Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament 2013

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Official Publication of the Southern Kingfish Association | September 2013

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Greater Jax Vengeance

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West Delta Get Layed | 53.37 Technique | Old School Kingfish Tactics News | Get Ready for Nationals!

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Jacksonville, Florida

33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

July 15–20, 2013

Vengeance Takes Greater Jacksonville Shootout with a 66.60 Aggregate!

■ by Christine Rodenbaugh

First Place Aggregate

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66.60

aybe the change in format for the 33rd Annual Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament was the key to Clayton Kirby claiming his fifth title in the event. In the past, the Greater Jax event required two days of fishing for all teams and the winner 34

VENGEANCE

Clayton Kirby, Mark Droukas, and Jim Maedel

was based on the two-fish aggregate. This year, the top ten teams from Friday’s General Tournament plus the winner of the Redneck VIP held earlier in the week competed against each other on Saturday in the Shootout. Less than half of the boats that checked out on Friday weighed fish—96 out of 204 to be exact. Three SKA boats topped Friday’s leaderboard—Get Away, Bam Bam, and Snatch-Um had the only 40-pounders of the day.

Play’n Hooky and Vengeance took sixth and seventh respectively to make the Shootout cut.

As a North Carolina resident, Clayton Kirby made his mark in northeast Florida by winning the Greater Jax tournament four times: 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1990.

He moved to Jacksonville in 1991

and hadn’t won the tournament, header of mahi and a nice cobia or placed in the top 20 since. which enhanced their payday.

2013 broke the spell with new They were offshore of the BR team members Mark Droukas and but inshore of the Elton Bottom Jim Maedel. The Vengeance team in about 100’ of water. At 2:00 had pre-fished the 31’ Mercury they had only seen some 15- or powered Fountain at Dunn’s Run with promising results, but couldn’t find a kingfish there on tournament day. Like the other teams, they were pestered by sharks and barracudas, but also had a double Team Vengeance celebrates the win at the Shootout weigh-in.

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20-pounders and they were about to leave. Team consensus kept them there just another 15 minutes. It was the right decision.

The 32-pounder bit a ribbonfish at 2:10 on the downrigger set to 50’ and Clayton brought her in for Mark to gaff and throw on ice. The 32.80 put them in seventh place going into Saturday’s Shootout.

The team planned to fish the same spot on Saturday, but happened to raft off to the Get Away team at the mandatory morning captain’s meeting. Clayton saw that they were pulling ribbonfish and determined they were fishing the beach. After check-out, team Vengeance went to the jetties to get baits and watch for the Get Away boat. Maybe because they were carefully sorting the menhaden, large in one 5-gallon bucket and small in the other, they didn’t see him go by.

After filling the baitwells, they found the Red Tops a crazy house with six of the top ten teams on the beach. Later they heard Adkison fished high tide on the jetties and Vengeance changed position. They got a 21-pounder on a ribbonfish about 20’ down in 40’ of water.

They didn’t think it would be enough, so they capitalized on a tip over the radio that a 29 had been caught nearby in 50’.

The team ground up some more of the small menhaden (that’s why they sort them so carefully) and headed for deeper water.

The 33.80 hit a ribbonfish set to about 25’ and another king hit at the same time. Clayton and Mark went to work bring the pair close enough to decide which was the better fish. That

33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

left Jim on the gaff and he stuck the big girl and got her in the boat. The 66.60 pounds of kingfish earned Vengeance the first place Aggregate Shootout prize of a Key West 189 FSCC, Mercury 150XLS 4S Engine & Loadmaster Trailer valued at $38,921.

Clayton gives credit where credit is due and recognizes the brands that make competition possible for his team: Garmin, Mercury, and Reggie Fountain.

He went on to thank his team, “Without those guys I probably

Vengeance collec ts their prize: a Key West boat, Mercu

ry motor, and Loadmaster trailer.

Tyler and Billy Patterson weighed two fish for an aggregate weight of 49.40 to earn second place in the Shootout.

Marshall Adkison fished with four generations on Get Away and caught a 46.25, the largest king of the event. They finished sixth in the Shootout.

September 2013 | ANGLER

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July 15–20, 2013

wouldn’t even have fished the Greater Jax this year. You can’t go out there by yourself and win a tournament.” The new Vengeance team seems to be a good mix and they’ve finished in the top 20 in all four events they’ve fished together so far. Jim is Mark’s father-in-law and Clayton describes him as an avid fisherman who just enjoys fishing.

“He remains cool, calm, and collected no matter what happens.

He keeps us all level-headed.” Jim is an avid Marlin fisherman and, with a few adjustments offered

by Clayton for targeting kingfish, ties the terminal tackle for the team. “I’d also like to thank my wife for her patience and putting up with my fishing excess,” Clayton concluded.

Tyler and Billy Patterson took third place in Friday’s General event and held onto it Saturday on their 27-foot Mercury powered Contender named Snatch-Um. Friday, they headed offshore to 115’ feet of water where they had found a good bite earlier in the week.

Conditions were pretty rough when they put out blue runners from Lee’s Live Baits around bait schools. The 40.10 hit the long line at about 10:00 and Billy went to work getting her to the boat. “We knew it was a good one,” said Tyler, “because you could see the fish 50’ down.” Billy fought the fish for about 30 minutes and Tyler gaffed their first 40 in SKA competition.

It was their only strike that day.

Now the team sets their sights on a 50-pounder—preferably at Nationals. Their aggregate totaled 49.40 pounds.

Second, fourth, and fifth places in the aggregate Shootout fell to non-members. Only five teams weighed fish on Saturday.

Sixth place was awarded to Marshall Adkison on Get Away who caught a nice 46.25 in Friday’s General Tournament, the largest fish for that day. Four generations fished the tournament together including Marshall with his wife and daughter, his brother, their father, and his brother’s grandson. To start off the week-long event, Get Away 35

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caught a great 46.90 in the Junior Angler Tournament. They went back to the Chum Hole on Friday looking for another king over 45 pounds.

They found her; a nicee 46.25 hit a ribbonfish on a downrigger set to 20’ and made three good runs during the 25-minute fight in 40’ of dirty, but calm and smooth water.

Consistency is key in tournament fishing, as Jack Holmes always says, and Get Away has a good, consistent start. Keep an eye on this team at the GATE Jacksonville Fishing Rodeo. Marshall wishes to thank Adkison Towing and JaxLegal. com for their support. The team won second place aggregate in 2011, but they were not SKA members. Welcome to the SKA! Bam Bam was pumped to win the whole show at the end of Friday’s weigh-in when they sat in second place in the General Tournament just 5.25 pounds behind the leader. Larry Vogt, Steve Carman, and Josh Generazio picked a spot just

33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

Commit The 2013 Greater Jax Tournament

Chris Cathey’s son, Zane, won 5th

so south of the Red T Tops in 35 to 4 40 feet of water aand set downri rigger to 25’ p pulling a ribb bonfish. They h had their first k king hooked u up at 7:15, but iit was small. It w was still early, about 8:30 in the morning, when the p 41-pounder

tee.

place in the kids dock tournament.

July 15–20, 2013

hit, made one long run for Steve, and came to the top where Larry gaffed her. Another small king struck at 9:00 and then the team had nothing the rest of the day on their 34’ Mercury powered Fountain. That fish put Bam Bam on top of SKA’s Division 5 points leaderboard with just two events remaining. The team couldn’t find a fish on Saturday, but had fun showing off a ribbonfish to the anticipating crowd.

They want to thank sponsor Full Throttle and their wives (probably not in that order).

Nick Cantrell on Play’n Hooky, a 36’ Yamaha powered Yellowfin, qualified for the Shootout in sixth place with a 33.45. He came down from Blackshear, Georgia and fished the Brunswick Bottoms because the bite was pretty good in previous tournaments. “I figured I would be fishing there by myself and that was the case,” Nick explained. He chose blue runners and goggle eyes to fish in 105’. “The weather was very good [where I was] with just a few isolated showers. It was fishable even in the rain,” he said. The 33 was his first fish of the day at 8:00 in the morning. She bit a blue runner on top in the spread

Larry Vogt, Steve Carman, and Josh Generazio teamed up on Bam Bam and took 7th in the Shootout.

Nick Cantrell took ninth in the Shootout with a 33.45 on Play’n Hooky.

Bear Caught, Bear Croft with Donald and Zach Skipper, finished 12th in the General Tournament with a 32.15.

Marc Hardesty, Clint Thompson, and Jeff Croxton on Money Shot caught a 31.20 in the General Event.

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and made a textbook couple of runs, began to tire, and circled.

Fishing was good—Play’n Hooky caught a ton of amberjacks up to 40 pounds and seven other kings on Friday until the bite quit just after lunch. They had a couple of bites on Saturday, but couldn’t get another fish. “Anything would have helped,” remarked Nick who finished ninth in the Shootout.

Five of the ten teams that qualified for the Shootout are SKA members. Way to go, guys! The tournament payout was based on 250 boats and, even though there were fewer than 200 paid entries, the tournament still presented a full payout. The teams that weighed a fish on Friday, 96 in all, were also eligible for a mystery prize claimed with a blue ticket. There were many ways to win at the Greater Jax this year.

Mike Senior on Reel Therapy had the biggest Cobia—32.55 pounds.

A non-member brought a 66.65pound wahoo to the scales!

Bear Croft, Donald Skipper, and Zach Skipper just missed the Shootout cut on Friday finishing twelfth. They fished Bear Caught, a 31’ Mercury powered Yellowfin, south of Jacksonville in 35’ of water. The team observed that

33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

the kings had been in on the beach while pre-fishing and during the Redneck VIP tournament.

“I’m tired of running offshore and having people catch them right on the beach. That Friday was pretty awesome,” Bear told me. Their first bite came early at 7:30. After getting goggle eyes and ribbonfish from Lee, the team went to work. Zach Skipper, a junior angler, usually mans the rod. They lost two nice fish right off. The first made a long run due east for 200 yards or so then abruptly shifted gears, turned, and threw the hooks. “You gotta get back in it,” Bear told Zach.

“It’s only 9:30.” Another king took off again nearly 200 yards then turned right to the boat.

The fish won; they didn’t get her in the boat. A seasoned junior, Zach persevered and picked up the rod once again to angle a strike on the long line on top.

The 32.15-pounder hit a goggle eye and, this time, Zach got her to the boat for Donald to gaff.

Kudos to Zach and the team for digging in and coming up with a nice points fish. All in all they caught nine kings in the 25- to 32-pound range, a dozen big sharks, and two tarpon that were

about 150 pounds. The tarpon put on a great show and tailwalked twice for about 50 feet. The team wishes to thank almighty God and Mercury Marine.

Marc Hardesty, captain of the Money Shot team, quipped that he considers it “a true miracle any time we catch a kingfish.” He

July 15–20, 2013

and teammates Clint Thompson and Jeff Croxton ran their 31’ Yamaha powered Contender out to the Chum Hole in 55’ of water.

They followed the Get Away boat trying to get a twin to the king Adkison caught in the junior event. It was calm in 55’ of water when around 2:30 their 31.20 hit

Each h year since the h 1980s, students d and d faculty f l ffrom the h Department of Marine Science at Jacksonville University have capitalized on the opportunity to gather data at the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament.

Students have the opportunity to work alongside professional researchers and collect data on kingfish caught at the event including length, weight, girth, and age of the fish. The ear bone reveals the age of the fish as well as environmental conditions over time. Genetic analysis of tissue samples collected can be performed at a later date.

David Pickett and Hunter Markham caught a 31.10 on That’s What I Do.

Bob, Tim, and Victoria Price with Garrett Tidwell put a 31.10 on the board fishing on Chaser.

William and Eric Santacrose made the top 20 on Ace Hole with this 31.05.

The Rock Doc team of Robert Wiggins, Dowell Coker, Chris Lacey, and Hugh, Holly, and Tyler Kessler brought a 29.20 to the scales.

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33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

July 15–20, 2013

Dennis Redmond and Debra Kelley had a 24-pounder on Double D.

Ron Roberson fishes a Mercury powered Fountain named Oceanview.

Ron Hildum, Brad Patterson, and Mike Syrakis fished the Greater Jax on Sweet Caroline III.

George Smith, Stacey Cooper, and Taj Delong teamed up on Her Money to fish Greater Jax.

The Hollingsworth family—Dennis, Richard, Shelby, and Colby along with Kris and Ryan Leary fished on Good Life, a Yamaha powered Contender.

Robert and Robbie Beck fished with Ben and Dennis Craft on the Nauti-Gale and weighed a 26.80.

The tournament drew great crowds.

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33rd ANNUAL GREATER JACKSONVILLE KINGFISH TOURNAMENT

July 15–20, 2013

goggle eye (from Lee, of course) up top in the nastiest, dirtiest water you could imagine about 50’ back on the outrigger. Marc angled his miracle king to the boat close enough for Clint to gaff and pull her in. They’d like to thank JaxLegal.com and are looking forward to Nationals in Biloxi.

The weather could have been better, but the

Bob Johnson and Keith Lane had a 24.10 on their 17’ Mercury powered Boston Whaler named Traveller after Robert E. Lee’s horse.

crowds were good at the weighin. Of course the board members, committee members, and volunteers all worked hard and smart to make sure the event came off without a hitch. The change in format made for an interesting weigh-in on Saturday. Even though there were just 11 teams, it was fun to watch each team come to the stage. Get Away co was on stage first until (nonw member) m Jonesy came in with w a second fish to knock tthem out of first place. And sso it went; you stayed on sstage until another team beat your aggregate weight. b Bam Bam played up the B suspense only to reveal s a ribbonfish at the scale.

Even Get Away carried in a heavy fish bag at the last minute. It turned out to be ice. Congratulations to all cury the teams that participated Mer e plac nd seco the up t Ronald McDonald pretends to star in this legendary event! ■ prize. motor

FINAL STANDINGS

Zach Skipper, a junior on Bear Caught, won Top SKA Junior and the Mercury Marine Junior Angler Scholarship awards.

Mike and Melissa Senior caught a 32.55 cobia to win the top prize in the category.

SHOOTOUT AGGREGATE 1. VENGEANCE . . . . . . . . . . 66.60 Fountain / Mercury Clayton Kirby Mark Droukas Jim Maedel 2. No Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.20 3. SNATCH-UM . . . . . . . . . . 49.40 Contender / Mercury Tyler Patterson Billy Patterson 4. Whiskey Man . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.10 5. Jonesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.35 6. GET AWAY . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.25 Stamus / Yamaha Marshall Adkison 7. BAM BAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.00 Fountain / Mercury Larry Vogt Steve Carman Josh Generazio 8. The Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.15 9. PLAY’N HOOKY . . . . . . . 33.45 Yellowfin / Yamaha Nick Cantrell 10. Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.55 GENERAL TOURNAMENT 1. GET AWAY . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stamus / Yamaha Marshall Adkison 2. BAM BAM . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fountain / Mercury Larry Vogt Steve Carman Josh Generazio 3. SNATCH-UM . . . . . . . . . .

Contender / Mercury Tyler Patterson Billy Patterson 4. No Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. The Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. PLAY’N HOOKY . . . . . . .

Yellowfin / Yamaha Nick Cantrell

46.25 41.00

7. VENGEANCE . . . . . . . . . .

Fountain / Mercury Clayton Kirby Mark Droukas Jim Maedel 8. Whiskey Man . . . . . . . . . .

9. Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. Jonesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11. Reel Gies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12. BEAR CAUGHT. . . . . . . . .

Yellowfin / Mercury Bear Croft Donald Skipper Zach Skipper 13. Jones-N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14. MONEY SHOT . . . . . . . . .

Contender / Yamaha Marc Hardesty Clint Thompson Jeff Croxton 15. Seasnake . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16. THAT’S WHAT I DO . . . . .

Donzi / Mercury David Pickett Hunter Markham 17. Club Mafia . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18. CHASER . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boston Whaler / Mercury Bob Price Tim Price Victoria Price Garrett Tidwell 19. ACE HOLE . . . . . . . . . . . .

Polar / Yamaha William Santacrose Eric Santacrose

32.80

32.65 32.55 32.40 32.30 32.15

31.90 31.20

31.15 31.10

31.10 31.10

31.05

40.10

37.20 36.15 33.45

SKA TOP JUNIOR ANGLERS sponsored by Mercury Marine & SKA 1. Zach Skipper BEAR CAUGHT . . . . . . . . . 32.15 2. Hunter Markham THAT’S WHAT I DO . . . . . . 31.10 3. Victoria Price & Garrett Tidwell CHASER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.10 MERCURY MARINE JUNIOR ANGLER SCHOLARSHIP WINNER Zach Skipper . . . . . BEAR CAUGHT

Boats lined up at 1:00 Saturday for the Shootout weigh-in.

September 2013 | ANGLER

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