AS SEEN IN THE 2004 SUMMER ISSUE

 Team Perfection strikes gold!
The 13th Annual Key Largo Dolphin Tournament held at the Mariner’s Club and Marina on April 24 was a lucky one for Team Perfection.  Not only did 70 year old master angler Russ Swanson catch the heaviest dolphin at 41 lbs. his teammate John O’Daniel caught the second place dolphin that weighed in at 32 lbs.  In addition, the combined weight of the team’s heaviest four fish (121 lbs.) earned the group the title of Top Team and total prize money of over $8000.  Swanson also won the Over 60 Division.

Even though this was his first tournament with this particular captain and a brand new boat, John O’Daniel did not attribute the triple win to luck.  He had competed in many tournaments in the past, only to sit wearily at the awards ceremony and watch other anglers reveling in their victory.  He learned that the key to winning tournaments is preparation and the right boat.  He was tired of getting beat up by the elements when he tried to head offshore in rough seas, so he sold his previous boat and bought a new  tournament edition 28’ Pro Sports catamaran with fuel conscious twin 225 four-stroke Yamahas.  He credits the design of the 28’ ProKat in leading his team to victory.  The ability to affordably get offshore fast combined with the superb stability of the twin hulls in the 6 to 7 ft. seas helped him get to the podium.  

O’Daniel also credits the experience of Capt. Travis Butters for their successful day.  O’Daniel expected to troll offshore and had purchased a large assortment of new trolling lures.  When he proudly showed Capt. Travis his new stock, he was surprised to hear him say “leave the lures at the dock”. Rather than trolling, the winning game plan was getting 30 miles offshore and following birds which would hopefully lead them to various schools of dolphin. Capt. Butters rigged plenty of ballyhoo in advance to cast to any sighted fish.

The plan paid off. The angler’s success came from their ability to increase their odds of catching the heaviest fish by catching the most fish.  The fast and stable ProKat maximized their fishing time and the abundance of rigged bait increased their number successful hook ups.
After this first tournament on his new boat, O’Daniel is optimistic that his ProKat will pay for itself through a combination of prize money and savings on fuel expenses.  We look forward to seeing Team Perfection in future tournaments!


SeaVee Owners’ Tournament is a big hit!

Owners’ tournaments usually don’t attract large crowds, but the 6th annual SeaVee Owners’ Tournament held on April 24th out of Bayside in Miami, attracted nearly 50 boats and over 400 participants at the awards party. The event initially began as a good-will day for current SeaVee owners, but in the past few years has evolved into a full-fledged tournament. 48 boats competed for over $10,000 in cash prizes…not bad considering the entry fee was only $275 per team.   The fishing was red hot and there were plenty of fish weighed in. There were some great catches in the tournament and even some that didn’t count.  Among the notable catches were a 97 lb. amberjack, an 18.6 lb. mutton and a monster 6 lb. yellowtail snapper that ate a kite bait! In the end, it was the team on Animal, a 34’ SeaVee, powered by twin Mercury 250XS’s which took the title. Their combined weight of 6 fish was 117.2 lbs. Red Dog took home 2nd w/86.1 lbs, Bottom Line was 3rd w/ 74.0 lbs and went place went to Pork Chop w/64.6 lbs.


Howell wins Rolex/IGFA Inshore Championship

Plantation angler tops field of 42 tournament winners from 13 states and Bermuda in world championship fishing competition held on May 3rd through May 5th in the Florida Keys

Mitch Howell of Plantation, FL. released a tarpon, bonefish and permit Wednesday, augmenting earlier catches in the week to take grand champion honors at the three-day Rolex/International Game Fish Association Inshore Championship Tournament. Howell was one of 42 anglers who participated in the fourth annual invitational event. Each entrant won at least one of 50 qualifying tournaments staged earlier on four continents. Point values of fish were determined by species and the angler's choice of fly-fishing, artificial lure or bait-casting preference. Anglers fished with a different guide each of the three days. “In the world of inshore light-tackle and fly fishing the Rolex/IGFA championship event is the Super Bowl of saltwater fishing," said Mike Myatt, an IGFA executive.

    Howell's 1,100 points was the highest among three anglers that caught all of five eligible species that also included snook and redfish. "It's very gratifying to be able to win this one," said Howell, a securities investment advisor who fished with Captains Bobby Vaughn, Rob Fordyce and Todd McLean. "You're fishing against people who have won events all over the world."

     Rolex Watch U.S.A., respected world wide for producing the finest watches, became the title sponsor and exclusive timepiece of the ICT in 2000. Platinum sponsors Hell’s Bay Boats and Mercury Outboards joined Rolex again this year. Other sponsors included AmeriStitch Custom Embroidery, Bacardi, Costa Del Mar, G. Loomis, Hook and Tackle, Islamorada Fish Co., Island Glass, Islander Resort, James Harris Fine Arts, KD & G Sea Life Masterpieces, King Sailfish Mounts, Rapala, Redbone Gallery, Shimano, Stiffy Push Poles, 3M Scientific Anglers and World Wide Sportsman.
The IGFA is a nonprofit, membership-supported, conservation and record-keeping organization founded in 1939 with members in over 120 countries. The association welcomes visitors to the 60,000 square foot IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida. For further information, contact the International Game Fish Association. 954-927-2628  

Defending champs win Mercury Redbone series tournament
without a fish on the final day.  

Veteran Key West light tackle guide Kenny Harris and his team didn't catch any fish Saturday, but still managed to survive more than 110 angler entrants in a 41-boat field to take top honors in the billfish division at the 16th Annual Key West Classic, presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
The newest Mercury Outboards Redbone event was held from April 28th through May 1st as is now recognized in the 28 tournament series for cystic fibrosis research. The vent saw Harris along with his son Clay, both of Key West, along with angler Bill Glynn, Marshfield, MA., stay ahead of the pack by less than two points with their 146.7 point total. They had caught two sailfish along with a dolphin on Thursday’s first round and followed up with another dolphin on Friday before blanking on Saturday.

Ironically, Harris was not even targeting sailfish. "I was actually blue marlin fishing," he said. "For me to come away with a win was surprising."
    Closing in on them was The Natural, captained by Reece Lewis, with anglers Walt Thomas of Fort Myers and Ray Chotnowski of Little Torch Key. Their biggest fish on Saturday was a dolphin at 17.9 lbs. less than two pounds shy of what they needed for a win.  They finished in second place with 145.2 points, while Steven Selka and Don Barton of Key West teamed with Aaron Selka of Fort Myers taking third onboard Jon Snider's The Raptor.
In the light tackle division it was the release of a permit that made the difference for the win by the Coolwater, skippered by Capt. Chris Garcia, Key West.  Anglers Roy Marlow and Keith Arthur, both from the United Kingdom scored 360 points from releases of one sailfish, three tarpon and four permit. Finishing second was the Baitstealer with Capt. Dale Bittner, Key West, and anglers Bob Finzi and Gene Weber, both from San Francisco, Ca. They totaled 320 points from one sail, three tarpon and three permit. 

The winners in numerous divisions and largest fun fish categories divided a total $35,000 purse. No marlin were caught but the $9,500 in prize money from that division was donated to the Mercury Redbone and the Esiason Foundation in their efforts to raise funds for research of the debilitating disease.  

The Classic is a qualifying event for the Rolex/International Game Fish Association Offshore and Inshore Championship Tournaments, to be held in 2005. Tournament director Findlay Sinclair said three days of abnormally stiff winds and heavy seas challenged the 41 boats in the field. The Key West Classic is one of three big-game/offshore tournaments in the Mercury Redbone series that includes more than two-dozen U.S. and international competitions, many of which feature sports and broadcast celebrities.    

    For more information on the entire Redbone series across the U.S. and internationally, please contact Susan Ellis at the Redbone office in Islamorada 305-664-2002
 

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