assortment of Suzuki, Mercury and Yamaha outboards, caught a 47.67 pound kingfish to take home the top prize at the 1st Annual Johns Pass Kingfish Classic held at Hubbard’s Marina on the north side of Johns Pass. 

They caught their winning fish about fifty-five miles south of Johns Pass in 100 feet of water.  Fishing with Mr. Naset were Kyle Weaver, Kenny Larrison and Eric Merchadante.  Naset told me that they went to a spot were his PromarineUSA.com teammate, Kevin Hannon, had caught a fifty plus king pre-fishing the day before the event.  They had just put out their first set of baits when one of the blue runners that they were using was eaten by a good fish that after a short fight turned out to be a big amberjack that something cut in half as it came close to the boat.  While Eric was reeling it in, another bait, fished in the middle of their spread, got...

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ProMarineUSA.com / Gatorfan’s 50.99 is best at Palm Beach 440!

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Palm Beach, Florida - In last years Palm Beach 440, Gatorfan came to the weigh-in dock and unloaded a super 55.70. Now you’d think this was going to get the job done but Yippi-Ki-Ay came in next with a 57.64. To add insult to injury, later came George Mitchell to show off his sons, Eddie Mitchell, 62.82.

There is poetic justice in this world. Move forward one year.

A non-member unloaded a 49.06 to lead the Palm Beach 440 after one day of the two-day event. They were the big dogs but deep down inside I knew it was not over yet. I was right!

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Skin Deep Makes it Two in a Row in Division 10 Race

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Pompano Beach, Florida – SKA members again proved that they know how to catch big kingfish.  At this year’s Mercury / SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout, the two top kings carried to the scales were caught by SKA teams. Mark Lamb’s Hard Way put a 56.34 pound king on the dock and had the largest king on the board for a total of two or three minutes until the next boat, the Skin Deep skippered by Steve Glanz who won the Key West Division 10 opener in January, squeaked into the lead by just over three tenths of a pound with a 56.65 pound smoker which would be the largest fish of any species weighed during this year's Bluewater Movements Shootout...

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McRanie’s 39.68 Tops Leaderboard at Gator’s!

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Treasure Island, Florida—After thirteen years of fishing tournaments on Florida’s west coast, Robert McRanie finally can add a first place trophy to his collection. “We’ve done well in events but this one is very special,” said McRanie, who runs a Yamaha powered HydraSports named C.R.A.P. Happens.

With Cody McRanie, James Claudoin, and Tommy Ziesman, they moved fifty-one miles west of John's Pass after check out and set up in 155 feet of water. The fishermen who stayed around John’s Pass did not fair well this weekend.

“The AJ’s were thick so we went through about thirty...

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Cardwell’s Tide Line Team Scales a 57.10 to Earn Top Slot in Frances Langford Event!

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Jensen Beach, Florida—Dieter Cardwell, Kevin Alley, and Mike Lundy scaled a 57.10-pound king mackerel on the second and final day of the Frances Langford Memorial Tournament and won the event.

Fishing a Yamaha powered Wellcraft named Tide Line, the team exited the Jensen Beach inlet and proceeded directly to the Lake Worth Inlet. “We were fishing this event along with the first fixed event of the Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour,” explained Cardwell. “We had fished this area on day one and had a forty on the scale. Now we had a forty-four pound king in the bag from earlier in the day, however we were waiting to find out what Papotanic had on board. They were the ones we figured we had to beat, so...

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Native Premonitions is Top Boat in Fort Pierce Leg of Saltwater Classic

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Fort Pierce, Florida -  “Way to go Leon,” I hollered after the last fish was weighed in the Saltwater Classic in Fort Pierce, Florida. Leon came back with, “I finally won one.” I was amazed that in my memory bank I did not know Leon Wilcox (Native Premonitions) had not won an event. I can even remember the first event he had entered and talking to him in front of the SKA trailer, but I was sure he was a previous tournament winner. Many top tens but no wins. I was wrong!

I can’t tell you how proud I was of him as he accepted his award from Terry Adkins.  Leon is a Native American and is proud of his heritage. He represents the Seminole Tribe of Florida with pride and respect. Call him a good will ambassador if you will. He’s first class in my book!

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Seconds 2 Spare Wins Final Division 11 Event at Ft. Myers with a 48.52!

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Cape Coral, Florida - After finishing second in the Marco event and taking home the top prize in the Fort Myers Shootout, Scott Rush along with crewmates Gifford Kline, Mike Gavala and the event's Top Senior Angler, Rick Dean, fishing on their Yamaha powered 31’ Contender, the Seconds 2 Spare, carried a big kingfish to the scales that weighed in at 48.52 pounds and go to the top of the Bluewater Promotions Fort Myers Saltwater Classic’s leaderboard and make it two in a row for the team from Estero.

 

Scott told me that they had decided to run south about seventy miles and start the day fishing around the T-Tower, but before they could get going they discovered that they had a bad bait well pump and spent some time swapping it out.  After fixing that problem, they were able to make the run...

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Sparky’s Machine Earns Top Slot in Sarasota!

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Sarasota, Florida—Mike Abbott gave the Sarasota Sertoma King Mackerel Tournament crowd gathered at Marina Jacks something to shout about. The Sparky’s Machine team watched as their king tipped the scale at 38.90 and throughout the remainder of the two-hour weigh in, no one challenged them.

The winners told me that their claim to fame this weekend started and ended at the T-Tower. “Yeah, we made the long run but it paid off,” said Mike. “When we arrived we needed bait so we started working on it. After a couple of baits were in...

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Seconds 2 Spare’s Big King Tops the Fort Myers Field

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Fort Myers, Florida--Because of the lack of fish in the area due to all the cold water, tournament director Alberto Abad had done away with the southern boundary restriction that had limited the number of fish caught in the earlier Division 11 events.  Because of this several of the teams made the decision to make the long run south to the waters around the Tortugas.

Last year’s Shootout champion and second place finisher in this year’s Marco event, Scott Rush and his Seconds 2 Spare teammates Gifford Kline, Mike Gavala and Rick Dean were one of the teams that decided to make the long run south.  After they checked out at 7:00am, Scott turned to the south and put the hammer down on his 31’ Yamaha powered Contender.  Seas were rougher than expected and after a four hour, 120 mile run, they stopped over some hard bottom southwest of Fort Jefferson. As they were letting their first bait out something big ate it and took off.  “We thought that we had the tournament winner on” said Scott, “but when the fish made a run past the boat we could see that it was a big wahoo.”  Things were quiet for a while so Rush moved to an area near the Rock Pile in 115 feet of water where they found some 72 degree water.  Soon after their move they caught a 20+ pound king and while they were putting it in the Contender’s fish box another reel went off.  “The fish ate a big runner way back in...

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Triple J Wins Both Naples and Marco Island Tournaments!

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Naples, Florida—I have always enjoyed the Marco Island, Cedar Bay Marina Tournament and the Fishing in Paradise event in Naples, Florida. Big fish is the reason. Gets everyone excited when they read the stories in Angler or on the web.  Southwest Florida is a great place to visit and the fishing at this time of year is great. But not this year.

First, the Marco Island tournament got cancelled twice due to weather.  Then the Naples event was cancelled. Yes, it’s been a horrible winter and it still tries to hold its grip on us. The cold snaps have kept the warm water way south and subsequently the kings and other pelagic’s have not started moving north yet. It better get moving quick or it will affect all of the Florida west coast events.

Jim Scharfschwerdt, the event’s promoter, came up with the idea of doing two events on the same...

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Triple J Wins Both Naples and Marco Island Tournaments!

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Naples, Florida—I have always enjoyed the Marco Island, Cedar Bay Marina Tournament and the Fishing in Paradise event in Naples, Florida. Big fish is the reason. Gets everyone excited when they read the stories in Angler or on the web.  Southwest Florida is a great place to visit and the fishing at this time of year is great. But not this year.

First, the Marco Island tournament got cancelled twice due to weather.  Then the Naples event was cancelled. Yes, it’s been a horrible winter and it still tries to hold its grip on us. The cold snaps have kept the warm water way south and subsequently the kings and other pelagic’s have not started moving north yet. It better get moving quick or it will affect all of the Florida west coast events.

Jim Scharfschwerdt, the event’s promoter, came up with the idea of doing two events on the same weekend...

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Skin Deep’s 54.78 Wins Season Opener in Key West!

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Key West, Florida—As competitors moved from Key West Harbour Marina into the Atlantic, they were amazed to find flat, calm seas. Could this really be Key West in January? It was, but as teams soon found out calm seas did not equate to finding big fish. As one old Conch told me, "The water was so clear you could see fifty, sixty feet down and there was no current." Certainly not the best, but for Steve Glanz on the Skin Deep and Travis Maxwell on Constant Chaos, it didn't make a difference. They each came to the scales with fifties.

Glanz, Michael and Matt Shramko, Ryan Carr, and James Ralph slid the Mercury powered Invincible up to the weigh-in dock, and held up their king for my camera. We knew when Bobby Flocken strained to hoist her onto the scale she was going to be a real good...

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Mercury Trail Tournaments

January 22-24, 2010
Division 10 - Key West, Florida
KEY WEST HARBOUR KING MACKEREL TOURNAMENT
March 20, 2010
Division 11 - Naples, Florida
FISHIN' IN PARADISE SALTWATER CLASSIC
March 21, 2010
Division 11 - Marco Island, Florida
MARCO ISLAND KINGFISH TOURNAMENT
March 26-27, 2010
Division 11 - Ft. Myers Beach, FL
3RD ANNUAL FORT MYERS BEACH KINGFISH SHOOTOUT
April 9-10, 2010
Division 6 - Sarasota, FL
16th ANNUAL SARASOTA SERTOMA KINGFISH TOURNAMENT
April 16-17, 2010
Division 11 - Ft. Myers Beach, FL
FORT MYERS SALTWATER CLASSIC
April 22-24, 2010
Division 8 - Fort Pierce, FL
FORT PIERCE SALTWATER CLASSIC
April 29-May 1, 2010
Division 8 - Jensen Beach, FL
FRANCES LANGFORD MEMORIAL FISHING TOURNAMENT
April 29-May 1, 2010
Pro - Jensen Beach, FL
YAMAHA PRO TOUR FIRST LEG
May 6-9, 2010
Division 10 - Pompano Beach, Florida
MERCURY/SEAVEE POMPANO BEACH SALTWATER SHOOTOUT
May 7-8, 2010
Division 6 - Treasure Island, FL
19th ANNUAL GATOR'S SUNCOAST CLASSIC
May 14-15, 2010
Division 10 - Lake Park, Florida
GREATER PALM BEACH OFFSHORE 440
May 14-15, 2010
Division 6 - Madeira Beach, FL
JOHNS PASS KINGFISH CLASSIC
May 21-22, 2010
Division 8 - Daytona Beach, Florida
DAYTONA SALTWATER CLASSIC
June 4-5, 2010
Division 8 - Jacksonville, Florida
JACKSONVILLE SALTWATER CLASSIC
June 10-13, 2010
Division 10 - Pompano Beach, Florida
POMPANO SALTWATER SLAM
June 11-12, 2010
Division 3 - Georgetown, SC
TAILWALKER MARINE'S OFFSHORE CHALLENGE
June 18-19, 2010
Division 5 - Fernandina Beach, FL
28th ANNUAL NSFA TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS
June 18-19, 2010
Division 9 - Shallotte, NC
YELLOWFIN/OIFC.COM JOLLY MON KING CLASSIC
June 18-19, 2010
Division 12 - Freeport, Texas
TEXAS KINGFISH SHOOTOUT
June 25-26, 2010
Division 4 - St. Marys, Georgia
ST. MARYS SALTWATER CLASSIC
June 24-26, 2010
Division 12 - Matagorda, Texas
MATAGORDA BLUEWATER CHALLENGE OFFSHORE TOURNAMENT
July 1-3, 2010
Division 5 - Jacksonville, Florida
JACKSONVILLE FISHING RODEO
July 9-11, 2010
Division 5 - St. Augustine, Florida
ANCIENT CITY GAMEFISH ASSOCIATION'S KINGFISH CHALLENGE
July 9-11, 2010
Division 9 - Carolina Beach, North Carolina
EAST COAST GOT-EM-ON CLASSIC
July 9-10, 2010
Division 4 - Brunswick, Georgia
21ST ANNUAL TWO WAY SPORTFISHING CLUB'S KINGFISH TOURNAMENT
July 9-10, 2010
Division 3 - Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND SALTWATER CLASSIC
July 16-17, 2010
Division 4 - Darien, Georgia
CAPTAIN HAP'S KINGFISH BASH ON THE BLUFF
July 21-24, 2010
Division 5 - Jacksonville, Florida
30TH ANNUAL AT&T GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT
July 23-24, 2010
Division 3 - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
MYRTLE BEACH SALTWATER CLASSIC
July 30-31, 2010
Division 4 - Shellman Bluff, Georgia
SAPELO OPEN KING MACKEREL TOURNAMENT
July 30-August 1, 2010
Division 1 - Morehead City, North Carolina
RALEIGH SALTWATER SPORTFISHING CLUB'S 26th ANNUAL KMT
August 12-14, 2010
Division 3 - Charleston, South Carolina
17th ANNUAL KEY WEST BOATS - FISHING FOR MIRACLES KMT
August 13-15, 2010
Division 1 - Swansboro, North Carolina
THE REEL OUTDOORS-BONE SUCKIN' SAUCE ONSLOW BAY KMT
August 12-14, 2010
Division 4 - St. Simons Island, Georgia
GOLDEN ISLES KINGFISH CLASSIC
August 12-14, 2010
Pro - St. Simons Island, Georgia
YAMAHA PRO TOUR SECOND LEG
August 20-21, 2010
Division 1 - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina
19th ANNUAL ROTARY CLUB OF SNEADS FERRY
August 19-21, 2010
Division 12 - Freeport, Texas
TEXAS SPORTFISHING YACHT SALES / SURFSIDE MARINA KMT
August 27-29, 2010
Division 8 - Cape Canaveral, Florida
CANAVERAL MAC ATTACK
MERCURY'S JUNIOR ANGLER
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM




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