NATIVE WINS FIRST
LEG OF YAMAHA PRO TOUR IN KEY WEST!
By Jack Holmes
KEY WEST, FL—If you have a desire to
catch trophy kings,
Most believed they would have seen more big fish but winds blew
and seas remained four to six foot both days and the further west you went the
bigger they got. Many paid the price for long runs.
Robert Snibbe, Evan Kerstein, Jerry Solovskoy, and Kevin Farner,
fishing the Mercury powered Fountain, Native, ran 50 miles west to the Tail End
Buoy both days. “Friday we caught and weighed the 31.56 Evan caught using a
blue runner set seventy feet down on the rigger,” said team Captain Robert
Snibbe. “We decided to go right back to the same spot on Saturday. We caught a
couple of small kings in one hundred feet of water, and then at nine the 57.35
ate a runner in the prop wash.” Robert went on with his story, “She made a long
run pulling 375 yards of line off the spool. Jerry was on the rod but we needed
another team member to hold him down. Seas were every bit of seven feet.” When
the king hit the deck she went right in the bag and the team headed for the
scales. “We were in the
“We ran from
Snibbe
also told John Zalad to thank the Pros for all their help and for making them
feel welcome.
The Footloose team proved consistency is the way to get
recognition and a check. The Yamaha powered Contender team from Pooler,
Georgia, picked up second place with a 75.75 two fish aggregate. Plus John
Trussell earned Top Senior Angler honors and Tanya Paulk was the events Top
Lady Angler.
The Footloose team, with Captain Steven Trussell, Matthew Foote,
Bobby Casteel, plus John and Tanya, also worked the same area both days. “Tanya
picked up our 37.66 on day one off a long lined blue runner in ninety-five feet
of water. Bobby Casteel got our 38.09 when he dropped a blue runner off the
side of the boat a little after eight am,” said Steven. “This was our best
finish in the Pros to date.”
Both of these kings were bigger than any of the seven fish the
team scaled last year in their rookie pro season. The team finished 53rd but
certainly has made a statement in the opening round. Don’t be surprised if this
team isn’t fighting for the title when the season ends in Little River.
Both of these teams have a great start on their quest to be
“Angler of the Year.”
Seasoned veteran Conrad Lau and his team of Dell Williamson, Gill
Strelec Jr., and Jesse Williamson, fishing the Evinrude powered Wellcraft,
Koolau, picked up third place with 70.63 points.
On day one they braved the elements to run 78 miles to the
Tortugas. Fishing in 120’ of water they finally found a 20.92 using a
ribbonfish off the downrigger. On day two they stopped at the Tail End Buoy 55
miles west of
This team finished 12th in the standings last year and with this
years schedule being the same you have to keep your eye on this team. They’re
good, do their homework, and work very well as a team.
Fourth place fell to another rookie Pro team, Catch Ya Later, a
Yamaha powered Donzi. They set the pace for the event after day one when they
scaled the second biggest king of the tournament, a 55.61. Captain Shaw
Hallman, Danny Tompkins, Robert Thornton, Greg McDonald, Jon Cheny, and Tom
Stalbaum, ran only ten miles, stopping at the Western Dry Rocks, a spot that
has given up many a big king in years past. “We had caught three smaller kings
when the big girl ate a blue runner while slow trolling in eighty feet of
water,” said Tompkins. “Bobby was on the rod and made short order of the
fight.” They then came to the dock so Tompkins could get some medical help
after the king bit him on the leg. He required some stitches.
On day two, the team went back to the same spot but big fish
eluded their presentations. They had to settle for scaling a 14.61 for a total
of 70.22 points. Riverbend Marine in
Day two they were back in the soup looking for a fish that would
move them into the money and much needed points for the chase to the title.
They found her at 2 o’clock when she struck a blue runner on the long line.
Forrest did the rod work and within a few minutes a nice 40.75 came over the
gunwale. “This definitely gives us a good start for the season,” said Taylor
who would like a title to go along with his National Champions title. It would
be hard to bet against them.
Bear Croft, Tim Horgan, Jack Ross, and Terri Croft fished the Bear
Caught into sixth on the strength of a 67.93 aggregate. They were one of the
only teams to run east ten miles and fished in seventy feet of water using blue
runners. They scaled a nice 47.16 on day one and backed it up with a 21.27 on
day two. They fish Mercury powered Yellowfin.
Posse’s Daniel Crowley, Louis Rogers, and Travis Crowley earned
seventh with 67.93 points. They weighed a 27.42 on day one, and then came back
with a nice 40.51 on day two. They fish a Mercury powered Yellowfin.
Carl Carder, Paul Paulk, and Robert Close had a good tournament
fishing the Yamaha powered Contender, “C” Crazy. They scaled a 36.64 on day
one, and then came back on day two with a 23.06 for an aggregate of 59.70. They
earned eighth.
Andy
Hinton, David Stallings. Ned Grady, and Ward Whitfield, picked up ninth on the
Mercury powered Donzi, Hot Grits. They scaled a 38.02 on day one, and then
added a 21.21 on day two for 59.23 points. This should set the stage for a
great season for this
Jack Penny’s ProMarine USA.Com / Penny Wise team captured tenth
with a two fish aggregate of 55.93 pounds. Their biggest king was a 35.98.
Captain
C. Mark Henderson fishes a Contender named Liquid Fire in
Ronnie and Matthew Worsham picked up 12th fishing the Trivial
Pursuit with 55.13 points while Darren Ratley’s Rat Pak was 13th with 54.76
points.
Rounding out the top fourteen was Ricky Hobb’s She’s All That, a
23T Contender. His team of Al Fulford and Laura Hobbs collected a two fish
aggregate of 54 pounds. Another great effort!
It should also be noted that if you’re keeping up with the point’s
race, William Gressette’s Four Sun’s scaled a great 41.24 on day one, Terry
Johnson’s Final Strike had a 36.35, and Kenny Crawford’s AT&T Real yellow
Pages team scaled a 34.52. Randy Comans had a 33.45 fishing the Voyager and
Jeff Dunbar scaled a 33.27 on the Fish Dancer. Not money fish, but good fish in
their seven fish aggregate total for the end of the season.
Despite the rough conditions making for tough fishing, once again
proved that the best fishermen in our sport can deal with adverse conditions
and scale fish. Our hat’s are off to all of them!
Final Standings
YAMAHA PROFESSIONAL KINGFISH TOUR
KEY WEST,
|
Place |
Boat |
Points |
|
1 |
NATIVE |
31.56/57.35...88.91 |
|
2 |
TEAM FOOTLOOSE |
37.66/38.09...75.75 |
|
3 |
KOOLAU |
20.92/9.71...70.63 |
|
4 |
CATCH-YA-LATER |
55.61/14.61...70.22 |
|
5 |
THAT'S MY DOG |
28.18/40.75...68.93 |
|
6 |
BEAR CAUGHT |
28.18/40.75...68.93 |
|
7 |
POSSE |
27.42/40.51...67.93 |
|
8 |
"C" CRAZY |
36.64/23.06...59.70 |
|
9 |
HOT GRITS |
38.02/21.21...59.23 |
|
10 |
PROMARINE USA.COM/PENNY WISE |
35.98/19.95...55.93 |
|
11 |
|
34.91/20.27...55.18 |
|
12 |
TRIVIAL PURSUIT |
34.82/20.31...55.13 |
|
13 |
RAT PAK |
32.31/22.95...54.76 |
|
14 |
SHE'S ALL THAT |
38.20/15.80...54.00 |