Marco Island King Fling (PICS added!)

Site Admin Joined: Mar 07, 2008 Posts: 1636

Marco Island King Fling Tournament - Saturday, March 15.

1-$10000 Top Down 40.58lb
2-$4000 Pro Marine 39.95lb
3-$3000 Team Lewmar 38.37lb/ Top Lady Angler
4-$2000 Native 38.25lb
5-$1000 Team Wolcott Marine 37.93/ Top Jr Angler
6-$750 Team Yellowfin/Comfortably Numb 37.39lb/Jake Top Mercury Jr

Site Admin Joined: Mar 07, 2008 Posts: 1636

From the SKA:

OFFICIAL PICTURES ADDED HERE: http://www.fishska.com/photos/

TOP DOWN WINS DIVISION 11 SEASON OPENER IN MARCO ISLAND!
By Captain Will Geraghty

An “Opening Day” atmosphere graced the strong 58-boat field as checkout began shortly before the 7 o’clock Bimini start. The first in a trilogy of events for the 2008 Division 11 season was about to commence.

Strategies were widely diverse for the one-day Marco Island King Fling as the line up of flared bows were pointed in a myriad of course headings in search of big kingfish success.

At first safelight, “Go fish!” was broadcast by tournament co-director Steve Sprigg. Within minutes all had fanned out beyond the Gulf’s horizon as a muted sunrise slowly breached the low level clouds of the eastern skyline.

Many in the competitive fleet would play it safe, opting to concentrate their efforts close to home only to swing and miss. Others would take advantage of the optimum Gulf of Mexico conditions and go for go for broke, making the long journey south toward fertile fishing grounds resulting in home run results.

The Top Down team from Sarasota, Florida is no stranger to Division 11 competitive success after a solid Class of 23 campaign in 2007. However, this year the team decided to elevate their game and run with the big boys, a decision which would yield instant dividends.

Captain Jeffri Durrance along with teammates Todd Parish, Jim Long and Ryan Parish throttled their Mercury powered 32' Donzi 60 miles south from checkout to a hard bottom area and put out a four bait spread in 65 feet of kingfish green Gulf water.

“The bite was on with multiple hook ups from the start,” explained Durrance. “We had a 37-pounder already in the bag before the chaos erupted right around 9:15. We picked up a triple-header as both flat lined blue runners went off as well as a bait set deep at 50 feet. It was obvious that the fish on the long line was an upgrade fish as she made a huge run, so we made short work of the two smaller kings. Ryan finessed the big girl boatside as Todd handled the gaffing duties. Our short but wild bite was all but over by 10am!” added Durrance.

At the scales the big king went 40.58, a scant .63 pounds better than the second place team. For their morning efforts, the Top Down team took home the top prize of $10,000.

“This was Jim’s first kingfish tournament experience; we told him not to get used to this every event,” the team exclaimed after collecting their hardware and check.

Jim Naset, Kevin Hannon and Rick Cook aboard the Yamaha, Mercury/Evinrude powered 36' Invincible, Hannon’s ProMarine/Hannon’s Cannon caught plenty of fish all day. However, it was not until their second place 39.95-pounder crushed a big blue runner on top that the trio knew they had the one they were looking for.

“We were anchored up in less than 100 feet of water and on a good bite when she hit! Rick was on the rod for the long fight, which lasted more than 30 minutes until I sunk the gaff. We had solid action until early afternoon. This was a great way to start off the year for us,” Naset stated.

This king puts the Redington Shores team, known for its consistency wherever they compete, as one of the teams to beat for the remainder of the Division 11 competition season.

Teamwork, determination and knowledge will eventually pay off for teams fishing the Mercury Tournament Trail. Just ask St. Petersburg, Florida’s Captain Randy Rochelle of the Lewmar Pro-Fish Team and he will tell you, “Good finishes don’t come easy but always fish hard, never give up and go with what you know.”

Rochelle, fishing with Eric Wise, Josh Hanna, Kim Wise and Linda Rochelle, set out for a shallow Gulf wreck more than 65 miles from checkout aboard their Honda powered Pro Sports Pro Kat 29 but never made it that far.

“Along the way we ran through a hard bottom area laden with crab pots. It looked too good to pass up so we deployed a spread of blue runners and gave it a go,” said Randy.

They started trolling through the maze of stone crab gear when around 10:45 their 38.37-pound third place king hammered a large naked runner fished way back on a long line in 55 feet of water. The fight was on!

“It was the oddest four-minute king fight I have ever witnessed,” exclaimed an ecstatic Rochelle. “Eric grabbed the rod and she dumped more than 50 yards of line before doubling back under boat at lightning speed. We then stayed on top of her until she popped up parallel to the boat within gaff range.”

The 38.37-pound king catch additionally brought Linda Rochelle and Kim Wise the shared Top Lady Angler title for the event. Captain Randy and the Lewmar Pro-Fish crew would like to thank their sponsors: Okuma, Lewmar, Honda, Mustad and T.A. Mahoney for all their support.

Fresh off their victory in February’s Yamaha Pro Tour Key West event, Clearwater, Florida’s Native had another great tournament outing scaling a solid 38.25-pound king to take fourth place honors and a check for $2,000.

Captain Cawley Snibbe and his team of Evan Kierstein and Jerry Solovskoy made a 60-plus mile run in their 300 Mercury Verado powered 38' Fountain southwest of Marco Island and set up shop in 100 feet of water.

“We had consistent action all day long working through school fish,” said Snibbe. “Our big fish hit at 12 noon on a blue runner set deep at 70 feet. We knew we had a good one!”

SKA competition members since 2002, the Native’s money fish did not come easy as a nail biting 40-minute battle ensued for the team. With Snibbe at the helm, Evan eventually angled the mossback close enough for Jerry to finally seal the deal. Once thoroughly iced and bagged it was throttles down all the way to the scales.

On a roll and looking forward to the remainder of the Division 11 season, the Native wishes to thank Fountain/Mercury for their tremendous support.

Rounding out the top five was Captain Ozzie Fischer, junior angler Christian Fischer, Ozzie Lessinger, Paul Michele and first-time king mackerel angler Bob Rando.

Fishing aboard their beautiful, newly delivered twin Yamaha 350 powered 32 Century, Ozzie and his Ft. Myers, Florida based team had a good bite early in the fishing day.

“We had a 35- or 36-pounder in the bag early before we decided to get on the hook and fly a kite in search of an upgrade fish,” explained Fischer. “Around 1 o’clock she bit and it was a standard issue fight as Bob finessed her to the boat while I was waiting with the gaff.”

Back at the Esplanade Marina scales, Wolcott Marine’s fish would register a stout 37.93 pounds earning them fifth place overall, a check for $1,000 and Top Junior Angler honors for Christian. Way to go, Christian!

ProMarine/Gator Fan, Captain Dave Albritton’s Evinrude powered Contender 23T team had an incredible day on the water releasing several low 30 fish before landing their largest tipping the scales at 37.09-pounds to earn top Class of 23 Honors.

Dave and his team of James Addison and Anthony Oakes decided to prospect a familiar hard bottom area nearly 70 miles due south of the scales in 65 feet of water.

“It was quite busy down south, everyone around us was consistently hooked up,” reported Albritton. “We were in the fish all morning, changing up our spread pattern and wading through smaller fish looking for the big one.”

A ribbonfish dropped to 40-feet fooled their money fish shortly before 10:30. Anthony, Gator Fan’s designated rod man patiently finessed the “fish of the day” to boat as James worked his magic with the gaff.

Arguably one of today’s hottest Class boats fishing the SKA circuit, this Ft. Pierce based trio has enjoyed tremendous success fishing their home Atlantic waters as well as the upper and lower Gulf coast regions.

With an ambitious competition schedule planned for the 2008 season, Captain Dave, Anthony and James credit their sponsors ProMarine, Evinrude, The Fishing Center, St. Lucie Outboard, Tom Smith Subs and Bottom’s Up Bartending for giving them the tools and support to make their success possible.

Second place in the Class boats with a 32.55-pounder fell to Team K.O., which calls Indian Shores, Florida homeport. The team took home a check for $500 and is poised to vie for the division’s Class title.

John Ford, Mike Burnett, Jason Ford and Bryan Burnett make up this team fishing aboard a Yamaha powered Contender 23T sponsored by Robert Reid Wedding Architects and Keith Ochs.

The T-Tower, a 41-mile run southwest of check out was the spot to be for Team K.O. as their big catch snatched a large blue runner deployed way behind the boat shortly before 9 o’clock hour.

“It was an early bite for us,” John Ford explained. “Jason, our angler, did a great job whipping the king in about 15-20 minutes as Mike gaffed her.”

Not sure if they were going to fish the entire division before the Marco Island event, an excited Team K.O. stated after receiving their winnings, “Now we have to keep this thing going, we will see you in Naples!”

Good luck the rest of the way guys!

Local knowledge played into the hands of Captain Chris Workman and his Get Snookered team consisting of Michelle Jackson, Jim Kurth and Kevin Webber.

Having successfully pre-fished an area several days earlier, Captain Workman piloted his Yamaha powered Contender 23T 50 miles south of the scales and set up in roughly 55 feet of water.

“We left the fish chewing earlier in the week and returned to find them just as hungry!” exclaimed Workman. “Keith was on the rod after the big fish bit a runner set in the wash at around 9:00. After a short, rather uneventful ten-minute fight Jim gaffed and brought her over the rail.”

At the weigh in, their fish tipped the scales at 31.69 pounds solidifying a third place Class of 23 showing. Based in Naples, the Get Snookered crew has been a fixture on the Division 11 Class leaderboard for several seasons now. For this team, it looks like this year will be no exception!

The Contender Teams should be proud of their clean sweep in the Class of 23!

The Marco Island King Fling was truly a great one-day shootout event as more than $24,000 was given away not counting the TWT’s. A big tip of the SKA hat goes out to tournament co-directors Scott Hopkins and Steve Sprigg for all their hard efforts and generous hospitality.

A great barbeque at the Captain’s meeting, compliments of Cedar Bay Yacht Club, followed by calm seas and a hot kingfish bite which resulted in a whopping 51 fish weighed benefited the Division 11 opener routinely plagued the last several years with inclement weather conditions.

The entire staff wishes to thank sponsors Galati Yachts, Sea Tow, Trailer Spa, West Marine, The Esplanade Marina and Cedar Bay Yacht Club, as well as all of the participating anglers.

Look for the action to heat up as two events remain on the Division 11 schedule for 2008. Naples is up next with a $20,000 first place prize up for grabs followed by the don't miss 1st Annual Ft. Myers Beach Kingfish Shootout.

See you all at the scales!

MARCO ISLAND KING FLING
Marco Island, FL
March 14-15, 2008
Open Class Standings
Place Boat Points
1 TOP DOWN
Donzi / Mercury
Todd Parrish
Jeffri Durrance
Ryan Parrish
Jim Long
40.58
2 PROMARINE USA.COM
Invincible / Yam-Merc-Evin
Jim Naset
Kevin Hannon
Rick Cook
39.99
3 LEWMAR PRO FISH TEAM
ProSport / Honda
Randy Rochelle
Eric Wise
Kim Wise
Josh Hanna
38.37
4 NATIVE
Fountain / Mercury
Robert Snibbe III
Jerry Solovskoy
Doug Henriott
Evan Kerstein
Kevin Farner
38.25
5 TEAM WOLCOTT MARINE
Century / Yamaha
Ozzie Fischer
Ozzie Lessinger
Paul Michele
Bob Rando
Christian Fischer
37.93
6 COMFORTABLY NUMB
Yellowfin / Mercury
Eric Smith
Cooper Cordin
Becky Smith
Jake Smith
37.39

Class of 23 Standings
Place Boat Points
1 PROMARINE USA.COM / GATORFAN
Contender / Evinrude
David Albritton
James Addison
Anthony Oakes
37.09
2 TEAM K.O.
Contender / Yamaha
John Ford
Mike Burnett
Brian Burnett
Jason Ford
Justin Ford
32.55
3 GET SNOOKERD
Contender / Yamaha
Chris Workman
Michelle Jackson
Jim Kurth
31.69

Salty Marine's Top Lady Angler
Name Boat
Kim Wise LEWMAR PRO FISHING TEAM

Pro Marine USA.com / Hannon's Cannon's Top Junior Anglers
Place Name Points Boat
1 Christian Fischer 37.93 TEAM WOLCOTT MARINE
2 Jake Smith 37.39 COMFORTABLY NUMB
3 Jessica Polkey 28.09 TEAM CAROLINA SKIFF / EVINRUDE

Mercury Marine's Junior Angler Scholarship Winner
Name Boat
Jake Smith COMFORTABLY NUMB


Create an Account		Home · Forums · Photos · ReefCast · WaveCast · Bluewater Supermap · FREE SSTs · NWS Forecasts · Tide Tables · Solunar Tables · Your Account